C. C. Whittelsey was a maker of planers, sawmill machinery, and steam engines. He began in business in the early 1850s. It appears that he operated for a time as Whittelsey, Perkins & Co., but within a few years Whittelsey and Perkins had split, with Whittelsey operating under his own name and as Malone Foundry & Machine Works (Perkins continued on as Perkins Bros.)

Whittelsey's machine designer was Alexander Solomon Walbridge, who was originally from Mystic, Quebec. By 1856 he had moved just across the border to Burlington, Vermont, and by 1861 he had moved to Malone and by 1862 he was foreman of C. C. Whittelsey's shop. In that role, A. S. Walbridge designed and patented a circular sawmill, a steam-engine cutoff device, and a planer-matcher. By 1879 Walbridge had moved back to Mystic where he set up his own shop to manufactured engines and machinery, A. S. Walbridge. He is best remembered in that area for building, in 1882, a twelve-sided barn that is now a Quebec National Landmark.

Information Sources

• 1862-01-18 Scientific American page 40, article on "Walbridge's Portable Steam Engine." A. S. Walbridge was the "foreman of Whittelsy's Foundry and Machine Manufactory at Malone, N. Y." The engine is an upright portable engine.
• 1862-03-15 Scientific American page 161 (front page of the issue). Illustrated article on "Engine with Walbridge's Cut-off", as manufactured by "C. C. Whittelsy of Malone, N. Y."
• 1862-03-29 Scientific American page 193 (front page of the issue). Illustrated article on "Improved Planing Machine" manufactured by C. C. Whittelsey, at Malone, N. Y. The planer was a Woodworth style wood planer with provisions for raising or lowering the bed while running, so as to produce a tapered form. It also has provision for feeding "wet, green or icy boards".
• 1862-04-05 Scientific American page 216. Illustrated article on "Improved Engine Lathe" invented by A. S. Walbridge and manufactured by C. C. Whittelsey, both at Malone, N. Y. One innovation is an integrated cover for the ways of the machine.
• 1862-05-10 Scientific American page 303: text ad.

  C. C. Whittelsey, Foundry and Machine Shop, Malone, N. Y.—Manufacturer of Portable and Stationary Steam Engines, Engine and Hand Lathes, Upright Drills, Bolt Cutters, Double and Single-Acting Force and Lifting Pumps, Large Circular Sawmills, Grist and Sawmill Gearing, Shafting and Pulleys of all sizes, Hangers, with adjustable boxes, Bark Mills, with treble run; also, Boring, Tenoning, Molding, Sticking, Tongueing and Grooving Machines, Daniel & Woodworth Planers, Power and Foot-Mortising Machines, Spoke Lathes, Shingle, Long and Short Clapboard Machines. All kinds of castings made to order.

• 1862-05-17 Scientific American page 305 (front page of the issue). Illustrated article on "Improved Sawmill" patented by A. S. Walbridge and manufactured by C. C. Whittelsey.
• 1864 book A History of American Manufactures From 1608 to 1860, Volume II, page 521 in a listing of important inventions of 1862: "N. S. Wallbridge, his improved Steam Engine, now made by C. C. Whittelsey, of Malone, N. Y. ..." Page 523 in the same section: "C. C. Whittlesey, Malone, N. Y., his improved Universal Wood-cutting Machine".
• 1868 Malone Business Directory, available online at RootsWeb, lists Whittelsey, Perkins & Co. of 40 and 42 Catharine, Malone, NY, as an agricultural implement maker, a foundry and machine shop, and a maker of stoves, tin, and sheet iron ware. Confusingly, there is a listing for a C. C. Whittelsey of 93 Main as a woolen manufacturer. It is most likely that Mr. Whittelsey was behind both ventures.
• 1872-1874 Boyd's New York State Directory lists under Malone, "Whittlesey, C. C., woolen mills, foundry and machine shops; also clothing, stoves, &c. Main [street]."
• 1874 book Wiley's American iron trade manual of the leading iron industries of the United States: "Malone Foundry & Machine Works. C. C. Whittelsey, proprietor. Mowers, saw-mill machinery, machine tools, etc." There is a separate listing for Perkins Bros., an iron foundry and makers of machinery of unspecified type.
• American Steam Engine Builders: 1800-1900 by Kenneth L. Cope, 2006 page 269
• Mr. Whittelsey's surname is ripe for misspelling. We have seen his name rendered C. C. Whittlesey, C. C. Whittelsy, and C. C. Whittlesy. The spelling used here is taken from the one ad we have found, as that seems the most reliable source we have.
• Thanks to Danielle Pigeon for pointing us to the Scientific American articles on C. C. Whittelsey and A. S. Walbridge.