This is either the first or second in a series of Salem, OH, firms that made woodworking and agricultural machinery.

Levi A. Dole received an 1854 patent for a lathe-chuck for a hub-boring machine. The successor companies claimed, "Since 1854", and it is possible that Dole operated under his own name for a couple of years. By 1856 Dole had partnered with Albert R. Silver and Allen S. Felch to create Dole, Silver & Felch. This firm was in operation for just a couple of years before it became Dole & Silver.

See the entry for Dole, Silver & Deming for a timeline of the inter-related companies of Dole, Silver, Felch, and Deming.

Patent records suggest that this firm made saw gummers (i.e., machines for cutting the gullets between saw teeth), meat choppers, and boring machines.

Information Sources

• Seen on an 1856 patent for a saw gummer. An example of the actual machine was from Silver & Deming; the machine is labeled with the 1856 patent date and "extended", which means that it post-dates the patent's normal expiration of 1870.
• The EAIA's Directory of American Toolmakers lists a hub boring machine from this maker.
• The names of the principals are inferred from patent records. Thanks to Don McConnell for finding the patents and bringing them to our attention.