In 1856 Daniel Lamson patented a hoop-making machine, probably intended for use in barrel-making. The foot-operated machine cut a notch in the end of a thin stick that allowed the end to inter-lock when wrapped into a hoop. Lamson manufactured his machine, probably in a one-man shop. When the Civil War broke out Lamson enlisted and was subsequently killed. His widow, Emily, continued the manufacture of the hoop machine, making only small profits. In 1870 she applied for an extension on the patent, which was granted.
Information Sources
- The datamp entry for patent 15,768 references an article in the 1870-10-01 issue of Scientific American that provides the key facts.
- The 1878-12-18 document, Address and Memorial in Opposition to the Bill (S. No. 300 and H.R. No. 1612, to Amend the Statutes Related to Patents... Read Before and Adopted by the Cincinnati Board of Trade.
Daniel Lamson.
In the year 1870, application was made to the Commissioner of Patents, by Emily J. Lamson, for extension of the term of the patent granted to her late husband, Daniel Lamson, for a machine for notching hoops.
The Examining Board reported that "the invention was new when patented, and a great stride in advance of the pre-existing machines. It is unquestionably valuable. The inventor, who was a poor man, was diligent in attempting to introduce his machine, until the breaking out of the war, when he enlisted in a Massachusetts regiment. He was killed at Fredericksburg."
About the time that Daniel Lamson’s life was going out in trenches of Fredericksburg, forfeited to save that of his government; proponents would have had that same government have presented the widow with a bill of fifty dollars for his public services as an inventor, or, in default of payment, forfeit the patent.
- A genealogy page on Daniel Lamson provides some key dates and fills in the name of Lamson's wife: Emily Jane, née Fiske.
A genealogy page on residents of Mount Washington, Mass.Daniel Lamson was born January 26, 1832 in Mount Washington, Mass., a son of Origen and Eliza (Patterson) Lamson. He married Emily Jane Fiske 1856 in New Hampshire and was the father of two children.
He enlisted as a Sergeant First class in Company H of the 35th Infantry Regiment Massachusetts during the Civil War and was killed at the Battle of Fredericksburg, VA on December 13, 1862.
"Just before the battle of Fredericksburg he was excused on account of his health and advised not to enter the battle. He laid in his tent until the regiment was in line, when he got up, looked at the pictures of his wife and children, put them in his pocket, then went to the officers and told them he should take his place in ranks. He was shot instantly, Dec. 13, 1862."
Source: Memorial of Elder Ebenezer Lamson of Concord, Mass. : his ancestry and descendants 1635-1908.