In 1883 mechanical engineer James Arthur Gilkerson (1859-1909) built a new machine shop and small foundry in Homer, NY, to manufacture tools and machinery of his own design, as well as offering design engineering services. The consultant part of the business operated as J. A. Gilkerson and the manufacturing business was Gilkerson Machine Works. Products included a patent screw-slotting machine, a patent planer chuck (vise) in nine sizes, a bolt cutter, and, beginning in 1888, an early hollow-chisel mortiser. The screw-slotting machine was patented in 1881, with co-inventors James. A. Gilkerson and Jesse Vandenburgh of Cortland, NY. The planer chuck was patented in 1885 by Julian A. Giles of Cortland; Gilkerson was a witness on the patent.

In 1888 it was announced that Cook & Dinsmore succeeded the Gilkerson Machine Works. Apparently the correct name was Cook & Densmore (consisting of G. H. Cook and George A. Densmore), but it hardly mattered as after the initial announcement the firm disappeared within a few months without leaving behind a single article or advertisement that we could find.

An 1889 directory listing includes Gilkerson Machine Works, operated by J. A. Gilkerson and George J. Miller, but that listing may be showing information pre-dating the Cook & Densmore takeover. In 1890 the Gilkerson Machine Co. seems to have taken over the business of the ill-fated Cook & Densmore and was manufacturing the Gilkerson hollow-chisel mortising machine and the planer vises. In 1891 Gilkerson announced the imminent introduction of a "small high speed engine". We have found no evidence that this ever happened. In fact, we have found zero mentions of either the man or the business between 1892 and 1894 inclusive, until August 1894 when it was announced that Arthur Gilkerson's machine shop had burned down. This is the last mention of Mr. Gilkerson that we can find until his death in 1909, age 49 or 50.

Information Sources

• 1883-02-10 American Machinist page 9.

  J. A. Gilkerson is building a new machine shop 30x84 feet at Homer, N. Y., for the manufacture of small machinists' tools. He expects to be fitted up and ready to start by April 1. A new bolt cutter and a new screw slotting machine will be among the specialties.

• 1883-05-12 American Machinist page 9.

  J. A. Gilkerson's new machine shop at Homer, N. Y., has been started up. The main building 30x84 feet; engine-house, 16x24 feet; and blacksmith shop, 12x12 feet. The production will be special machinery, steam pumps, hand and power drills, Gilkerson's Automatic Screw Slotting Machines, and special tools.

• 1885-11-14 American Machinist page 7 has an illustrated article on Gilkerson's Planer Vise from Gilkerson Machine Works, Homer, N. Y. The vise was made in nine sizes from 4 to 24 inches width of jaw.
• 1888 Manning's Cortland, Homer and McGraw (Cortland County, New York) Directory, page 51, in the directory for Homer: "Cook & Densmore, (G H Cook & Geo. A. Densmore), tools, special machines". On page 96 In the directory for Cortland is "Gilkerson J. A., machinist, h S Main".
• 1888-04-01 The Hub, page 50.

  Cook & Dinsmore succeeded the Gilkerson Machine Works of Homer, N. Y., in October last, and now occupy the same stand and continue the manufacture of mortising and other machines for carriage-makers' use.

• 1889 Cortland County Directory, in the section for Homer, N. Y., lists "Gilkerson James A. (Gilkerson Machine Co.) h S. Main" and "Gilkerson Machine Co. (J. A. Gilkerson & George J. Miller) iron founders and machinists Cortland".
• 1889 Transactions of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, volume XI, page xliv, in a list of members and their date of joining, includes "May 31, 1887—Gilkerson, James A.—Gilkerson Mach. Works, Homer, Cortland Co., N. Y."
• Mary 1890 The Wood-Worker, page 15.

  Hollow-Chisel Mortising Machine.—The hollow-chisel mortising machine made by the Gilkerson Machine Co., Homer, N. Y., is specially adapted for work requiring a large number of mortises which must be perfectly interchangeable. It lays out its own work and makes the mortises in about the same time usually consumed by the laying out of work by old-style machines. Read the advertisement on page 30.

• July 1890 The Wood-Worker page 14, illustrated article on the Gilkerson hollow-chisel mortiser.
• 1891-01-08 American Machinist page 5.

  The Gilkerson Machine Company (Special Machinery), Homer, N. Y., write us:

  Our business for the past year shows a marked improvement over any year since we started in eight years ago. Our planer vise seems to be taking in all parts of the country, and we are not able to get much of a stock ahead. We have put in a new engine this patent summer and intend to put in some machine tools and special machines for the manufacture of a small high speed engine about the first of March.

• February 1891 The Wood-Worker, bottom of front page is a small text ad: "J. A. Gilkerson, Homer, N. Y. Mechanical Engineer. Special attention to the Designing of Machinery for all purposes. Try him and be convinced."
• March 1891 The Wood-Worker has an ad from Gilkerson Machine Co., Homer, N.Y., manufacturers of special machinery including a hollow-chisel mortising machine.
• 1891-05-14 American Machinist, page 9. "The Gilkerson Machine Company, Homer, N. Y., has recently filled an order for planer chucks for Russia."
• 1891-07-04 The Age of Steel, small ad for "Planer Vises. The Gilkerson Machine Co., Homer, N. Y." The same ad appeared until at least December 1891.
• A search for information on "Cook & Dinsmore" failed to turn up a single mention other than a couple of versions of the same press release as quoted above. However, we found references to "Cook & Densmore". E.g., from Manning's Cortland, Homer and McGraw (Cortland County, New York) Directory, page 51: "Cook & Densmore, (G H Cook & Geo. A. Densmore), tools, special machines".
• 1894-08-30 The Iron Age.

  Arthur Gilkerson's machine shop, at Homer, N. Y., has been burned, entailing a loss of $8000.

  Arthur is J. A. Gilkerson's middle name; he did not have any relatives named Arthur and it is plausible that, given that he shared his first name with his father, he went by his middle name.
• A couple of genealogy websites give us the name James Gilkerson, born 1825 in Cumberland, England and died 1881 in Homer, NY. His son was our J. A. Gilkerson: James Arthur Gilkerson 1859-1909. He was born in Homer, Cortland County, NY. Married Alice L. Emmons (1860-1903). Son James Curtis Gilkerson 1887-1963, daughter Isabella Abigail Gilkerson (1891-1959). We do not have access to the for-pay genealogy websites; if you can provide more information on James Arthur Gilkerson, please contact us.
• An exhaustive patent search turned up exactly two patents, one for the planer chuck and the other for the screw-slotting machine. We are confident that no other patents, US or otherwise, mention Mr. Gilkerson or his companies. It is of course possible that he licensed other patents after they were issued.