| Story |
           John S Pratt lived in Salem and worked at TKWM from 1890 through 1893. There are few records of John prior to his coming to Salem other than his being born in England. During his time at TKWM, John applied to be a U.S. citizen.
When John left TKWM, he is no longer found in the Salem City Directories as living in Salem or surrounding areas, but he remained on the city tax rolls through 1910. The Statesman Journal has a classified ad in 1908 to sell a lot in Yew Park and the ad shows the contact to be John S Pratt of Jamestown, NY.
The real estate ad leads to a John S Pratt living in Jamestown NY and working in the woolen industry in 1900. He was born in England in Jul 1869 which would have made him about 20 when TKWM opened. With the exception of one small break, John worked in the woolen mills around Jamestown until at least 1930. At that time, he worked at the nearby Ferncliff Worsted Mills which was established in 1900.
John married wife Dora in 1898 but apparently, they had no children. Other than his marriage, we could find no record of what he did or where he was between 1893 and 1900.
John apparently had a sense of humor or bad memory when it came to the census. The records show his birthdate anywhere between 1866 and 1871. In addition, he is shown to have immigrated anytime between 1891 and 1895. However, there are examples of people answering the census immigration year question based on the time they arrived in their current place of residence rather than the United States.
John S Pratt of Jamestown, NY died on 13 Jan 1946 but we find no record of he or Dora are buried. |
| Census |
1900   John S Pratt. B Jul 1869 in England. Owned home at 866 N Main St, Jamestown, NY. Naturalized. Immigrated 1891. Married in 1898. F and M b in England. Loom Fixer. John S Pratt 30, Dora L Pratt 24.
1910   John S Pratt. B abt 1871 in England. Rents home at 862 N Main St, Jamestown, NY. Married HOH.   Employer Massueuse at a Sanitarium. John S Pratt, 39.
1920   John S Pratt. B abt 1873 in England. Owns home at 866 N Main St, Jamestown, NY. Married HOH. Alien. Immigrated in 1892. Foreman, Textile Mill. John S Pratt 47, Dora M Pratt 43.
1930   John S Pratt. B abt 1875 in England. Married HOH. Owns home at 514 Windsor St, Jamestown, NY. Age at first marriage 26. F and M b in England. Naturalized citizen. Immigration 1895. Works at Ferncliff Worsted Mills, Falconer, NY. John S Pratt 55, Dora Pratt 50, May Malo 36 (Roomer).
1940   John S Pratt. B abt 1866 in England. Married HOH. Owned home at 514 Windsor St, Jamestown, NY. High School 4th year. Not a veteran. No occupation. Did not work in 1939. John S Pratt 74, Dora Pratt 64. |
| City Directory (Salem unless otherwise indicated |
1891   John S Pratt. Weaver TKWM.  Rms Mill 2 s Winter.
Wm Pratt. Weaver TKWM. Bds s Mill 1 w Capital
1893   John S Pratt. Weaver TKWM.  Rms 19th nw cor Trade. Weaver TKWM.
1905   John C Pratt. Attnd Oregon Insane Asylum.
Marion County Tax Rolls. John S Pratt. $50. Salem
1909   Marion County Tax Rolls. John S Pratt. $50. No location named.
1910   Marion County Tax Rolls. John S Pratt. $150. Salem. Not listed in body of the Salem CD. |
