Elias Howe
Encyclopedia
Elias Howe, Jr. was an American
inventor and sewing machine
pioneer.
, Massachusetts
. Howe spent his childhood and early adult years in Massachusetts where he apprenticed in a textile factory in Lowell beginning in 1835. After mill closings due to the Panic of 1837
, he moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts
to work as a mechanic with carding
machinery, apprenticing along with his cousin Nathaniel P. Banks. Beginning in 1838, he apprenticed in the shop of Ari Davis, a master mechanic in Cambridge who specialized in the manufacture and repair of chronometers and other precision instruments. It was in the employ of Davis that Howe seized upon the idea of the sewing machine.
He married Elizabeth Jennings Ames, daughter of Simon Ames and Jane B. Ames on 3 Mar 1841 in Cambridge. They had three children: Jane Robinson Howe, Simon Ames Howe, and Julia Maria Howe.
for a sewing machine using a lockstitch
design. His machine contained the three essential features common to most modern machines:
Despite securing his patent, Howe had considerable difficulty finding investors in the United States to finance production of his invention, so his elder brother Amasa Bemis Howe traveled to England in October 1846 to seek financing. Amasa was able to sell his first machine for £250 to William Thomas of Cheapside
, London
, who owned a factory for the manufacture of corsets, umbrellas and valises. Elias and his family joined Amasa in London in 1848, but after business disputes with Thomas and failing health of his wife, Howe returned nearly penniless to the United States. His wife Elizabeth, who preceded Elias back to the United States, died in Cambridge, Massachusetts shortly after his return in 1849.
Despite his efforts to sell his machine, other entrepreneurs began manufacturing sewing machines. Howe was forced to defend his patent in a court case that lasted from 1849 to 1854 because he found that Isaac Singer
with cooperation from Walter Hunt
had perfected a facsimile of his machine and was selling it with the same lockstitch that Howe had invented and patented. He won the dispute and earned considerable royalties
from Singer and others for sales of his invention. Howe contributed much of the money he earned to the equip the 17th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry Regiment of the Union Army during the Civil War, in which Howe served during the Civil War as a private in Company D and regimental postmaster from August 14, 1862, to July 19, 1865.
that was operated by the Stockwell brothers, his brothers-in-law, from 1867 until about 1885. Between 1867 and 1870, Elias's brother Amasa operated a factory in New York City manufacturing sewing machines under the brand name of A.B. Howe. Elias's sewing machine won the gold medal at the Paris Exhibition of 1867, and that same year he was awarded the Légion d'honneur
by Napoleon III for his invention.
Howe died at age 48, on 3 October 1867. He was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery
in Brooklyn New York
with his second wife Rose Halladay who died on 10 Oct 1890. Both Singer and Howe ended their days as multi-millionaires. The Beatles
' 1965 movie Help!
is dedicated to Howe as part of its closing credits, and in 2004 he was inducted into the United States National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Howe was a direct descendant of John Howe (1602-1680) who arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony
in 1630 from Brinklow
, Warwickshire, England and settled in Sudbury, Massachusetts
. Howe was also a descendant of Edmund Rice
another early immigrant to Massachusetts Bay Colony as follows:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
inventor and sewing machine
Sewing machine
A sewing machine is a textile machine used to stitch fabric, cards and other material together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies...
pioneer.
Early life & family
Howe was born on July 9, 1819 to Dr. Elias Howe, Sr. and Polly (Bemis) Howe in SpencerSpencer, Massachusetts
Spencer is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 11,688 at the 2010 census.For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Spencer, please see the article Spencer , Massachusetts....
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. Howe spent his childhood and early adult years in Massachusetts where he apprenticed in a textile factory in Lowell beginning in 1835. After mill closings due to the Panic of 1837
Panic of 1837
The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis or market correction in the United States built on a speculative fever. The end of the Second Bank of the United States had produced a period of runaway inflation, but on May 10, 1837 in New York City, every bank began to accept payment only in specie ,...
, he moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
to work as a mechanic with carding
Carding
Carding is a mechanical process that breaks up locks and unorganised clumps of fibre and then aligns the individual fibres so that they are more or less parallel with each other. The word is derived from the Latin carduus meaning teasel, as dried vegetable teasels were first used to comb the raw wool...
machinery, apprenticing along with his cousin Nathaniel P. Banks. Beginning in 1838, he apprenticed in the shop of Ari Davis, a master mechanic in Cambridge who specialized in the manufacture and repair of chronometers and other precision instruments. It was in the employ of Davis that Howe seized upon the idea of the sewing machine.
He married Elizabeth Jennings Ames, daughter of Simon Ames and Jane B. Ames on 3 Mar 1841 in Cambridge. They had three children: Jane Robinson Howe, Simon Ames Howe, and Julia Maria Howe.
Invention of sewing machine and career
Contrary to popular belief, Howe was not the first to conceive of the idea of a sewing machine. Many other people had formulated the idea of such a machine before him, one as early as 1790, and some had even patented their designs and produced working machines, in one case at least 80 of them. However, Howe originated significant refinements to the design concepts of his predecessors, and on September 10, 1846, he was awarded the first United States patentPatent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
for a sewing machine using a lockstitch
Lockstitch
A lockstitch is the most common mechanical stitch made by a sewing machine. The term "single needle stitching", often found on dress shirt labels, refers to lockstitch.-Structure:...
design. His machine contained the three essential features common to most modern machines:
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- a needle with the eye at the point,
- a shuttle operating beneath the cloth to form the lock stitch, and
- an automatic feed.
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Despite securing his patent, Howe had considerable difficulty finding investors in the United States to finance production of his invention, so his elder brother Amasa Bemis Howe traveled to England in October 1846 to seek financing. Amasa was able to sell his first machine for £250 to William Thomas of Cheapside
Cheapside
Cheapside is a street in the City of London that links Newgate Street with the junction of Queen Victoria Street and Mansion House Street. To the east is Mansion House, the Bank of England, and the major road junction above Bank tube station. To the west is St. Paul's Cathedral, St...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, who owned a factory for the manufacture of corsets, umbrellas and valises. Elias and his family joined Amasa in London in 1848, but after business disputes with Thomas and failing health of his wife, Howe returned nearly penniless to the United States. His wife Elizabeth, who preceded Elias back to the United States, died in Cambridge, Massachusetts shortly after his return in 1849.
Despite his efforts to sell his machine, other entrepreneurs began manufacturing sewing machines. Howe was forced to defend his patent in a court case that lasted from 1849 to 1854 because he found that Isaac Singer
Isaac Singer
Isaac Merritt Singer was an inventor, actor, and entrepreneur. He made important improvements in the design of the sewing machine and was the founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Company...
with cooperation from Walter Hunt
Walter Hunt
Walter Hunt was an American mechanic. He lived and worked in New York state. Through the course of his work he became renowned for being a prolific inventor, notably of the lockstitch sewing machine , safety pin , a forerunner of the Winchester repeating rifle, a successful flax spinner, knife...
had perfected a facsimile of his machine and was selling it with the same lockstitch that Howe had invented and patented. He won the dispute and earned considerable royalties
Royalties
Royalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
from Singer and others for sales of his invention. Howe contributed much of the money he earned to the equip the 17th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry Regiment of the Union Army during the Civil War, in which Howe served during the Civil War as a private in Company D and regimental postmaster from August 14, 1862, to July 19, 1865.
Later life and legacy
In 1865, Elias established the Howe Machine Company of Bridgeport, ConnecticutBridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...
that was operated by the Stockwell brothers, his brothers-in-law, from 1867 until about 1885. Between 1867 and 1870, Elias's brother Amasa operated a factory in New York City manufacturing sewing machines under the brand name of A.B. Howe. Elias's sewing machine won the gold medal at the Paris Exhibition of 1867, and that same year he was awarded the Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
by Napoleon III for his invention.
Howe died at age 48, on 3 October 1867. He was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery was founded in 1838 as a rural cemetery in Brooklyn, Kings County , New York. It was granted National Historic Landmark status in 2006 by the U.S. Department of the Interior.-History:...
in Brooklyn New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
with his second wife Rose Halladay who died on 10 Oct 1890. Both Singer and Howe ended their days as multi-millionaires. The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' 1965 movie Help!
Help! (film)
Help! is a 1965 film directed by Richard Lester, starring The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—and featuring Leo McKern, Eleanor Bron, Victor Spinetti, John Bluthal, Roy Kinnear and Patrick Cargill. Help! was the second feature film made by the Beatles and is a...
is dedicated to Howe as part of its closing credits, and in 2004 he was inducted into the United States National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Genealogy
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
in 1630 from Brinklow
Brinklow
Brinklow is a village and parish in the Rugby district of Warwickshire, England. It is about halfway between Rugby and Coventry, and has a population of 1,041 ....
, Warwickshire, England and settled in Sudbury, Massachusetts
Sudbury, Massachusetts
Sudbury is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, population 17,659. The town was incorporated in 1639, with the original boundaries including what is now Wayland. Wayland split from Sudbury in 1780. When first incorporated, it included and parts of Framingham, Marlborough, Stow...
. Howe was also a descendant of Edmund Rice
Edmund Rice (1638)
Edmund Rice , was an early immigrant to Massachusetts Bay Colony who was born in Suffolk, England, and lived in Stanstead, Suffolk and Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire prior to sailing with his family to America. He arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in summer or fall of 1638, presumed to be first...
another early immigrant to Massachusetts Bay Colony as follows:
- Elias Howe, Jr, son of
- Elias Howe (1792 – ?), son of
- Elijah Howe, Jr. (1768 – 1816), son of
- Elijah Howe (1731 – 1808), son of
- Jaazaniah Howe (1704 – 1762), son of
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- Deliverance Rice (1681 – 1723), daughter of
- John Rice (1659 – 1719), son of
- Deacon Edward Rice (1622 – 1712), son of
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- Deacon Edmund RiceEdmund Rice (1638)Edmund Rice , was an early immigrant to Massachusetts Bay Colony who was born in Suffolk, England, and lived in Stanstead, Suffolk and Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire prior to sailing with his family to America. He arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in summer or fall of 1638, presumed to be first...
(1594 – 1663)
- Deacon Edmund Rice
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