Thomas B. Riter and Sophie A. McCallin

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Husband Thomas B. Riter ¹

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           Born: 1840 - Blair Co, PA 1
     Christened: 
           Died: 23 Apr 1907 2
         Buried: 

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         Father: Joseph Riter (1788-      ) 3
         Mother: Elizabeth Wagenseller (1800-1855) 3

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       Marriage: 14 Apr 1875 - Pittsburgh, Allegheny Co, PA 2

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Wife Sophie A. McCallin ²

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           Born: 
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         Father: James McCallin (      -      ) 2
         Mother: Sophie [Unk] (      -      ) 2

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Children

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1 M Joseph Riter ²

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           Born: 
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General Notes: Husband - Thomas B. Riter

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He attended the public schools of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and at seventeen began his business career as a clerk in the hat store of Samuel McMasters. Two years later he entered the employ of Lippincott & Company, manufacturers of shovels and axes, and remained with that firm till 1860, when he entered the employ of his brother, James Riter, who was engaged in the sheet iron business. During the Civil War their work consisted chiefly in repairing river boats, and this led to the establishment of a general boiler shop and tank manufacturing business, large orders being received from the ore companies in Pennsylvania. In 1873, James M. Riter died, and Thomas B. then formed a partnership with William H. Conley, bookkeeper of the old firm, under the firm name of Riter & Conley. In 1897 Mr. Conley died, and Mr. Riter became the sole owner of the works, which had been greatly enlarged, an engineering department forming an important part of the plant.
A new corporation, the Riter-Conley Manufacturing Company, was formed in 1898, with a capital of one million dollars. Mr. Riter became president, and the plant was enlarged until it was the largest of the kind in the world devoted to the manufacture of structural and plate steel, with both domestic and foreign clientele.
One of Mr. Riter's most marked characteristics was the ability to acquire complete mastery of any subject to which he directed his attention. He possessed no inconsiderable amount of mechanical genius, and in his habits was very methodical, this being no doubt one of the principal reasons of his ability to despatch a phenomenal amount of business within a short time. He was president of the Ohio Valley Bank of Allegheny, which he helped organize in 1890; member of the Engineers' Society of Western Pennsylvania; the Pittsburgh, Duquesne, Union and University clubs, the Pittsburgh Country Club, the Engineers' Club of New York City, and was a member of Dallas Lodge No. 508, F. and A. M. In politics Mr. Riter was a Republican, but took no active part in public affairs.

1 John W. Jordan, LL.D., Genealogical and Personal History of Western Pennsylvania (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1915), Pg 38.

2 John W. Jordan, LL.D., Genealogical and Personal History of Western Pennsylvania (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1915), Pg 40.

3 —, Commemorative Biographical Record of Central Pennsylvania, Including the Counties of Centre, Clinton, Union and Snyder. (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1898), Pg 1065.