Joseph Winters
Encyclopedia
Joseph Winters was an African-American abolitionist
and inventor
who patented a wagon-mounted fire escape ladder for the city of Chambersburg, PA. in 1878. It is often falsely cited that Winters was the original inventor of the wagon mounted fire escape. Winters' version was patented 29 years after George Huttman and George Kornelio initially introduced the idea in 1849.
He was born in Virginia
to an African-American brickmaker and a Shawnee
Indian mother. He later relocated to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
in 1830. During the time Winters lived in Chambersburg, he was active in the Underground Railroad
.
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
and inventor
Invention
An invention is a novel composition, device, or process. An invention may be derived from a pre-existing model or idea, or it could be independently conceived, in which case it may be a radical breakthrough. In addition, there is cultural invention, which is an innovative set of useful social...
who patented a wagon-mounted fire escape ladder for the city of Chambersburg, PA. in 1878. It is often falsely cited that Winters was the original inventor of the wagon mounted fire escape. Winters' version was patented 29 years after George Huttman and George Kornelio initially introduced the idea in 1849.
He was born in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
to an African-American brickmaker and a Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
Indian mother. He later relocated to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
Chambersburg is a borough in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is miles north of Maryland and the Mason-Dixon line and southwest of Harrisburg in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley. Chambersburg is the county seat of Franklin County...
in 1830. During the time Winters lived in Chambersburg, he was active in the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
.