T. Roney Williamson

Thomas Roney Williamson
Born(1852-10-30)October 30, 1852
West Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedSeptember 12, 1896(1896-09-12) (aged 43)
Longport, New Jersey, U.S.
OccupationArchitect
StyleQueen Anne style

Thomas Roney Williamson (October 30, 1852 – September 12, 1896) was an American architect based in Philadelphia and West Chester, Pennsylvania. He trained with Henry Augustus Sims and worked chiefly in the Queen Anne style.

Biography

Williamson was born to Edward Hand and Anna (Roney) Williamson in 1852 in West Chester, Pennsylvania. His father and grandfather were both prominent attorneys in the region. He attended John Wiley Faires' academy in Philadelphia and at the age of 18 or 19 apprenticed to architect Henry Augustus Sims. He went homesteading in Colorado but injured his foot and returned to Philadelphia to resume his training in 1873.[1][2]

After Sims died in 1875, Williamson continued to practice with James Peacock Sims. In 1879, Williamson launched his own architectural firm from offices in the Merchants' Exchange Building, in partnership with his younger brother, William Williamson, who in 1890 established a branch office in Grand Rapids, Michigan.[3] Williamson returned to live in his hometown of West Chester in 1884 but continued to maintain an office in Philadelphia, to which he commuted almost daily. He became a full member of the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 1875.[1][2]

On September 12, 1896, Williamson died suddenly of a heart attack while vacationing at the seaside cottage of his friend Thomas S. Butler in Longport, New Jersey. He was 43 years old. He was interred at the Oaklands Cemetery in West Goshen Township. His wife, Ada Clendenin, and children Charles and Ada survived him.[4]

Architecture

Williamson worked chiefly in the Queen Anne style using a range of colors and textures. He practiced principally in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He specialized in residential architecture, but his output included dozens of academic, ecclesiastical, and commercial buildings. Williamson was among the handful of Pennsylvania architects to use serpentine routinely in their projects, designing West Chester University's Recitation Hall, a large gym modeled on Harvard's Hemenway Gymnasium, an auditorium that could seat nearly a thousand people, and the house of college president George Morris Philips (known as "Green Gables"). The latter trio of buildings have since been demolished, with the president's house being replaced by Philips Memorial Building. Also constructed of serpentine were Williamson's 1889 tower (since demolished) and 1892 choir building of West Chester's Holy Trinity Episcopal Church.[1][5][6]

In 1893, Williamson designed a Chester County Courthouse annex built of Indiana limestone and measuring 50 x 158 feet (15 x 48 meters). He also designed the West Chester Public Library (which opened in 1888), the High Street Public School (since demolished), the West Chester Fire Company No. 1 building (dedicated in 1888),[7] and dozens of stores and residences throughout West Chester and the Philadelphia region. One of his projects beyond the region was to design the Dimmick Memorial Library in Jim Thorpe.[1][8]

In 1890, Williamson authored a "Pamphlet on Building, Lighting, Heating, Ventilating and Repairing Schoolhouses, together with Hints on the Care and Construction of Out Houses," copies of which went out to all school directors in Chester County.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Tatman, Sandra L. "Williamson, Thomas Roney (1852 - 1896)". Philadelphia Architects and Buildings. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
  2. ^ a b Cohen, Charles Joseph (1926). Memoir of Rev. John Wiley Faires, A.M., D.D., founder and principal of the Classical Institute, Philadelphia, a teacher from 1831 to 1888, with photographs and biographic sketches of upward of five hundred of his former pupils. Philadelphia: Priv. Print. for C.J. Cohen by the John C. Winston Co. pp. 804–807.
  3. ^ Tatman, Sandra L. (1985). Biographical Dictionary of Philadelphia Architects, 1700-1930. Boston: G.K. Hall. p. 858. ISBN 978-0-8161-0437-6.
  4. ^ "Death notice: T. Roney Williamson". Daily Local News. 1896-09-14. p. 3. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
  5. ^ Schiffer, Margaret Berwind (1976). Survey of Chester County, Pennsylvania architecture, 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Exton, PA: Schiffer Publishing. p. 196. ISBN 978-0-916838-02-7.
  6. ^ Dorchester, Jane Elizabeth (2001). The Evolution of Serpentine Stone as a Building Material in Southeastern Pennsylvania, 1727–1931. Architecture (thesis). University of Pennsylvania. pp. 4, 93, 106.
  7. ^ "History of the First West Chester Fire Company". First West Chester Fire Company. n.d. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
  8. ^ Martha Carson-Gentry; Paul Rodenbaugh (1999). West Chester, PA. Images of America. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7524-0865-1.
  9. ^ "Items from Reports - Chester [County]". Pennsylvania School Journal. 38 (10). Pennsylvania State Education Association: 388. April 1890.