William H. Purcell (1864-1944)
Class of 2026 – Industrialist
A central figure in the industrial growth of Alliance for more than six decades, William Henry Purcell was the founder and president of the Alliance Machine Company.
A product of the Alliance schools, his road to being a manufacturing magnate began on June 1, 1882, the day he became an apprentice machinist at the Morgan Engineering Company. It was said by his contemporaries that “the ability, aggressiveness and venturesome spirit which were to mark his career were early apparent” as he worked his way up the ranks, becoming foreman, superintendent, and finally general manager.
In 1901, Purcell led the way to the establishment of the Alliance Machine Company and served as president up until his death.
Through his guidance, the firm became one of the outstanding manufacturers in the world, earning a reputation for its construction of electric traveling cranes, tailor-made heavy machinery, and equipment of the most intricate nature. Developing numerous patents, the firm prospered and eventually built some of the largest cranes in the world.
Establishing Alliance Machine was just the start of Purcell’s industrial endeavors.
He later organized and served as the first president for both the Machined Steel Casting Company and the Alliance Manufacturing Company. He was the first chairman of the board and founded the Structural Company, of which he was secretary-treasurer at the time of his death. He was a director in the other companies in 1944.
His leadership in crane manufacturing led to his election for a term as the president of the Overhead Traveling Crane Institute of America.
Besides manufacturing, he was also influential in Alliance banking. For many years, Purcell was also president of Alliance First National Bank and was served as chairman of the board.
He was also a guiding spirit in the Alliance Chamber of Commerce, taking leading roles in community drives and similar undertakings of charitable nature, especially the Alliance Joint Campaign and War-Community fund.
Purcell was reported to give generously to many benefactors, remaining anonymous in his charity. Among those that were public included Mount Union College of which he was a booster in the advancement of the school’s athletic programs.
Purcell was a charter member of the Alliance Elks Lodge and joined the Alliance Rotary Club in 1919, shortly after its founding.
In social circles, he was a member of both the Army and Navy Club as well as Congressional Country Club in Washington, D.C., as well as the Alliance Country Club and Congress Lake Country Club.
Purcell was born in Crestline, the son of James and Ellen Crowe Purcell. The family moved to Alliance when he was 2 years old. His father was employed by the Pennsylvania Railroad and helped build the railroad through this section and assisted in the building of the depot.
He married Gertrude Hartzell on April 14, 1891. The couple had four children, including Hazel, who married C.J. “Bill” Rodman, another Alliance industrialist; Dorothy, who married Owen Leverett Lewis and was the mother of Owen Merrick Lewis, who would later own Alliance Machine and Glamorgan Castle; Robert Purcell; and Ruth Purcell.
Listed in publications such as Who’s Who, Who’s Who in Commerce and Industry, and the Biographical Encyclopedia of the World, Purcell had been active in business up until three days before he died on May 28, 1944, at his home, 1315 South Union Avenue, from infirmities of old age. He was about three months shy of his 80th birthday. He is buried in Alliance City Cemetery.