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Thomas Shriver & Co.
| Name | Thomas Shriver & Co. |
| Ortssitz | New York City |
| Art des Unternehmens | Erfinder |
| Anmerkungen | [B&W] + [Poor]: "T. Shriver & Co" als Kopierpressenfabrik. |
| Quellenangaben | [Bishop: History of American manufacturers 2 (1868) 591] [Babcock: Dampf, dessen Erzeugung und Verwendung (1893) 144] [Poor's Manual of Railroads 22 (1889) 248]: Anzeige |
| Hinweise | [Poor's Manual of Railroads 22 (1889) 248]: Anzeige mit Kopierpresse |
| Zeit |
Ereignis |
| 02.09.1789 |
Geburt von Thomas Shriver bei Westminster, Staate Maryland |
| 1819 |
Erfindung der Ellipsenfeder für Wagen |
| 1834 |
Erfindung einer Bremse für Kutschen |
| Produkt |
ab |
Bem. |
bis |
Bem. |
Kommentar |
| Kopierpressen |
1889 |
Anzeige |
1889 |
Anzeige |
|
| Zeit |
Objekt |
Anz. |
Betriebsteil |
Hersteller |
Kennwert |
Wert |
[...] |
Beschreibung |
Verwendung |
| ab April 1882 |
Dampfkessel |
1 |
|
Babcock & Wilcox Co. |
Heizfläche |
48 |
qm |
Wasserrohrkessel |
|
| ZEIT | 1868 |
| THEMA | Firmenbeschreibung |
| TEXT | Is a man of remarkably fertile and original mind, and an excellent representative of the ingenious men of a former generation, whose pioneer enterprises first developed that mechanical greatness which has made the United States the wonder of the world. He was born September 2d, 1789, near Westminster, in the State of Maryland, and is a descendant of a family of ingenious and self-reliant men. His father's brothers were probably the first manufacturers in this country of reaping sickles and steel-yards for weighing, and during the Revolutionary War they produced very good gun-barrels with very inadequate and primitive machinery. These barrels were forged octa-gonally in a blacksmith's shop, their straightness being ascertained by applying a common bowstring along their length, and their accuracy was tested by one person holding the barrel while another fired it off with a firebrand. One of his uncles was for many years presiding judge of Frederick county, and honestly accumulated a quarter of a million of dollars with no other resources than a small farm of fourteen acres, and his salary of $1200 a year. He understood practically the wonderful accumulative power of interest, and always invested his salary and profits as soon as he received them, and sometimes anticipated their receipt by borrowing for investment. His grandfather invented a wooden compass, and with it surveyed the greater part of Frederick county. Young Shriver's educational advantages were limited to such as were afforded in a country school, presided over by an Irish schoolmaster, with no other books than the New England Primer, Dillworth's Speller, and the New Testament. He early became acquainted with the art and mystery of surveying lands, and was employed in this pursuit before he had attained his majority. At a later period he was employed by William Freeman, President of the Susqnehanna Bank, to survey the route of a railroad between Baltimore and Philadelphia, with the aid of his youngest brother, and in accord- ance with their surveys and report, the present Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad was constructed. The bridges, resting on piles in water seventy-five feet deep, across the arms of the Chesapeake Bay, which are a peculiar feature of this road, were adopted upon his recommendation made after a visit to Boston, where such bridges had been tested, and their durability established. After he had attained his majority, he embarked in mercantile pursuits, and while so engaged at Sandy Mount in Maryland, about the year 1819, he invented the Elliptic Spring for wagons, which has attained universal popularity not only in this country, but in Europe. Whether he was the first person who hit upon the idea of constructing springs in this now well known form we cannot say, but it is quite certain that he is entitled to all the honors due to the original inventor, for at that time such springs were not in use in Maryland, and he had never heard of their invention. He, however, neglected to apply for a patent, and we believe, of all his various improvements and ingenious adaptations having reference particularly to the construction of vehicles, none were patented except the peculiar form of coach spring known as the "Indian Bow Spring." This, unlike the Elliptic, was made of wood, and is especially adapted to farm purposes, possessing the peculiar merit of relieving any one of the wheels of a wagon in overcoming an obstruction. Before he was of age, Mr. Shriver invented a Tape and subsequently a Fringe Loom, and used the latter during the war of 1812, when commanding a Rifle volunteer corps, in weaving fringe to ornament the hunting shirts which were the principal uniform of the militia of that time. About 1834, he originated "the Brake" or Retarder, which was first applied to stage coaches in crossing the Allegheny Mountains, and is now in use on locomotives, cars, and nearly every vehicle requiring a governing power. He also designed a peculiar application of it for the control of coaches in descending mountains when the road-bed is covered with ice. It consisted of a joint attachment lever with two steel cutters fastened to its end and under the axles, so that, by the hand or foot, it was brought firmly in contact with ice on the road, which not only retarded the coach, but prevented its sliding sideways, an important consideration. Mr. Shriver is also the inventor of the Transom plates as a substitute for the king or coupling bolt, which are used generally on railways to facilitate turning curves; and also, of an improved Thorough Leather Brace, on which stage coach bodies are suspended. In 1840, during the Harrison campaign, he designed the great Whig Ball, sixteen feet in diameter, covered with original mottoes, and scraps of poetry, which constituted such a conspicuous feature in the political processions of that and succeeding campaigns. The doggerels, "With heart and soul, this ball we roll," and "The rolling ball is gathering still, still gathering as it rolls," which are yet quoted, and serve a purpose in the political newspapers of the present day, had their origin at that time. Mr. Shriver, it is probable, has never given full scope to the natural capacity and power which he possesses for originating new devices. He belongs to that class of ingenious men who are greater than their works. His fame, therefore, is circumscribed, as his love of enterprise found vent in fields less original, though perhaps not less important to the material weal. When yet a young man, he contracted to build a short McAdamised Road out of Baltimore, known as the Franklin Road, and while thus engaged, he effected a most important reform in the morals incident to road construction. At that time two railroads were being constructed out of Baltimore, and it was supposed that it was not possible to procure the requisite number of laborers without the free distribution of intoxicating liquors. To such an extent had the practice been carried, through rivalry, that as many as thirty-three half gills, called "jiggers," were given in a day, and "whiskey bosses" were employed for no other purpose than to carry around liquor to the men. Irishmen, soliciting employment, were accustomed to inquire the number of jiggers given a day, and in their anxiety to get information on this point, forgot to ask the rate of wages. The result was intoxication, serious brawls, and riotous conduct. Mr. Shriver, though he required a large number of men, determined not to sanction the custom; and by giving increased wages, secured the temperate and best men, and so effectually demonstrated the practicability of dispensing with liquor that its distribution was soon discontinued by the other contractors. During this time he also made experiments in economy of living, and ascertained by practical test that it was possible to maintain health and strength on food, of which the original cost did not exceed six and a quarter cents per day. For six months he lived in this economical manner, and the knowledge he thus acquired he subsequently applied on a large scale for the benefit of the industrious poor. He purchased thirty-one acres of land adjacent to the city of Cumberland, which he divided into lots and disposed of at a nominal price to those of the poor who would agree so to economise in their expenses of living, that each could erect a dwelling; and there is now on this land a small colony of freeholders who own the houses which they erected from their savings, though the average earnings of many of them did not exceed a dollar and a quarter per day. His enterprise at Franklin proving financially disastrous, in consequence of the failure of the company, he removed to Cumberland, which for many years was his home, and of which he was the first Mayor. While here, in association with an uncle, he superintended the construction of the Great National Road across the Alleghenies, an enterprise that had a most important influence in developing the resources of the West. Every stone comprising this immense road-bed, one hundred and thirty-six miles long, sixty feet wide, and eighteen inches deep, was broken by men having no other tool than a small hammer. After the completion of this undertaking, gigantic for the times, Mr. Shriver was appointed by the United States Government its Superintendent, a position that he held for six years. In the meanwhile he had become interested in some stage lines, and after the completion of the great road, he in association with his son-in-law and two other gentlemen, established lines for the West which developed into the "Good Intent Line." a name familiar to all travellers over the Mountains previous to the commotion of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Subsequently he became interested in stage routes through the South, and from Philadelphia to Pitts-burg, and for many years was one of the great stage proprietors of the United States. Many curious incidents of this period might be recorded if space allowed. At one time, during a fierce competition, passengers were carried between the Ohio river and Cumberland not only without charge, but were paid for patronizing the line. The business, however, was in the main very profitable until the gradual advent of railroads finally extinguished it. Mr. Shriver's last important enterprise in the Allegheny region was the construction of the plank road from Cumberland to slackwater navigation on the Ohio River. He devoted three years to this undertaking without charging the Company any thing for his services, and prosecuted the work with such diligence and pertinacity that during the period he did not visit his family more than half a dozen times. The trees were felled in the forests along the line of the road, three portable saw-mills were run day and night, and over three hundred feet of hard oak wood were sawed into planks every minute. After the completion of this road he removed to Philadelphia, where he became proprietor of one of the prominent omnibus lines until the construction of street railways superseded that once popular method of conveyance. He then removed to New York, and, in association with his son, Walter Shriver, established a foundry for the production of fine castings, especially piano forte plates. Here, though advanced in years and possessed of a considerable fortune, he devotes himself to the business with the energy and enthusiasm, if not the vigor of youth. During his residence in New York he also devoted much time in efforts to induce the construction of a railway between Chainbersburgh and the Connellsville railroad, crossing the Alle-ghenies at a gap which General Washington pronounced was the only practicable route for a road at a low grade, and which, when completed, would open up a new avenue to the West some sixty miles shorter than any other, and constitute a part of a great railway to the Pacific. He prepared a map of grades, distances, etc., of the whole route, which was on exhibition in New York. Mr. Shriver's life covers almost the entire period of our national growth since the adoption of the Constitution, and both by his example and his works, he has left an impress upon the age in which he has lived. Possessing remarkable conversational powers, abounding in reminiscences and anecdotes, he is a living exemplar and representative of the high-toned gentleman of a former generation. When the City of Cumberland was incorporated, he was chosen its first Mayor - an office to which he was successively elected during his entire residence there. His position brought him into contact with many of the leading men of the day, and he had the good fortune to obtain the friendship of General Lafayette during his last triumphal visit to the United States. He has educated a family of eight children, all of whom are performing their part in their various spheres, creditably to their parentage and honorably to themselves. |
| QUELLE | [Bishop: History of American manufacturers 2 (1868) 591] |
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