Enoch Filer

biography

ENOCH FILER, coal dealer and operator, was born in England January 15, 1833, and is  a son of Thomas and Ann (Barber) Filer, who lived and died in England.  Enoch came from England to Mercer County, Penn., in March, and began working at the coal business, which he had followed in his native land. In 1859 he sank the first large shaft on the farm of John Hofius, Hickory Township, this being the introduction of that class of mining in Mercer County, and the first in which machinery was used for hoisting the coal.  He subsequently sank a shaft for Kimberly, Forker & Co., and also one for Scott & Allen. He afterward spent a couple of years in the oil region, where he was engaged in the coal business for himself, In 1866 he returned to Mercer County, purchased an interest in the original shaft on the Hofius farm, and soon after went into partnership with Samuel Kimberly, as Kimberly & Filer. He was afterward connected in the coal business with James Westerman, whose estate is still a part of the company. Mr. Filer is, today, the oldest and most prominent coal operator in Mercer County, and has been very successful in business. He was married May 21, 1853, to Elizabeth Lawton, a native of England, by whom he has five sons and one daughter: John F., Enoch L., Frank P., Henry J., Walter G. and Clara. He is a Democrat, a K.T. of the Masonic fraternity, and is one of the enterprising, progressive business men of the Shenango Valley. The family belongs to the Episcopal Church.