In 1845, industrialist and inventor Peter Cooper obtained the first patent for the effective manufacture of gelatin from animal bones. Gelatin itself was discovered much earlier by a French researcher in the 17th century who created it as a by-product of boiling animal bones. The gelatinous substance that separates from the bones is pure protein, and has thousands of uses in the food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and photography industries to this day. Cooper patented its manufacture, he but did little to commercialize it, mostly packaging it for sales to cooks, but there was little interest. Cooper was known more his invention of the Tom Thumb locomotive engine and other heavy machines and eventually formed the B&O Railroad.
In 1897, Pearle B. Wait, a carpenter in LeRoy, was putting up a cough remedy and laxative tea in his home. He bought the formula for "gelatine" manufacture from Cooper and experimented in the kitchen to perfect a fruit flavored dessert, which his wife, May, named Jell-O. The first flavors were: strawberry, raspberry, orange and lemon. He tried to market his product but he lacked the capital and the experience. In 1899 he sold his formula to Orator Frank Woodward, a fellow townsman that he had done carpentry for, for the sum of $450.
Woodward already had some success in manufacturing and selling. He was one of the best known manufacturers of proprietary medicines. He was born in North Bergen in 1856 and moved with his family to LeRoy in 1860. Life was not easy for the boy, but no job was too menial for him, because in his mind every opportunity was a step toward his goal.
On September 9, 1899 Woodward purchased the name and the business of Jell-O from Wait. This eventually became a widely known and used product in the United States and Canada. At first, sales were slow and disheartening for the new product, but income from Grain-O, a roasted cereal beverage used as a coffee substitute, remained steady. One day Woodward almost sold the whole food business to a colleague for $35, however, he persevered. In 1900, the Jell-O name was first used by the Genesee Pure Food Company that was largely developed by Orator's wife, Cora Talmage Woodward, due to Orator's illness and death in 1906. The advertising campaign proved so successful that in 1902 Jell-O sales mounted to $250,000. Jell-O and the Woodward family prospered and eventually constructed the most elaborate mausoleum in the Machpelah cemetery in LeRoy.
Pearle and May have very inauspicious graves at the opposite end of the same cemetery, but it is a tribute that they recognized the potential of gelatin dessert and took the initiative to develop it. If it were not for their vision, Jello deserts may never have become a product.
In 1897, Pearle B. Wait, a carpenter in LeRoy, was putting up a cough remedy and laxative tea in his home. He bought the formula for "gelatine" manufacture from Cooper and experimented in the kitchen to perfect a fruit flavored dessert, which his wife, May, named Jell-O. The first flavors were: strawberry, raspberry, orange and lemon. He tried to market his product but he lacked the capital and the experience. In 1899 he sold his formula to Orator Frank Woodward, a fellow townsman that he had done carpentry for, for the sum of $450.
Woodward already had some success in manufacturing and selling. He was one of the best known manufacturers of proprietary medicines. He was born in North Bergen in 1856 and moved with his family to LeRoy in 1860. Life was not easy for the boy, but no job was too menial for him, because in his mind every opportunity was a step toward his goal.
On September 9, 1899 Woodward purchased the name and the business of Jell-O from Wait. This eventually became a widely known and used product in the United States and Canada. At first, sales were slow and disheartening for the new product, but income from Grain-O, a roasted cereal beverage used as a coffee substitute, remained steady. One day Woodward almost sold the whole food business to a colleague for $35, however, he persevered. In 1900, the Jell-O name was first used by the Genesee Pure Food Company that was largely developed by Orator's wife, Cora Talmage Woodward, due to Orator's illness and death in 1906. The advertising campaign proved so successful that in 1902 Jell-O sales mounted to $250,000. Jell-O and the Woodward family prospered and eventually constructed the most elaborate mausoleum in the Machpelah cemetery in LeRoy.
Pearle and May have very inauspicious graves at the opposite end of the same cemetery, but it is a tribute that they recognized the potential of gelatin dessert and took the initiative to develop it. If it were not for their vision, Jello deserts may never have become a product.
In 1845, industrialist and inventor Peter Cooper obtained the first patent for the effective manufacture of gelatin from animal bones. Gelatin itself was discovered much earlier by a French researcher in the 17th century who created it as a by-product of boiling animal bones. The gelatinous substance that separates from the bones is pure protein, and has thousands of uses in the food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and photography industries to this day. Cooper patented its manufacture, he but did little to commercialize it, mostly packaging it for sales to cooks, but there was little interest. Cooper was known more his invention of the Tom Thumb locomotive engine and other heavy machines and eventually formed the B&O Railroad.
In 1897, Pearle B. Wait, a carpenter in LeRoy, was putting up a cough remedy and laxative tea in his home. He bought the formula for "gelatine" manufacture from Cooper and experimented in the kitchen to perfect a fruit flavored dessert, which his wife, May, named Jell-O. The first flavors were: strawberry, raspberry, orange and lemon. He tried to market his product but he lacked the capital and the experience. In 1899 he sold his formula to Orator Frank Woodward, a fellow townsman that he had done carpentry for, for the sum of $450.
Woodward already had some success in manufacturing and selling. He was one of the best known manufacturers of proprietary medicines. He was born in North Bergen in 1856 and moved with his family to LeRoy in 1860. Life was not easy for the boy, but no job was too menial for him, because in his mind every opportunity was a step toward his goal.
On September 9, 1899 Woodward purchased the name and the business of Jell-O from Wait. This eventually became a widely known and used product in the United States and Canada. At first, sales were slow and disheartening for the new product, but income from Grain-O, a roasted cereal beverage used as a coffee substitute, remained steady. One day Woodward almost sold the whole food business to a colleague for $35, however, he persevered. In 1900, the Jell-O name was first used by the Genesee Pure Food Company that was largely developed by Orator's wife, Cora Talmage Woodward, due to Orator's illness and death in 1906. The advertising campaign proved so successful that in 1902 Jell-O sales mounted to $250,000. Jell-O and the Woodward family prospered and eventually constructed the most elaborate mausoleum in the Machpelah cemetery in LeRoy.
Pearle and May have very inauspicious graves at the opposite end of the same cemetery, but it is a tribute that they recognized the potential of gelatin dessert and took the initiative to develop it. If it were not for their vision, Jello deserts may never have become a product.
In 1897, Pearle B. Wait, a carpenter in LeRoy, was putting up a cough remedy and laxative tea in his home. He bought the formula for "gelatine" manufacture from Cooper and experimented in the kitchen to perfect a fruit flavored dessert, which his wife, May, named Jell-O. The first flavors were: strawberry, raspberry, orange and lemon. He tried to market his product but he lacked the capital and the experience. In 1899 he sold his formula to Orator Frank Woodward, a fellow townsman that he had done carpentry for, for the sum of $450.
Woodward already had some success in manufacturing and selling. He was one of the best known manufacturers of proprietary medicines. He was born in North Bergen in 1856 and moved with his family to LeRoy in 1860. Life was not easy for the boy, but no job was too menial for him, because in his mind every opportunity was a step toward his goal.
On September 9, 1899 Woodward purchased the name and the business of Jell-O from Wait. This eventually became a widely known and used product in the United States and Canada. At first, sales were slow and disheartening for the new product, but income from Grain-O, a roasted cereal beverage used as a coffee substitute, remained steady. One day Woodward almost sold the whole food business to a colleague for $35, however, he persevered. In 1900, the Jell-O name was first used by the Genesee Pure Food Company that was largely developed by Orator's wife, Cora Talmage Woodward, due to Orator's illness and death in 1906. The advertising campaign proved so successful that in 1902 Jell-O sales mounted to $250,000. Jell-O and the Woodward family prospered and eventually constructed the most elaborate mausoleum in the Machpelah cemetery in LeRoy.
Pearle and May have very inauspicious graves at the opposite end of the same cemetery, but it is a tribute that they recognized the potential of gelatin dessert and took the initiative to develop it. If it were not for their vision, Jello deserts may never have become a product.
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