Lightning Jars

These came into existence in 1882. The inventor was Henry William Putnam. The fruit jar had a glass lid that had a clamp to hold the lid in place. One of the reasons they became popular was because no metal contacted the food. The metal clamps made it easier to seal and remove thus the name "Lightning".

Mason Jars

John L. Mason was an inventor and tin smith. In 1858 he invented the Mason jar. First he created a machine that could cut threads into the lids. This made it practical for the jar makers to make a threaded top on the jars. His patent was granted on Nov. 30, 1858.

Rapeseed Oil

In yesterday's post about pumpkin seeds the excerpt mentioned rapeseed oil so I did a little research on rapeseed. In the 19th century it wasn't used for food because it had a bitter taste. However it was useful as a lubricant for steam engines and other machinery. I found several sources that rave about the use of rapeseed oil to keep the machinery parts from breaking down. Today the Canola Oil is rapeseed oil that has been bred to a more pleasing taste for food consumption.

After pressing the rapeseed and removing the oil what is left is a cake, these were often feed to cattle.

Another use for rapeseed oil was in the production of soap.

Sewing Machine & Button holes

The first attachment for the sewing machine to sew button holes was patented by Charles Miller of St. Louis, on Mar. 7, 1854. I've attached a link to a website The International Sewing Machine Collector's Society if you would like to read more about the over-edgers of the sewing machines.

Below is a copy of the patent that Charles Miller patented in 1854:
No. 10,609.—Charles Miller.—Improvement in Sewing Machines.— Patented March 7, 1854.
This invention relates to the adaptation of the cloth, or other material to be sewed, to receive what are termed the button-hole stitch, the whip-stitch, and the herring-bone stitch; and consists in giving the cloth, or other material to be sewed, a movement laterally to the direction of the seam, and in opposite directions alternately between every two stitches, in addition to the movement commonly given in the direction of the seam.

Claim.—Giving the cloth, or material being sewed, a movement laterally to the direction of the seam, between the successive stitches, or interlacings of the needle and shuttle-threads, for the purpose of receiving different kinds of stitches or seams.

Sugar Beets

Below are some items of possible interest if you're looking for something a bit different in your story. The source for this information comes from "The Sugar-Beet Industry: by Harvey Washington Wiley ©1890. The author does state in his introduction that previous reports have been written on the Sugar Beet industry but were now out of print.

Some of the best places to grow sugar beets are: Coast Valleys of California, Coastal areas in Oregon & Washington, Certain parts of the Dakotas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michican, Northern Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and New York.
Other states that have raised sugar beets are: New England, New Jersey, Delaware and Kansas.

Some reports indicate that summers are too hot in Kansas to have a high percentage of sugar.

For 25 years many attempts have been made to introduce the beet sugar industry into the United States.

Factories locations: Maine, Massachusetts, Delaware, Illinois and California financially disasterous with two exceptions One in Alvarado, California the other Watsonville, California.

Sears & Roebuck Shipping Rates 1896

Below is a very small selection of the shipping rates for Sears & Roebuck from their 1896 Spring catalogue. Note the prices are set for a per 100 lbs. A fellow writer, from one of the writing groups I'm in, mentioned how her grandmother told stories about how items came to the farm from their orders to Sears and other places. The train simply stopped on the tracks (at the edge of their farm) and left the items on the side of the tracks then continued on their way.

Sears & Roebuck went into detail about the way to order, how to figure the shipping charges, etc. By placing a freight rate chart they not only helped their customers but saved themselves the headache of extra billing for freight.

Telephone Timeline for 19th Century

March 10, 1876 Alexander Graham Bell yelled those now famous words "Come here Mr. Watson, I want to see you!" We all accept that to be the first monumental moment of the invention that would change our lives for ever. Below are a few other dates surrounding the history of the telephone during the 19th century.

1877 July The Bell Telephone Company was formed by Gardiner Hubbard. Watson oversaw the production of the first telephones in The Charles Williams Shop. Bell left for England opting out of the day to day operations of the company.

By the end of 1877 three thousand telephones were in service.

mid 1878 10,000 phones in service. Hubbard named Theodore Vail as the new general manager of the Bell Company.

1878 manuel switchboard was invented.

1879 Telephone subscribers begin to have designated telephone numbers

1880 Long distance service was established

1880's first "metallic" circuits were installed. Changing from one wire to two wire to reduce the extreme static noise from one wire.

1885 The American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T) is formed.

1891 Almon Strowger invented an "automatic" telephone allowing him to dial a number without waiting for an operator. The first one Strowger switch goes into operation in 1892

1899 Bell company had 800,000 phones in service.
Rural independent territories had 600,000

Milling Wheat

For the past year I've been buying organic whole wheat grain and grinding the wheat to make bread. The process is quite easy and the entire grain is reduced to a very fine flour that can be used in making cakes. All of that is to say, it made me wonder, how did our ancestors grind their wheat? Now, I've known about grist mills and have even visited a few but the flour from their was often course.

Here is an excerpt from The Book of Wheat written in 1908 by Peter Tracy Dondlinger. It helps to explain some of the history of the 19th century and the development of grain milling process. He goes on to explain other types of milling processes, high milling, and roller milling.

"Low" Milling.—Before 1850, the millstones in the United States were run at a comparatively low speed, and the grinding was slow. By this date the milling industry had assumed such commercial importance that it was necessary to increase the speed of the stones in order to get the work done. From 1850 to 1875, hard, low grinding was the rule, and the prime object was to make the largest possible percentage of flour at the first grinding. The change in process, due to greater speed, increased the output and improved its quality, "the outcome being a white, soft flour that met with favor in all he leading markets of the world where American winter wheat flours were handled." By this process, however, it was impossible to get the • flour entirely free from contamination, and some of the bran always remained. There were two parts to this old process, reducing the wheat to flour by passing it through a run of stones, and bolting the resulting material in order to separate the flour from the bran and other undesirable parts of the kernei. The percentage of flour obtained by this single grinding depended on four things: (1) The dress of the millstone; (2) the face of grinding surface; (3) the balancing of upper or runner stones; and (4) the speed of the runner. As there was but one grinding, the making of middlings was avoided as much as possible. By this method of milling, some of the bran was pulverized so that it could not be separated from the flour. This gave the flour a darker color, and caused it to gather more moisture, which injured its keeping qualities, especially in moist or hot climates.

Improvements in Canning Meat 1825

In 1825 Ezra Daggett and Thomas Kensett filed for a patent for improving the canning of meat. Below is an excerpt from an account written by the Maryland Bureaus of Industrial Statistics that gives an overview of the canning industry. This industry helped change American's daily lives.


Canning And Packing Industries.
OYSTERS, FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.
According to the best posted authorities on the canning industry in America, the present method of packing oysters, fruits and vegetables was commenced in the United States in the early part of the last century. Mr. E. S. Judge, of The Trade, says in an article written some time since, that the first patent for a tin can for hermetically sealing food was granted to Peter Durand in England in 1810, the patent covering the use of glass, pottery and other material, as well as tin. Ezra Daggett brought the secret of this patent to America between 1815 and 1818, and engaged in the business in New York City in company with Thomas Kensett,and some of the cans used in 1822 are still in possession of the family. Salmon and lobsters were among some of the first goods packed, and oysters were also preserved at that time. In 1825 a patent was granted in this country to Ezra Daggett and Thomas Kensett for an improvement in the art of preserving. Charles Mitchell arrived in Boston from Scotland a little later, about 1820, and entered the employment of the firm of William Underwood & Company to "hermetically seal food." Work in this business was begun in Maryland early in the forties. William Numsen & Sons began work in this business in Baltimore in 1847, and in 1849 they were packing cove oysters. Tomatoes, peaches, pears and other fruits and vegetables were being packed about this time. The widow of Thomas Kensett first sold the secret to Holt & Maltby and others, and from this grew the cove oyster packing business of Maryland. Cove oysters were from coves famous for the size and quality of their oysters, which were located on the west side of the Chesapeake bay, above the Potomac river. Originally all the labor was done by hand, and while this system, to some extent, restricted the output, it proved beneficial in distributing money among the masses, though the price of the product was thereby kept high. Previous to 1850 the cans were made by hand, usually by cutting out the tin blanks with shears, and originally the opening was covered on the flat top by a flat, circular piece of tin, soldered down. Subsequently, machinery took the place of hand labor in the making of cans, and as early as 1849 the "Pendulum" press for making can tops was introduced in Newark, N. J. Lewis McMurray, of Baltimore, was one of the famous firms that grew to be historic in the packing industry in this country. Nathan Winslow, of Portland, is said to have been the first who, commercially, canned sugar corn. The packing of fruits and vegetables grew and extended to California very rapidly, until the industry has grown to such immense proportions that it has become important to every State in the Union, and every farmer in the States. Probably, the greatest development of canneries in Maryland occurred between 1877 and 1885, there being in Harford county, Maryland, alone, at that time, over four hundred.

Stereotype Printing

I ran across this printing process while researching the Philadelphia Bible Society and them being the first to print a stereotype Bible in the United States in 1812. This process was already being used in England and Europe and very sparingly in the United States but not with regard to Bibles. Here is a link that tells a little about the Philadelphia Bible Society and their printing of the 1812 Bible. That link also has a few pictures of the 1812 Bible.

Wikipedia says that it is a solid plate cast in papier-mache or plaster. In other words you're making a copy of the plate to print with, then recast when your printing plates wear out. Britannica online gives a little more insight to the process. Saying that these plates were stronger than a composed plate.

This printing process is still in use today but quickly falling by the wayside with more modern processes.

Another informative site is from Old and Sold entitled The Plaster of Paris Process.

Hennepin Avenue Bridge

In Wikipedia you find a tidbit about the Henepin Avenue Bridge including a picture of the bridge ten years after it was built.

The year the bridge was completed was 1855, it was originally a toll bridge and was one of the first, if not the first bridge, to cross the Mississippi River. Later in the century railroad tracks were included with the bridge.

Another brief article about this bridge can be found Father Louis Hennepin Suspension Bridge on MNopedia.

Broom Factories & Broom Makers

Brooms have been around for eons, the question I've been trying to answer is when did the first broom factories start in America.

In 1841 in Sussex I find the listing of 65 broom-makers
A list of immigration to Missouri in 1867 listed several boom-makers
I found a disabled soldiers Broom-factory in 1875
1881 I found an expense report that line item a broom factory in a Missouri Penitentiary in 1880
And I found a grocery store owner in 1888 took payment of a broom making machine in exchange for food, then proceeded to have a very successful broom factory in the late 19th century into the 20th century. In fact, the business is still in operations today.

So, as of this moment, I do not know when the first broom factory developed in America. If you have a source with additional information, I'd love to hear it.

Below is a list of Broom & Brush Factory jobs, from the "Classified index of occupations by the United States," © 1921

Binder, broom or brush factory.
Borer, broom or brush factory.
Box maker, broom or brush factory.
Broom or brush maker, broom or brush
factory.
Broom or brush maker (not in factory).
Broom or brush maker (n. s.).
Buffer, broom or brush factory.
Buncher, broom or brush factory.
Comber, broom or brush factory.
Cutter, broom or brush factory.
Drawer, broom or brush factory.

Turpentine Making

Another occupation that you wouldn't think much about today but is something that was quite popular in the 19th century, especially in the east coast Southern states was that of Turpentine making.

Below is a clipping from Trumbell White in "Our Wonderful Progress" ©1902

TURPENTINE AND RESIN
Dialect writers find a fruitful field among the "tar-heels" of the Carolinas, Alabama and Georgia. In the cool depths of the turpentine woods, with the gashed trees yielding up their resinous gum, the balmy air and the picturesque "hackers," "dippers" and "scrapers," with the ever-vigilant "rider" watching everything, is a phase in southern life which has long been the delight of authors and the pleasure of the artists. The crudity of the implements and the stills used in the making of turpentine and resin lends additional interest to this old industry, and the gypsy-like habits of the turpentine-makers add to their ragged, illiterate charms.

Turpentine is the distilled gum of the pine trees of North and South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia and part of Florida. The season begins when the first spring sap rises and ends when cold weather checks the flow of the tree's blood. In January or February the "hacker," with his keenbl'cded ax, begins the round which ends with the season. He is the expert of the woods and knows his trees, and just how much hacking they will stand. His task is to cut the "boxes" in which the thick gum of the wounded tree will collect. A box is a wide incision about six inches deep, a wedge-shaped cut in the tree, and he hacks from 90 to 100 boxes a day. The first 'boxes at cut near the roots of the tree, and they are cut close together, to the height of a man's head, as can be done without killing the pine. The hacker leaves a width 'A bark between each box, so as to preserve the virality of the tree. When the trees are leased to the turpentine-makers the terms of the lease limit the number of boxes to each tree, but when it is desired to work the pine to the fullest extent the gashes are carried up to a height of twenty feet or more.

After the hacker comes the man who "corners" the boxes. This "corner" is a cut in the top of the box, to guide the sap into the cavities left for the gum, and the man who "works" the "crop" goes systematically from box to box, starting the sap anew with fresh incisions, working in this way 10,000 boxes during the season. The sap or gum fills the boxes with a clear, sticky, thick fluid, and this is removed by the "dipper." Scattered through the woods are barrels in which the "dipper" deposits the gum, which is then hauled to the still. About a quart of sap is taken from each box by means of the trowel-shaped scoop used by the dipper, and then the hacker comes along and starts the flow afresh by wounding the tree again. The turpentinemaker watches his men closely, for the tarheels are an easy-going people and require to be urged by the "rider," who goes through the woods on horseback, examining the crop, hurrying the dippers and hackers, and sending the barreled gum to the still.

The first or "virgin" sap, which flows in the spring, makes the best resin, and the poorest is the product of the hardened gum which is left on the sides of the boxes when the sap "turns down" in the fall. This is removed by the "scraper," who moves
through the woods with his scraping tool, gathering the leavings.

The still is a large copper vat, hooded with a close-fitting air-tight cover, in which is a funnel which in turn is connected with the worm of the stilL The worm runs down into another vat near at hand, and in this vat the fumes or vapors of the heated gum are distilled into turpentine. Fire under the copper beats the gum, and the volatile parts rise to the funnel, pass into the still and are condensed by the water in the second vat into spirits of turpentine. The residuum left in the vat is the resin of commerce, which is passed through a series of strainers and sieves to the barrels, which are made on the spot. The turpentine, however, cannot be barreled so easily, for it will work through an ordinary barrel. It is placed in white pine barrels, which have been coated inside with several coats of strong, hot glue, until the barrel is impervious to the subtle fluid.

The trees are worked for five or six seasons, and then the turpentine-maker moves to another part of the woods. He started in Xorth Carolina, crossed over to South Carolina, and is still moving toward the gulf. Forest fires destroy the pines faster than the hacker does, for the inflammable trees catch the sparks readily, and the flames sweep over the large areas before they die out. Careful owners of turpentine woods have the pine straw and fallen underbrush raked away from their trees before the season begins, and, collecting this material in some safe spot, wait for a quiet day, when there is no wind, and then they burn the rakings.

Negroes are the common laborers of the turpentine woods, but white men are plentiful. They live in rough shanties in the
D, with the stables for mules aud horses near at hand. No work is more healthful than turpentine making, for it is all out of doors in the depths of the balmy, health-giving pines, free from the malaria of the swamps and from sudden changes of weather.
end of quote

I found many turpentine makers in the 1860 census of one of the county's in Florida.

19th Century Photography

Wikipedia has a great overview of the history of the camera. There are a few dates that should be noted for those of us who write historical fiction.

In 1839 the first commercially produced camera, a Daguerreotype Giroux was sold.

1840 an American Chamfered daguerreian was made

Daguerrotypes are shown at the Great Exhibit in London in 1851 by 1853 New York Daily Tribune estimates that in the US 3 million daguerrotypes are being produced yearly.

The first studio that took portrait shots opened in 1853 in Paris.

In 1854 a boom of portrait studios worldwide over the next decade.

1859 a panoramic camera was invented.

1861-1865 Civil War is photographed by Mathew Brady and staff creating 7000 negatives.

Color Photography is introduced to the world in 1868

Eastman sets up Dry Plate Company in 1880

In 1887 a detective camera was patented by Eastman.

1888 First Kodak camera containing 20 foot roll of paper.

1889 first Kodak camera containing film

1900 Brownie camera introduced.

And behind every camera there is a photographer. I stumbled on this page and thought it might be helpful as well. It is a list of 19th century photographers, along with the dates they were in operation and where. Wikipedia has a great overview of the history of the camera. There are a few dates that should be noted for those of us who write historical fiction.

In 1839 the first commercially produced camera, a Daguerreotype Giroux was sold.

1840 an American Chamfered daguerreian was made

Daguerrotypes are shown at the Great Exhibit in London in 1851 by 1853 New York Daily Tribune estimates that in the US 3 million daguerrotypes are being produced yearly.

The first studio that took portrait shots opened in 1853 in Paris.

In 1854 a boom of portrait studios worldwide over the next decade.

1859 a panoramic camera was invented.

1861-1865 Civil War is photographed by Mathew Brady and staff creating 7000 negatives.

Color Photography is introduced to the world in 1868

Eastman sets up Dry Plate Company in 1880

In 1887 a detective camera was patented by Eastman.

1888 First Kodak camera containing 20 foot roll of paper.

1889 first Kodak camera containing film

1900 Brownie camera introduced.

And behind every camera there is a photographer. I stumbled on this page and thought it might be helpful as well. It is a list of 19th century photographers, along with the dates they were in operation and where.

Telegram

The first electric telegram was sent by Samuel F. B. Morse on May 24, 1844. Note that this isn't the only telegraph system, others came prior to the Morse telegram. It was 1838 when Morse first successfully tested his device. Alfred Vail, Morse's assistant, developed the Morse code.

In 1843 Congress funded Morse's experimental telegraph line from Washington to Baltimore. On May 24th 1844 sending the message "What hath God wrought" from Numbers 23:23

If you'd like to read more on telegraph history Click Here This web page has several links to various articles.

Coal Burns 1808

So would have read the headlines in 1808 when on Feb. 11, 1808 Jesse Fell in Wilkes-Barre, PA discovers that Anthracite coal burns. In an open air grate his 'discovery' led to the widespread use of coal as a fuel. The Industrial revolution began in part by this discovery.

On Feb. 11, 1858, fifty years after the discovery, a group of folks met at the Old Tavern in Wilkes-Barre to celebrate the anniversary of the successful burning of anthracite coal. This ceremony suggested the founding of a historical society.

Some background information reveals Jesse Fell didn't just happen on this knowledge. He'd actually been experimenting with coal for home heating for many years. He owned a nail factory and had used anthracite there but it produced brittle nails so he discontinued it's use in the factory and began experiments for home heating. This was during the 1780's. The key to his success with the coal was the open grate allowing the coal to have minimum draft and a steady flow of air.

It is said that the historical society has this original grate today.

Ice Cream Pioneer

Jacob Fussell a Baltimore dairyman on Jun 15th, 1851 sets up the first Ice Cream factory. He opened the factory to keep a steady demand for his cream. He sold his ice cream at half the price charged by other (25 cents a quart). By 1856 the manufacturing operation sprouted several parlors in Washington, D.C and Boston.

Fussell's development of the ice cream industry is without question. However, there are a couple other people that without their inventions/ice cream making techniques that came before Fussell that I feel should be mentioned.

Augustus Jackson created new recipes for making ice cream in 1832. He was a confectioner.

Secondly, Nancy Johnson patented a hand-cranked freezer that is still the basic design of making ice cream today in 1846.

Posted by Lynn Coleman at 6:51 AM 2 comments
Labels: 1832, 1846, 1851, Food, Industry


WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23, 2010
3 cent piece

Yes, you read that correctly back in 1851 a three cent piece was minted. Postage rates had gone down from 5 cents to 3 cents giving people the ability to have a single coin to make small purchases with. The coin was smaller than our current dime and was minted from 1851 - 1873. They were made of silver but also included with cooper so folks wouldn't melt them down for their silver value.

There were two different three cent pieces. The three piece silver and the three cent nickel. The later was produced during the Civil War to help stop the hoarding of silver coins. The nickel was produced from 1865-1889.

You can read more about this at Wikipedia

A three cent piece became the discussion of politicians again in 1911 but that isn't our century of focus.

You can also do a search at Google books and come up with several references of three cent pieces. Along with the "Laws of the United States relating to loans, paper money, banking, and coinage, 1790 - 1895. In there you'll find the percentage of metals to use to produce the coin.

Oil Discovery

Here is a brief outline sketch of the oil history in the 19th century.

1846 Kerosene as fuel was introduced by Canadian Abraham Gesner
1853 a Russian sea captain noted the oil along the shoreline of Cook Inlet, Alaska.
1854 the North American Gas Light Company was formed.
1859 NW Pennsylvania an important well is drilled for the soul purpose of finding oil.
1862 first commercial oil well in Canon City, Colorado.
1865 first oil pipeline was constructed.
1865 California's first productive well was drilled.
1866 First well in Texas drilled by Lyne T. Barret. wasn't exploited until 1888 when a crew of drillers from the PA came to lend a hand.
1872 Robert Augustus patents Vaseline from the unwanted goop of the PA wells.
1892 First well strike in Southern California was drilled by Edward L. Doheny indowntown LA
1896 some marginally successful wells were drilled in Corsicana, Texas.
1897 500 wells in LA, California
1897 oil discovered in Oklahoma
1898 Oil drilling begins in Alaska

1821 Electric Motor

In 1821 London, British scientist Michael Faraday invented an electric motor. He'd been schooled in chemistry but became intrigued by the discovery of Oersted that electricity flowed through wire produces a magnetic field around the wire. You can read more about Faraday at Wikipedia. Or at his Electric motor at about dot com.

Pony Express

The oldest book I found specifically on the Pony Express was ©1908. There are many articles and references to the Pony Express in publications dating much earlier to it. And if you're like me, you learned a little about the Pony Express in school. And I'm certain there are many tales that were true and untrue at the time, especially with William F. Cody having been a rider.

Google books has a copy of "A Thrilling and Truthful History of the Pony Express" ©1908 by William Lightfoot Visscher.

The roots of the express started in the 1850's but developed in the Apr 1860 to what we know now as the Pony Express. There were 184 stations placed at 10 mile intervals and covered 2,000 miles. Ten miles being the max length a horse could travel at full gallop. The rider would exchange horses and only take the pouch or mailbag with him. The bag was called Mochila basically Spanish for backpack or pouch. You can read a good overview at Wikipedia for more details.

There's a lot of romance and folklore concerning these riders. They are fun to explore and think of ways to creatively use them in a story.