John McManus
John McManus, Iron Manufacturer, was born in September, 1808, in County Fermanagh, Ireland. He received a liberal education in his native county, the classical portion of which was obtained at Purtuna College. In 1827, he emigrated to the United States and was soon afterwards engaged in business. His first step in this direction was his engagement as assistant in a store in Philadelphia, where he remained for a time. After leaving that employment he sought occupation on the public works, making his first essay as a contractor on the Morris Canal, following that business till the year 1840. He subsequently removed to Reading, and, in 1842, purchased an interest in the Reading Iron Works in that city, where he has continued to reside till the present time. During his residence in Reading he has been conspicuously identified with the public interests of the city. He has frequently filled the office of bank director, evincing much talent and aptitude for business in that position, and has also served as director in the Kansas Pacific Railroad. In 1839, he was married to Caroline Seyfort, of Reading. In a business sense, he is a self-made man, having raised himself by his unaided exertions to his present prominent position, and may be justly termed the architect of his own fortune.
Source: The Biographical Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania of the Nineteenth Century. Philadelphia: Galaxy Publishing Co., 1874, pp. 222-223.
Contributed by: Nancy.