Storey portable drilling machine, from article in 1896-02-08 Western Electrician

In the 1880s, Imle E. Storey was operating a planing mill in Boulder, amidst the Colorado mining industry. In 1889 Storey patented a novel rotary electric drill; the patent was assigned to the Storey Electric Drill & Power Co. of Boulder, Colorado, as were a series of other inventions related to drills and to electric motors. By May 1890 Storey and his company had relocated to New York City. So far as we can tell the Storey Electric Drill & Power Co. never manufactured anything.

In March and April of 1893 there were a flurry of articles in the trade press about a new line of electric motors developed by Imle E. Storey, whose designs were motivated by a need to keep out moisture and dirt from the motor internals. This line of motors was being manufactured by the Hornell Iron Works of Hornellsville, NY.

By the end of 1893 the Storey motors and polishing lathes were being offered by the newly formed Storey Motor & Tool Co. of New York City, with factory in Philadelphia.

By the end of January 1895 the company relocated their headquarters to Philadelphia. In July 1898 they announced that their factory and office had both moved to larger premises in Trenton, NJ. In June 1900 the Storey Machine & Tool Co. was acquired by General Electric Co., becoming the Storey General Electric Co., with I. E. Storey remaining as company president. In December 1900 the office and factory relocated yet again, this time to nearby Harrison, NJ.

In October 1901 it appears that GE divested themselves of the company, which reorganized as Storey Motor & Electric Co. of Harrison, NJ. In early 1902 they announced a new line of variable-speed motors especially adapted for direct-drive usage with machine tools such as shapers and engine lathes. It's not clear what happened but at around this time the company seems to have found themselves in financial difficulty. In 1903 a receiver was appointed and the company's assets were sold.

Information Sources

• 1890 American Institute of Electrical Engineers List of Members, page 20. "Storey, Imle E. / Electrician and Manager, Storey Electric Drill and Power Co., 16 Broad St., New York City. / [elected to the Institute] May 20, 1890".
• January 1894 The Street Railway Journal, page 52, illustrated article on Storey electric lathes and motors from Storey Motor & Tool Company, 120 Liberty St., New York. The "lathes" are polishing lathes, what looks like a pedestal grinder without wheel covers.
• 1895-02-02 Western Electrician page 59.

  The Storey Motor & Tool company, manufacturer of the Storey motor and dynamo, whose headquarters have heretofore been located in New York city, announces that hereafter its main office will be at the factory in Philadelphia, corner of York street and Sedgeley Avenue. A New York office will, however, be maintained at 120 Liberty street, with N. M. Garland in charge.

• 1895-12-07 Western Electrician, page 278, article on the Storey multipolar motor from Storey Motor & Tool Co., Philadelphia.
• 1896-02-05 The Electrical Engineer, page 153, illustrated article on the Storey portable electric drill from Storey Motor & Tool Co., Philadelphia. The drill is mounted on a cart, and with the motor appears to weigh a few hundred pounds.
• The Electrical Engineer, 28 Jul 1898, page 94.

  The Storey Motor & Tool Co. have moved their main office and factory from Philadelphia to 464 South Broad street, Trenton, N. J., in the plant with the Trenton Iron Co. This change is made necessary by the greatly increased demands for the electrical machinery of their manufacture, particularly their multipolar, entirely enclosed, dust and moisture-proof motors, the first of this style to be placed on the market, several years ago.

  The motors at present manufactured by them have been improved both mechanically and electrically, all advantages having been taken from years of past experience, the machines being second to none and having some features possessed by no others, together with light weight, high efficiency, slow speeds and special form which makes them particularly adapted to all classes of direct connected, machine tool, hoist, crane, mill, mine, and, in fact, any variety of combination.

  With their increased facilities the company will also put on the market their open type machines for all classes of standard work, together with several lines of specialties which up to the present time they have been unable to push. Within a short time the company expects to have everything running in proper order, and will be pleased to hear from any of its old customers or give any details and descriptive matter regarding its machines to any parties wishing information.

• 1900-12-27 The Iron Age, page 24.

  The Storey General Electric Company, formerly the Storey Motor & Tool Company, have just completed the removal of their offices and factory from Trenton, N. J., to a larger and newly equipped factory at Harrison, N. J. The new company, who are capitalized at $3,500,000 are the outgrowth of the steadily increasing demand for the well-known Storey motors, and with the larger facilities in shop room, machinery, &c., they will be able to take up a number of additional lines which it has been impossible to handle before on account of a lack of proper facilities. I. E. Storey is president of the new concern, and Theo. W. Myers, formerly comptroller of New York City, is treasurer.

• The Manual of statistics, 1901, page 528.
• United States investor, Volume 12, Part 1, 08 Jun 1901 page 27.

  STOREY GENERAL ELECTRIC CO.

  A corporation formed under the laws of New Jersey, June 5, 1900. The purpose of the company is the manufacture of the Storey motors, dynamos and electrical machinery generally. The company acquired the property, patents and works of the Storey Motor & Tool Co., and of its plant at Trenton, which this company moved to Harrison, N. J.

  Stock $3,500,000 / The company has no funded debt.

  President, I. E. Storey; Treasurer, Theodore W. Myers; Secretary, James H. Young.
  Directors—Theodore W. Myers, I. E. Storey, Rudolph Jenks, James H. Young, A. Sanford Adler, John W. Newbury, R. Newman.
  Main office, 20 Broad street, New York. Factory, Harrison, N. J. Transfer Agent, Bowling Green Trust Co., New York. Registrar, North American Trust Co., New York. Annual meeting, fourth Thursday in March.

  A stock which is attracting some attention on the curb is the Storey General Electric Co., which is quoted at 15 bid and 15*4 asked. This company was organized under the laws of New Jersey a year ago, with an authorized capital of $3,500,000, and owns and controls the entire assets, contracts and privileges of the Storey Motor & Tool Co., including all its patents on motors and electrical machinery. The company is doing a large and active business in Buffing motors and motors for direct tool driving, and promises to be shortly in a position to compete for business with the Westinghouse and General Electric Companies for motors used for street car work. The company is doing an export business, and has current orders for furnishing its machines for government work, numbering among its regular customers many of the largest firms in the United States.

• 1901-11-07 American Machinist, page 79, "New Corporations".

  Storey Motor & Electric Co., 321 Sussex street, Harrison, N. J.; object, manufacturing motors, etc. capital, $500,000. Incorporators: S. Livingston Samuels, Frederick Mener and Rupert A. Jenks.

• 1903-10-03 The Commercial & Financial Chronicle, page 827.

  Storey General Electric Co.—See Storey Motor & Electric Co. below.—V.72, p. 46.

  Storey Motor & Electric Co.—Sale.—Receiver George R. Beach, 17 Exchange Place, Jersey City, was to receive bids until Oct. 1 for this company's machinery, tools and plant at Sussex St., Harrison (near Newark), N. J. The company was incorporated, in October 1901, with $500,000 capital stock as a reorganization of the Storey General Electric Co. (V. 72, p. 46), and on the appointment of a receiver was said to have assets $96,000; liabilities, $70,000.

• 1911 Obsolete American Securities and Corporations, page 971, lists "Storey General Electric Co. New Jersey Charter void 1905. For non-payment of taxes."