Early Career

Edward Phelps Allis was a manufacturer and politician born in Cazenovia, NY. He graduated from Union College, Schenectady, NY in 1845. In 1846 he moved to Milwaukee where he joined William Allen in the leather business. In 1851 Allis and several members of the Allen family launched the Wisconsin Leather Company and their tannery in Two Rivers supplied the Milwaukee retail outlet.

Career Accomplishments

About 1856 Allis sold his interest in the leather business and engaged in real estate and railroad investment. In 1861 he purchased the Reliance Iron Works of the bankrupt Decker and Seville and renamed the firm was known as Edward P. Allis and Company after 1863. During the Civil War the firm's business grew rapidly, fostered by the demand for millstones and milling equipment. Allis relocated the plant in 1867 and then acquired the Bay State Iron Manufacturing Company in 1869.

 Head and shoulders portrait of Edward Allis. View the original photo here: WHI 102067

In 1871 Allis constructed a pipe foundry which enabled him to underbid eastern producers for the municipal waterworks contract, and in 1874 he installed the pumping engines for the system. Although forced into bankruptcy in 1876, Allis quickly recouped his fortunes and retained control of the company.

In the 1880's, through the introduction of new products and the utilization of talented associates (especially Edwin Reynolds), Allis built his business into be one of the largest in the state. In 1889 the company did an annual business of $3,000,000 and employed approximately 1500 people. Although the company had some labor difficulties, particularly in the city-wide strike of 1886, Allis was generally known for fairness in dealing with his employees. He was one of the first manufacturers to organize a form of industrial insurance, the Allis Mutual Aid Society.

Politics and Philanthropy

Ordinarily a protectionist Republican, Allis' financial difficulties led him to embrace the Greenback movement in 1875, and he was twice the party's unsuccessful candidate for governor in both 1877 and 1881. Allis was the sole owner of his company and raised capital by heavy borrowing. He plowed profits back into the company, and protected his risk with large sums of life insurance. Much of his fortune was channeled into philanthropic activities through his wife, Margaret Watson Allis. After his death, Allis heirs incorporated as the Edward P. Allis Company in 1890, and in 1901 the Allis-Chalmers Company was formed. 

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]