Resource Type

Ant Trap. (open access)

Ant Trap.

Patent for a new and improved ant trap. This design consists "[i]n a device for catching ants, the combination, with an open frame, of the end piece or trough, having a concave bottom and overturned edges" (lines 84-87).
Date: March 29, 1887
Creator: Haines, Samuel Alfred
System: The Portal to Texas History
Animal Trap. (open access)

Animal Trap.

Patent for a new and improved animal-trap. This design consists in "the combination, with the frame, of the spear fitted to slide therein and provided with a notched shank, spring for forcing the spear down, and the trigger pivoted to the frame and provided with a forked plate at its lower end, and with a toe for engaging the notch of the shank of the spear" (lines 8-15).
Date: November 29, 1887
Creator: Wood, Evans
System: The Portal to Texas History
Barrel Cover. (open access)

Barrel Cover.

Patent for a new and improved cover for barrels. This design calls for downward-extending flanges with wings along the perimeter of the cover. These flanges hold the cover in place over the barrel opening, but they also allow for the cover to rest at an angle on the upper rim of the barrel so that one has access to the contents of the barrel without the cover touching the ground.
Date: May 29, 1883
Creator: Lane, Fernando Gustavous
System: The Portal to Texas History
Method of Marking the Keys of Key-Boards for Musical Instruments (open access)

Method of Marking the Keys of Key-Boards for Musical Instruments

Patent for "a system of musical notation in which the several notes or note-symbols are shaped so as to approximate in appearance the shape of the letters from which they derive their appellations" (lines 37-41) especially in relation to piano-fortes, organs, and keyed instruments and in teaching music, including instructions and illustrations.
Date: June 29, 1880
Creator: Black, Jane B. D.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Ink Fountain for Printing Machines. (open access)

Ink Fountain for Printing Machines.

Patent for a new and improved ink fountain for printing machines. This design consists in "[t]he combination of the shell-shaped frame having an inclined bottom, a hole in the lower part of the front end wall, and a socket provided with a thumb-screw, a vertical arm passing through the said socket and provided with a clamp at its lower end, a roller for distributing ink, journaled at the front of the shell and vertically adjustable therewith, and the removable reservoir having a gate, an inclined bottom, and an opening corresponding with the hole in the shell" (lines 17-27).
Date: September 29, 1885
Creator: Bomar, Thomas E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Machine for Cutting Basket Splints. (open access)

Machine for Cutting Basket Splints.

Patent for a new machine for cutting basket splints. This design is for a large ring with grooves of varying depths to receive pieces of timber, whereupon a horse pulls a knife-tipped sweep along the perimeter of the ring, gradually turning the timber into splints for baskets. The machine can be conveniently disassembled and stored when not in use, and it is simple and easy enough for a unskilled laborer to assemble.
Date: March 29, 1881
Creator: Crow, Thomas
System: The Portal to Texas History
Machine for Welding Tubes. (open access)

Machine for Welding Tubes.

Patent for a new and improved machine for welding tubes. This design "has relation to machines for welding flues; and it consists in the improved construction and combination of operative parts" (lines 22-25).
Date: August 29, 1882
Creator: Charlton, James
System: The Portal to Texas History
Windmill. (open access)

Windmill.

Patent for improvements to windmills.
Date: April 29, 1884
Creator: Witherspoon, Frank
System: The Portal to Texas History
Weather Board Gage. (open access)

Weather Board Gage.

Patent for a new and improved weather-board gauge. This design consists in "[t]he combination of the flat bar having its upper end bent at a right angle, and having the outer end of the said bent end bent upward, and provided with a screw-threaded perforation in its lower portion, the sliding block having a slot near one end, an upwardly-projecting tapering plate at its other end, and having a set-screw entering the slot, and the screw turning in the perforation in the lower portion of the bar, and having its inner end reduced and pointed" (lines 67-77).
Date: July 29, 1884
Creator: Stacey, Edward D. & Vance, William K.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Wire Stretcher. (open access)

Wire Stretcher.

Patent for a new and improved wire-stretcher. This design "has relation to that class of wire-stretchers in which a drum is journaled in a frame and is provided with a ratchet-wheel at one end, and in which a lever is pivoted in the frame, which engages the ratchet-wheel, serving to revolve it, and a pawl engages the ratchet-wheel, so as to prevent it from revolving backward, the frame being provided with a wire-clamp, and a rope or chain upon the drum being also provided with a wire-clamp, so that by revolving the drum one end of the wire may be drawn toward the end of another wire" (lines 25-37).
Date: June 29, 1886
Creator: Menefee, Stephen Austin & Mullinax, Eli Stephens
System: The Portal to Texas History
Wash Boiler. (open access)

Wash Boiler.

Patent for a new and improved wash-boiler. This design "consists in, first, the combination of the boiler and revolving drum placed therein, with the steam-generator secured to the bottom of the boiler, and a steam motor or engine for revolving the drum; second, the combination of the boiler, a revolving-drum placed therein, and the steam-generator with a tank for clear water, and a suitable chamber and valves for connecting the tank and generator together" (lines 13-22).
Date: September 29, 1885
Creator: Wilson, Homer T.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Stalk Cutter. (open access)

Stalk Cutter.

Patent for a new and improved stalk cutter. This design "consists in the construction and combination of parts . . . [of] that class of machines for cutting cotton and other stalks, consisting, essentially, of parallel runners or beams carrying outwardly-projecting knives, which serve to cut the stalks as the machine is drawn over the ground" (lines 15-22).
Date: November 29, 1881
Creator: Bolliver, William S.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Stamping or Dating Machine (open access)

Stamping or Dating Machine

Patent for new and useful improvements to printing or stamping machines.
Date: October 29, 1889
Creator: Spivey, Edward Franklin & Spivey, George Washington
System: The Portal to Texas History
Medical Compound. (open access)

Medical Compound.

Patent for medical compound that consists of whisky, gum-guaiacum, bromide of potassium that can be used for curing Rheumatism and Neuralgia.
Date: November 29, 1881
Creator: Eaves, William Hadsil
System: The Portal to Texas History
Tongs. (open access)

Tongs.

Patent for new and improved tongs. This design "relates to certain devices for preventing the legs of tongs from twisting, overlapping, or becoming cross-legged. This is a common fault in almost all tongs when the joint wears a little loose, and is entirely overcome and prevented by [this] invention" (lines 19-24).
Date: April 29, 1884
Creator: Wood, William E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Measuring Wheel. (open access)

Measuring Wheel.

Patent for a new and improved measuring-wheel. This design "relates to the construction of an instrument whereby lineal measurements may be taken and automatically registered where the distance is greater than the circumference of the measuring-wheel. The invention consists of a graduated wheel in the slot of a bifurcated handle, and of an automatic registering attachment" (lines 7-14).
Date: June 29, 1886
Creator: McCaleb, John L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Spark-Arrester. (open access)

Spark-Arrester.

Patent for an improvement to spark-arresters, which deflect sparks and cinders released by locomotive engines. Includes illustrations.
Date: June 29, 1886
Creator: McCormick, John Robert
System: The Portal to Texas History
Time-Signal for Telephones (open access)

Time-Signal for Telephones

Patent for standard time-signaling instruments and consists of "an instrument for and a manner of signaling standard time through an entire system or systems of telephones."(lines 10-14) including instructions and illustrations.
Date: May 29, 1882
Creator: Oram, John M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Washing Compound. (open access)

Washing Compound.

Patent for "detergent or washing compounds for cleansing clothing, fabrics, &c." (lines 14-16) which lists the ingredients and their measurements and directions for use.
Date: May 29, 1883
Creator: Davis, Jordan Greene; Davis, Epaminondas Perkins & Davis, David Watson
System: The Portal to Texas History
Telephone Call Box. (open access)

Telephone Call Box.

Patent for reduction of movements in an improved telephone call box with illustrations.
Date: January 29, 1884
Creator: Oram, John M.; Sutton, Henry M. & Garrett, Henry
System: The Portal to Texas History
Steam Heated Evaporator. (open access)

Steam Heated Evaporator.

Patent for a new and improved steam-heated evaporator. This design consists in "[t]he combination of the receptacle, the chest inclosing the receptacle, the coil surrounding the chest, the vat containing the chest and coil, the pipe having branches communicating, respectively, with chest and coil, and cocks, for controlling the passage of steam to the chest and coil, and the pipe for condensing the vapor from the receptacle" (lines 60-68).
Date: January 29, 1884
Creator: Turner, Robert W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Motor. (open access)

Motor.

Patent for a motor for vertically-reciprocating dasher-churn.
Date: March 29, 1887
Creator: Waston, Josiah P.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Hay Knife. (open access)

Hay Knife.

Patent for a new and improved hay knife. This design "consists in the construction and novel arrangement of the forked frame, the lever pivoted thereto, slotted at one end and carrying at the other end a cutting-blade working through bearings in the fork, the crank pivoted to the frame and engaging the slot of the lever, and the pressure-head or cross-bar connected to the outer end of the frame" (lines 18-26).
Date: May 29, 1883
Creator: Moss, John C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Hame Fastener. (open access)

Hame Fastener.

Patent for a new and improved hame-fastener. This design "consists of an adjustable regulating fastener for the upper and lower ends of the hames, and this fastener is further provided with a swinging loop, to which the breast-strap may be attached on the lower fastener and the strap on the upper fastener when desired" (lines 19-25).
Date: September 29, 1885
Creator: Hake, Francis A.
System: The Portal to Texas History