By 1901 Thomas Sutherland Witherbee of New York City was designing storage batteries for the Gould Storage Battery Co. In later years he would be credited with inventing the portable storage battery, and with manufacturing batteries since 1891. Thus far we have found no evidence to support either of those claims.

From 1903-11-01 The Automobile Review

By early 1903 the Witherbee Igniter Co. of New York City was manufacturing storage batteries and battery-based automotive engine igniters. In 1904 the business was formally incorporated under the laws of New Jersey, with Thomas S. Witherbee as president. By 1906 there are signs of a power struggle at the top of the company: the membership of the board of directors changed drastically that year, and then the following year Witherbee was ousted as president and board member of the company he had founded. His place was taken by William Barrett Ridgely, who the previous year had left a senior government position in Washington and joined the Witherbee Igniter board of directors. He would remain company president for many years.

Shortly after leaving the Witherbee Igniter Co., Thomas Witherbee established the Witherbee Manufacturing Co., in direct competition with his former company. Predictably, a lawsuit ensued, and an injunction and final decree were imposed on Witherbee Manufacturing Co., and on Thomas Witherbee personally. Thomas Witherbee would subsequently establish the Radio Battery Co., and the Thomas Battery Co. Witherbee would declare personal bankruptcy in 1910 but would emerge with his reputation largely intact and he remained in the automotive battery industry for many years after.

From its inception in 1904 the Witherbee Igniter Co. was well positioned supply ignition systems to the rapidly growing markets for both automobiles and small gasoline engines. Over the years they continued to develop their ignition solutions. In about 1903 they introduced a batteryless "reciprocatory armature type" of igniter. Doing away with the requirement for a storage batter was an asset, especially for small engines. However, the early reciprocatory armature igniters were very loud and also suffered from rapid wear. A series of design improvements followed, culminating with Wico's 1921 development and introduction of a system that did away with the loud reciprocating parts altogether in favor of a system using points and condenser, with the points alternately separated and brought together by an eccentric driven by the rotation of the engine crankshaft. This is the modern ignition system that was used in virtually all gasoline engines from the 1920s until the advent of electronic ignition systems about 60 years later.

The year previous to their 1921 introduction of their modern igniters, the Witherbee Igniter Co. reorganized and changed its name to Wico Electric Co. They had, almost since the beginning of their existence, used the brand name WICO brand, after "W-I-Co."

In the late 1940s the Wico Electric Company merged with the British spark plug manufacturer, Pacy to become Wico-Pacy. Their brand name for their products was Wipac. In 1998, the firm was purchased by Carclo and is now a major automotive lighting supply company.

Information Sources

• August 1901 American Electrician. "The Gould Storage Battery Company, of Depew and New York, N.Y., exhibits the larges storage battery cell in the world. This is of 16,000 ampere-hours capacity at the 2000-ampere or 8-hour rate... The total weight of the cell is 8750 lbs... Walter Gummey and T. S. Witherbee are in charge." A search for more mentions of Witherbee in association with the Gould Storage Battery Co. came up dry. This mention os T. S. Witherbee is the earliest mention we can find of him in relation to batteries or igniters.
• 1903-02-01 The Automobile Review, in its coverage of the recent New York Automobile Exposition.

  Witherbee Igniter Co., New York—Showed a storage battery igniter specially designed for gasoline automobiles for use either with coil or in connection with generator.

• 1903-02-01 Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal, has a more detailed writeup of the Witherbee ignition battery. "A new ignition battery was shown by the Witherbee Igniter Company, of 25 West Thirty-third street, New York city. It is a storage battery, and they claim for it greater capacity in less space than other other storage battery igniter made..."
• 1903 List of Corporation Certificates of New Jersey. "Witherbee Igniter Co.—553 Bramhall Ave., Jersey City. Agent, Thos. S. Witherbee. Payment of capital stock to $50,000. March 30, 1904. / [output of incorporation] Manufacturing / [act under which incorporated] Corp. Act. / [date of filing certificate] Feb. 17 1904 / [limit of existence] Perpetual / [capital stock authorized] 50,000 / [par value of shares] 100 / [commenced business with] 50,000 "
• 1904-03-05 Electrical World and Engineer. "THE WITHERBEE IGNITER COMPANY has been incorporated in Jersey City with a capital stock of $50,000. The incorporators are: Thomas S. Witherbee, Albert E. Milliken, Mervyn A. Rice, Thomas Mullally."
• March 1904 The Trow Copartnership and Corporation Directory of the City of New York lists "Witherbee Igniter Co. (N.J.) (Thomas S. Witherbee, Pres.; Merwyn Ap Rice, Sec. Capital, $50,000. Directories: Thomas S. Witherbee, Merwyn Ap Rice, Thornwall Mullaley, A. E. Milliken) 27 Thames".
• 1904-05-04 The Horseless Age.

  A judgment for $58.46 has been recorded against Thomas S. Witherbee, president of the Witherbee Igniter Company, of 27 Thames street, New York city, and execution has been issued.

• 1905-05-25 Automobile Review.

  A surprising increase of business is noted in the usually heavy trade of the Witherbee Igniter Company, 27 Thames street, new York. The concern is now supplying over twenty of the leading automobile manufacturers with batteries for certain grades of their cars. These batteries were used by Mr. Wridgway in his recent record race. It is also said that the Pope Motor Car Company will use these batteries on the three cars which that company will enter in the Gordon Bennett race. Many of the Vanderbilt cup racers are also equipped with these batteries.

• 1905-06-14 The Horseless Age has an article on recent improvements to batteries and igniters from Witherbee Igniter Co., including the new No. 56 F, which was designed for use on Franklin, Rambler and Union cars with a long and flat battery compartment. A battery vent plug is described and illustrated.
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Horseless_Age/YJ78SmNe8HEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Witherbee+Igniter%22&pg=RA2-PA659&printsec=frontcover
• 1905-06-15 Motor Age.

  The Witherbee Igniter—The Witherbee storage battery igniter, manufactured by the Witherbee Igniter Co., of New York, is intended for supplying current for make-and-break, jump spark or wipe spark ignition. The jar or carrying case is one piece of vulcanite divided into compartments, forming cells, and the cover is bolted to the jar with a soft gum rubber, forming an acid proof gasket between the cover and the jar. This gasket forms an acid tight connection with the terminals. The gas ventilating cup is small and devised so that gases are emitted without leaking of the acid or evaporation of it. All trimmings are of nickel steel and the handles are Bessemer steel, nickel plated.

• July 1906 Modern Machinery.

  Change in Personnel

  It is announced that the Witherbee Igniter Company of 32 Thames street, New York City, has recently undergone several changes in its board of directors and executive officers and is now well prepared, by reasons of its strengthened financial conditions and improved manufacturing facilities, to promptly execute all orders.

  The board of directors is now made up as follows: Thomas S. Witherbee, president; Allmand B. Elliott, vice-president and treasurer, both off New York; Wm. Barrett RRidgely, formerly of Washington, and Albert A. Blow of New York.

  Mr. William H. Reed, formerly treasurer, has severed his connection with the company, and Mr. Allmand B. Elliott, E. E. and M. E., formerly with the General Electric Company, has succeeded him as vice-president, treasurer and electrical engineer.

  The company has organized an engineering department and Mr. H. H. Cooley, formerly of Cooley & Co., electrical contractors, has been appointed manager of contracting and marine lighting.

• 1906-08-01 Automobile Trade Journal.

  The Witherbee Igniter Co., 548 W. 43d st., New York City, has undergone some changes in its management, the Board of Directors now consisting of Thomas S. Witherbee, president, formerly of the General Electric Company; Allmand B. Elliott, vice president and treasurer; Wm. Barett, the Comptroller of U. S. Currency, Washington, D. C., and Albert A. Blow, a consulting mining engineer. In their recently organized engineering department, H. H. Cooley has been appointed manager of contracting and marine lighting.

• 1907-02-25 The Motor Boat.

  WITHERBEE IGNITER CO.—At the annual meeting of the stockholders of the Witherbee Igniter Company, held at the office of the company in New Jersey, January 21, 1907, the following directors were elected: William Barrett Ridgely, Washington, D.C.; Albert A. Blow, New York; Edward Ridgely, New York; Allmand B. Elliott, New York.

  On the following day, January 22, the directors held their annual meeting at the company's factory, 541 West Forty-third street, New York, and elected the following officers for the ensuing year: President, William Barrett Ridgely; vice-president and electrical engineer, Allmand B. Elliott; secretary and treasurer, Alfred S. Watson; general manager, Albert J. Fisk.

  Thos. S. Witherbee, the former president of the company, is not longer connected with it in any way. The company will continue under their present name, the Witherbee Igniter Company, the manufacture of Witherbee batteries and other accessories in the ignition and lighting line.

• 1907-03-16 Automobile Topics Illustrated.

  Witherbee Forms New Battery Company
  Thomas S. Witherbee, who was the organizer of the Witherbee Igniter Co., has severed his connection with that concern, of which he was formerly president, and organized the Witherbee Mfg. Co. The latter concern will include in its product, among other specialties, a new battery which will be styled the Wright-Witherbee storage battery. Headquarters have been established at 433 West Forty-second street, where operations will be conducted for the present.

  It is understood that the company is laying plans for the erection of a large modern factory of solid concrete construction to be located in Detroit, which, when completed, will be their main factory, and which will give them extra facilities for their production. They contemplate having their Detroit plant running about the first of October.

• 1908-06-01 Automobile Trade Journal.

  The “Radio" Ignition Battery
  Thomas S. Witherbee, well known as a designer of efficient ignition apparatus and formerly connected with the Witherbee Igniter Co., is the inventor of the “Radio" storage ignition battery, here illustrated, a product of “Radio" Battery Co., 433 W. 42d street, New York City with which Mr. Witherbee is now associated. This latest product of the genius of Mr. Witherbee is already meeting with favor and we are advised that the “Radio” Company equipped the U. S. Warship fleet now making a world‘tour with batteries for the wireless telegraph system and that the Italian navy is also using the same make of battery for this purpose. The manufacture of “Radio" batteries is under the direct supervision of Mr. Witherbee...

Witherbee Mfg. Co., Inc.—433 W. 42nd St., New York City. Mfrs, dealers and agents; storage batteries, coils, timers, plus, electric motors and generators, automatobile parts, gas engines. Cap. $100,000. Est. March, 1907. Thos S. Witherbee, Pres.; Hary H. Cooley, Treas; John H. Hendrick, Sec.; Thomas S. Witherbee, Gen. Mgr.; H. F. Kenneal, Supt.
Witherbee, Thomas Sutherland.—Gen. Mgr. Radio Battery Co., 433 W. 42d St., New York City. B. Port Henry, Essex Co., New York, Jan. 23rd, 1877. Ed. Port Henry schools and University of Chicago. Pres. Witherbee Mfg. Co., Thomas Battery Co., Mem. N. Y. State Auto Assn., 7th Regiment N. Y. National Guard. Res., New York City; office, 433 W. 42nd St., New York City. In trade since 1889. Organized Witherbee Igniter Co. 1891. Inventor Witherbee igniter, ignition apparatus and automobile. Recreations, automobiling, hunting, fishing and yachting. Used first car 1889.
• 1909 Motor Cyclopædia Yearbook.

  Witherbee Igniter Co.—1876 Broadway, New Yor City. Mfrs. storage batteries, spark plugs, coils, switches, timers, wire, boat electric fittings. Member M. & A. M. Cap. $50,000. Est five years. William Barret Ridgely, Pres.; Alfred S. Watson, Secy. and Treas.; Albert J. Fisk, Gen. Mgr.; F. E. Roth, Supt.; M. F. Maury Werth, Marine Dept.; Thodore Goetz, Sales Dept.; W. W. Robinson, Adv. Mgr.
  

  1910-10-15 New York Times. "THOMAS S. WITHERBEE.—Thomas S. Witherbee, living at 526 West 111th Street, who has been engaged for many years in the manufacture of electrical goods individuals and as general manager of the Witherbee Manufacturing Co., and Thomas Battery Co., at 433 West Forty-second Street. 1912 Broadway, and 51 West Sixty-third Street, has filed a petition in bankruptcy, with liabilities of $7,174, and no assets."

  1919-03-29 Electrical World.H. H. Clark, formerly electrical engineer of the United States Bureau of Mines and during the war a major in the Chemical Warfare Service, has returned to civil life as chief engineer of the Witherbee Igniter Company of Springfield, Mass.

• 1926 lawsuit, Witherbee Igniter Company v. Witherbee Manufacturing Company, involved Witherbee Igniter Co. demanding to renegotiate terms of the injunction contained in the final decree from a 1907 lawsuit. The court ruled against re-opening the injunction, Witherbee Igniter Co. (by then known as Wico Electric Co.) appealed, and again lost (with costs), although the higher court said that the lower court should have rejected the claim for lack of jurisdiction rather than on its merits.
• 1926 book, Western Massachusetts; a history, 1636-1925 (Volume 3), by John H. Lockwood.

  PHELPS BROWN—In reviewing an unusually active and public-spirited life, Phelps Brown must find a decision difficult as to the way in which he has best served the community of Springfield, Massachusetts, in which he lives. He was born in Washington, D. C, October 26, 1882, son of Sevellon A. and Sally (Phelps) Brown. His father has long been in the State Department in Washington, where he is well known for his stability and intelligence.

  Phelps Brown was educated in the public schools of Washington and also graduated from high school there. His college work was completed at Columbian University in Washington. For many years, thereafter, he was employed in the business and editorial departments of papers in various cities, including Washington, Chicago and Milwaukee. With this wide experience and shrewd knowledge of conditions throughout the country, he came to Springfield in March, 1909, for the purpose of developing patents for the Wico Electric Company. He continued in this association until he became vice-president, and, in 1912, general manager. In 1915 he became president of the company, which position he still holds. Under his leadership the company has become an outstanding industry not only of Springfield, but of all New England. The Wico Electric Company, a Massachusetts corporation, manufacturers of electrical specialities, including Wico magnetos and small storage batteries, is the successor of the Witherbee Igniter Company. In the spring of 1909, this company leased quarters at the corner of Birnie Avenue and Arch Street for an experimental shop. An original type of spark generator was developed for use on stationary engines. There were about a dozen people employed in the beginning, which force was gradually increased as the company's new product became a commercial success. In the summer of 1916 a new factory was occupied on Liberty Street, near Chestnut, and finally, in 1922, the company began the erection of its own plant at Phelan Avenue, West Springfield. The first unit contains 50,000 square feet of floor space, where more than two hundred and fifty people are employed.

  Mr. Brown is director of the Union Trust Company, of Springfield. Sometime in the course of his rapid advancement in that city he accepted the position of police commissioner, and the town still talks of the fearless administration he gave and the honesty and straightforwardness with which he attacked undesirable conditions. He is a Republican, and a member of the Colony Club. His religious affiliation is with the South Congregational Church.

  Phelps Brown married, in Washington, D. C, October 24, 1907, Catharine Cullom Ridgely, daughter of William Barrett and Eleanor (Cullom) Ridgely. Mr. and Mrs. Brown are the parents of three children: Eleanor Ridgely, born September 22, 1908; Shelby Cullom, born May 10, 191 0; and Ridgely Phelps, born April 4, 1912.

• 1947 Engineering News Record, Vol. 138 p. 160.

  Back in 1897 the type of spark-ignited internal combustion engine we all take for granted today was no more than a gleam in the eye of enthusiasts. There were automobiles, of course, and tractors and portable power units of a sort, but they were clumsy and unreliable by present standards. That was when the inventor of the first portable storage battery, Thomas Witherbee, set up shop in New York. What he made was called an "igniter" and it was, strangely enough, the lineal ancestor of today's best known batteryless ignition unit. In 1904 he formed the Witherbee Igniter Company and when he made a piece of equipment that developed the necessary spark without a battery it also was called a Witherbee Igniter. This electric igniter used an entirely different ignition method, and it could produce a strong, hot spark regardless of engine speed.

  For years standard equipment on most cars and other internal combustion engines was a WICO magneto—the trade mark was taken from the initials of the original company. The business was moved to Massachusetts in 1909 and when it was reincorporated in 1920 it became the Wico Electric Company, following the trade mark. Today WICO is the world's largest producer of magnetos exclusively, supplying many of America's largest manufacturers of farm implements, contractors' equipment, outboard motors, and large and small power units of all kinds. A well trained staff of field engineers and more than a thousand authorized service stations throughout America will sell to and serve the ultimate users of these economical, reliable magnetos. Wico Electric Company, West Springfield, Massachusetts.

• Smithsonian Institution catalog entry for a Trade catalogs from Globe-Union, Inc. notes, "in 1968 Sears, Roebuck introduced the DieHard® Battery made by Globe-Union." also noted is relations to "Centralab; Globe-Union Mfg Co.; Union Battery Co. (IL); Johnson Service Co.; Johnson Controls, Inc.;"
• More history and machine information can be found at Wipac's website.