Inventor. Prevented by ill health from working on his family's farm, he instead turned to working with tools. He proved technically adept at an early age, inventing a small harmonica-like instrument as a boy, and in 1839 he served a brief apprenticeship in his brother-in-law's gunsmith shop. By the early 1840's, he had moved to Boston, and while working in a machine shop there he designed a machine that could efficiently cut rattan reeds used in furniture making. Once he had patented his invention, he moved to Fitchburg, Massachusetts and set up a furniture making business, the American Rattan Company, with his bother Joseph. Despite creating a machine that revolutionized the industry, furniture-making held little appeal, and in 1857 he retired from the company. He then turned his hand to munitions development, testing new designs for projectile shells and cannons that were more efficient and aerodynamic than those already in use. The United States Army Ordinance Department adopted some of his designs, and in some other cases used his developments in their own designs, which led to some bitterness and claims of patent infringement. Despite this, it is acknowledged that his inventions provided an advantage to the Union Army during the Civil War. After the war, he left the munitions business but continued working, patenting several watch making tools and a steam generator, among other inventions. Late in life he turned to agriculture, and in the 1890's developed a system for filtering Fitchburg's sewage into fertilizer.
Inventor. Prevented by ill health from working on his family's farm, he instead turned to working with tools. He proved technically adept at an early age, inventing a small harmonica-like instrument as a boy, and in 1839 he served a brief apprenticeship in his brother-in-law's gunsmith shop. By the early 1840's, he had moved to Boston, and while working in a machine shop there he designed a machine that could efficiently cut rattan reeds used in furniture making. Once he had patented his invention, he moved to Fitchburg, Massachusetts and set up a furniture making business, the American Rattan Company, with his bother Joseph. Despite creating a machine that revolutionized the industry, furniture-making held little appeal, and in 1857 he retired from the company. He then turned his hand to munitions development, testing new designs for projectile shells and cannons that were more efficient and aerodynamic than those already in use. The United States Army Ordinance Department adopted some of his designs, and in some other cases used his developments in their own designs, which led to some bitterness and claims of patent infringement. Despite this, it is acknowledged that his inventions provided an advantage to the Union Army during the Civil War. After the war, he left the munitions business but continued working, patenting several watch making tools and a steam generator, among other inventions. Late in life he turned to agriculture, and in the 1890's developed a system for filtering Fitchburg's sewage into fertilizer.
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