Water Elevator. (open access)

Water Elevator.

Patent for a new and improved water elevator. This design "is to provide each bucket with a weighted back; also, in the manner of connecting the chains thereto, so that the necessity of the employment of a weighted wheel is obviated" (lines 20-24). This means that individual buckets may be removed and replaced, and construction becomes more durable and simple.
Date: December 28, 1880
Creator: Mayfield, William D.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Pipe Wrench. (open access)

Pipe Wrench.

Patent for a new and improved pipe wrench. This design consists "[i]n a pipe-wrench, the bar or lever having a lower curved and serrated end, in combination with the pivoted arm having reversely-hooked ends, one of said curved ends having a greater curvature than the other said hooked end" (lines 59-64).
Date: December 2, 1884
Creator: Morrison, William S.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Ink Blotter. (open access)

Ink Blotter.

Patent for a new and improved ink blotter. This design "is to facilitate the process and shorten the time of the [writer] in blotting of the ink from his [or her] writing. [The design] attain[s] this object by so constructing the blotter that when in use it is always attached to and worn upon the hand holding the pen" (lines 8-13).
Date: December 30, 1884
Creator: Smith, L. Starr
System: The Portal to Texas History
Coffee Pot. (open access)

Coffee Pot.

Patent for a new and improved coffee pot. This design "has relation to that class of coffee-pots in which the body of the pot contains a cone-shaped chamber provided at the apex with a tube for the discharge of the boiling water as it passes through the same into a receptacle containing the coffee; and the object thereof is to improve the construction of this class of coffee-pots" (lines 12-19).
Date: December 29, 1885
Creator: Covington, Philip A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Car-Seat. (open access)

Car-Seat.

Patent for improvement in regular car-seating (not baby car-seat) by enabling the seat to recline “like an ordinary sleeping-coach without the necessity of the upper berths required in a sleeping-coach.” (Lines 45-48) Illustration is included.
Date: December 14, 1886
Creator: Goelet, Edward B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Chopper. (open access)

Cotton Chopper.

Patent for a new and improved cotton-chopper. This design consists in "the combination, with the frame and wheels, of the axle, journal-boxes for said axle adjustable lengthwise of said frame, a gear-wheel on said axle adjustable longitudinally thereon, the shaft parallel with the axle, a plurality of gear-wheels of varying diameters on said shaft, a bevel-pinion also on said shaft, and an inclined shaft carrying the hoe and provided with a bevel-pinion engaging the pinion on the shaft" (lines 8-17).
Date: December 13, 1887
Creator: Marshall, Benjamin C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Lock Hopple. (open access)

Lock Hopple.

Patent for a new and improved lock-hopple. This design consists in "the combination of the semi-circular section provided at its free end with the latch-hook and concave edge, and the semi-circular section provided with the perforated projection for the attachment of the lap-ring, and with the lock" (lines 95-100). It further consists in "the partition, the cap-piece having the central key-opening, the journaled latch-hook having the end of its journal formed to fit in the recess in the end of the key, the curved double-arm spring, the lid, and the lid-stem having upon it a block provided with the shoulders" (lines 1-8).
Date: December 18, 1888
Creator: White, Elisha Lafayette
System: The Portal to Texas History
Stirrup. (open access)

Stirrup.

Patent for a new and improved stirrup. This design "has for its object to provide an improved stirrup wherein shall be combined lightness with strength, and wherein is provided a removable slipper and protector designed for use in winter" (lines 12-18).
Date: December 10, 1889
Creator: Turner, Ephraim M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Snap-Hook (open access)

Snap-Hook

Patent for a snap hook in order to "provide a hook of simple construction that shall be securely locked when in use" (p. 2)
Date: December 30, 1890
Creator: Adams, Don B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Elevated Railway. (open access)

Elevated Railway.

Patent for a new elevated railway, consisting of the arrangement and parts described. Patent for "a new and improved elevated railway structure for moving cars or vehicles." (line 14) including perspective views, description and illustrations. Patent for a new elevated railway design including illustrations.
Date: December 13, 1892
Creator: Turner, Ephraim, M. & Maddox, R. E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Elevated Railway. (open access)

Elevated Railway.

Patent for improvements to elevated railways via the new and different way parts are combined and arranged.
Date: December 13, 1892
Creator: Turner, Ephraim M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Car-Coupling (open access)

Car-Coupling

Patent for an improvement of car coupling design so as to be automatic so that it can couple and uncouple without needing a person to move from car to car that can be used alongside pin and link couplings (lines 11-16).
Date: December 27, 1892
Creator: Millican, Joel W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Baling-Press. (open access)

Baling-Press.

Patent for "baling-presses, and has for its objects to provide a simple and efficient apparatus embodying a rebounding plunger; to provide means for regulating the resistance offered to the advance movement of the forward head-block; to provide improved means for tucking the material during the advance movement of the plunger; to provide means for regulating the length of a bale; to provide means for automatically inserting a head-block when a bale of the desired length has been formed; and to provide means whereby the raising and lowering of the press-box or baling-chamber is accomplished by the draft-horses through the sweep, and without the use of jacks or other analogous devices." (Lines 8-24) Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: December 24, 1895
Creator: Keith, George A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Folding Minnow-Net. (open access)

Folding Minnow-Net.

Patent for "improvements in fishing-nets, and particularly to frames for nets which can be set up in the water in various places where other nets cannot be used and which can be folded up into a small package for convenient carrying." (Lines 8-13) Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: December 8, 1896
Creator: Breeding, Enoch
System: The Portal to Texas History
Hoe-Sharpener. (open access)

Hoe-Sharpener.

Patent for a new and useful hoe sharpener, including instructions and illustrations.
Date: December 13, 1898
Creator: Foster, James T. & Miller, John B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Grain-Sourer. (open access)

Grain-Sourer.

Patent for certain new and useful improvements in grain scourers, including instructions and illustrations.
Date: December 12, 1899
Creator: McLellan, Frederick A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Stirrup. (open access)

Stirrup.

Patent for "an improved bottom, an improved supporting-bar, and an instep-bar" (lines 8-9) for stirrups.
Date: December 11, 1900
Creator: Turner, Ephraim M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Wagon Bed Lifting Device (open access)

Wagon Bed Lifting Device

Patent for a wagon-bed lifter that will remove and wagon beds and position them for easy re-assembly.
Date: December 3, 1901
Creator: Slate, William L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Crude-Oil Burner. (open access)

Crude-Oil Burner.

Patent for crude-oil burner that has excellent combustion, it is simply constructed to to make it easier to use, and requires little or no attention. It is adaptable to be used in fire-boxes (cooking and heating stoves, furnaces, and ranges).
Date: December 2, 1902
Creator: Bateman, Talbot O.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Feeding Trough (open access)

Feeding Trough

Patent for a feeding trough. This invention is designed to prevent the waste of feed by collecting the feed pushed out during feeding. Illustration included.
Date: December 22, 1903
Creator: Butz, John F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Acetylene Gas Generator (open access)

Acetylene Gas Generator

Patent for an acetylene gas generator. Illustration included.
Date: December 20, 1904
Creator: Lewis, Thomas E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Animal-Feed Device (open access)

Animal-Feed Device

Patent for an animal feed device that is collapsible and that can be suspended from fences, vehicle wheels, other structures, the ground, or the animal itself. (lines 10-15
Date: December 12, 1905
Creator: Russell, George Washington
System: The Portal to Texas History
Stirrup (open access)

Stirrup

Patent for a stirrup. This invention is intended for use when mounting difficult animals. Illustration included.
Date: December 13, 1906
Creator: Zimmerman, Gus H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Copy Holder (open access)

Copy Holder

Patent for a copy holder. This invention is designed to hold a manuscript so as allow for ease of reading. Illustration included.
Date: December 18, 1906
Creator: Sharp, Joshua H. & Haberzettle, Fred S.
System: The Portal to Texas History