Charles Matcham

Charles Arthur Matcham (15 January 1862 – 22 September 1911) was an English civil engineer and businessman who spent most of his life in America. He founded numerous businesses, mostly within the cement-making industry, in areas including Phillipsburg, in New Jersey, and Allentown, and Portland in Pennsylvania. He was the younger brother of the English theatre architect Frank Matcham.

Life and career Charles Matcham was born on 15 January 1862 in Torquay, Devonshire. He was the third son of Charles Matcham (1826–1888), a brewer, and his wife, Elizabeth Lancaster (1830–1905). Charles Jr. was educated at schools in Hambledon in Hampshire, and then Brighton, East Sussex. In 1879 he joined the newly-formed American Bell Telephone Company

In 1881 Matcham travelled to Chicago, America, where he started work with the Chicago Telephone Company for whom he built exchanges. Three years later he joined the Pennsylvania Telephone Company and became the Chief Engineer and Superintendent.

Personal life Matcham married Margaret Ormrod in 1888 and they had three children; a son, Charles, and daughters Dorothy and Catherine.

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