Stirrup. (open access)

Stirrup.

Patent for a new and improved stirrup. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the upper tubular cross-tie, of the stirrup in open-communication through the sides of the latter and serving for attachment of the stirrup strap, of the fender and the cord, arranged to unite the upper portion of the fender to the stirrup" (lines 76-81).
Date: June 16, 1885
Creator: Turner, Ephraim M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Stomach-Bitters. (open access)

Stomach-Bitters.

Patent for improved stomach-bitters that promote and strengthen the appetite and general system, which lists the ingredients and proportions.
Date: June 21, 1887
Creator: Cooper, Isaac.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Passenger Mileage-Recorder. (open access)

Passenger Mileage-Recorder.

Patent for "new and useful improvements in mileage recorders for steam railway coaches and similar vehicles" (lines 8-10) including illustrations.
Date: August 14, 1888
Creator: West, Samuel M.
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
Electric Arc Lamp. (open access)

Electric Arc Lamp.

Patent for a new and improved electric-arc lamp. This design consists in "the combination of a single horseshoe electro-magnet in the circuit of a main line, connected on the positive side to a binding-post having shunt material as a bushing around it, an armature hinged at its center and free to vibrate throughout its length with a carbon-rod holder, which it is adapted to clutch at the hinged part, said magnet acting upon the ends of the armature only, and an adjustable trip and limiting-stops, and means permitting both to be readily adjusted upon the outside of the casing to regulate the lamp" (lines 46-58).
Date: March 8, 1887
Creator: McDill, Henry C. & Gaston, James E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Tent and Attachment. (open access)

Tent and Attachment.

Patent for a new and improved tent. This design is "to provide a tent-frame in such a manner that it may be readily folded into small compass, and which when extended for use will be very strong and serviceable" (lines 14-17). To this end, it consists of a cap, "of the rafters pivoted in the walls of said recesses and having their ends formed with a short incline or bevel and a longer or different incline or bevel" (lines 1-4).
Date: November 26, 1889
Creator: Turner, Epraim Meral
System: The Portal to Texas History
Street Car. (open access)

Street Car.

Patent for a new and improved street-car. This design "is an improvement in street-cars, and has for an object to provide a draft attachment by the use of which the necessity of turn-tables will be obviated, and the horses will not have to be unhitched from the car until they have finished their work" (lines 13-18).
Date: May 19, 1885
Creator: Mayfield, William Dudley
System: The Portal to Texas History
Whip. (open access)

Whip.

Patent for a new and improved whip. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the spring-wire core and rubber-compound covering of the body of the whip, and the metallic coupling of the detachable screw whip-handle constructed to form a clasp-knife" (lines 85-89).
Date: November 11, 1884
Creator: Turner, Ephraim M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Whip. (open access)

Whip.

Patent for a new and improved whip. This design "consists in a combination, with a metallic or other rigid handle, of a whip body or core composed of cotton or other vegetable fibrous material, in one or more strands, having wire wrapped about or incorporated with them, and in the combination therewith of a vulcanized rubber covering, the fibrous material giving the necessary flexibility to the body or core of the whip and the wire applied thereto, said material protecting the latter from injury during the process of covering or vulcanizing the rubber covering" (lines 16-28).
Date: June 16, 1885
Creator: Turner, Ephraim M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Rocking Chair. (open access)

Rocking Chair.

Patent for a new and improved rocking chair. This design "relates to an improvement in rocking chairs; and it consists in a detachable rocker and a clamp for securing the rocker to the legs of an ordinary chair for the purpose of converting the latter into a rocking chair" (lines 9-13).
Date: October 13, 1885
Creator: Brown, Frederick H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Air-Compressor. (open access)

Air-Compressor.

Patent for "new and useful improvements for air-compressors" (lines 5-6), with instructions and illustrations.
Date: July 20, 1886
Creator: Harrold, Mahlon
System: The Portal to Texas History
Spring-Motor for Fans (open access)

Spring-Motor for Fans

Patent for "a device for operating a fan or other object to which it is desirable to give a continuous reciprocating motion" (lines 12-15).
Date: October 2, 1888
Creator: Houston, George Webster
System: The Portal to Texas History
Rein Holder. (open access)

Rein Holder.

Patent for a new and improved rein-holder. This design "has relation to that class of driving rein-holders in which a bracket is employed for attaching to the dash-board of the vehicle, and provided at one end with a standard, to which is pivoted a swinging jaw held down in position to hold the reins by means of a spring coiled around the pivot, the jaw having a convex corrugated face to more securely hold the reins" (lines 16-24).
Date: April 27, 1886
Creator: Winfrey, Edgar M. & Branham, Albert G.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Fence. (open access)

Fence.

Patent for a new and improved fence. This design consists in "[t]he combination of upright posts having top cross-pieces provided with depending hooks at their ends, hooks pivoted at the bottom portion of the posts and extending laterally in opposite directions, and the panels comprising a series of longitudinal rails, the lower one of which is provided with staples at its ends, and provided with wire strands engaging the ends of the rails and extending longitudinally above the series of rails, the strands being engaged with the hooks upon the cross-pieces" (lines 83-94).
Date: April 7, 1885
Creator: Tillman, William A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Farm Gate. (open access)

Farm Gate.

Patent for a new and improved farm gate. This design consists "[i]n a swinging-gate, the combination of a plate provided with notches upon its upper outer end and connected to the upper end of the inner gate-post, a lever pivoted to the plate and connected with the upper pintle of the gate, a latch pivoted to the lever and extending down through a slot therein to engage with the notches in the plate, and suitable cords and pulleys for operating the latch and lever" (lines 17-26).
Date: July 7, 1885
Creator: Akin, Leonidas T.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Fence. (open access)

Fence.

Patent for improvement to the cost and strength of fences.
Date: February 16, 1886
Creator: Tillman, William A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Safety Spout for Lamps. (open access)

Safety Spout for Lamps.

Patent for a new and improved safety spout for lamps. This design is for an angled tube with a mouth to receive oil and a threaded end to screw onto an oil lamp. This allows for the lamp to be safely refilled while lit.
Date: September 27, 1881
Creator: Ingle, Ezra W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Sewing Machine (open access)

Sewing Machine

Patent for a sewing machine "wherein the shuttle rotates...whereby the shuttle-thread at a certain time in each revolution of the shuttle is rewound upon the bobbin, which prevents the thread from twisting or untwisting" (Lines10-17).
Date: June 5, 1883
Creator: McAllister, Lewis C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Safety Valve Attachment for Lamps. (open access)

Safety Valve Attachment for Lamps.

Patent for a new and improved safety attachment for oil lamps. This design is "to permit of the escape of any gas which may be formed in the upper part of the oil-reservoir by the evaporation of its contents; and the object thereof is to provide a simple form of valve stamped from a single piece of sheet metal, with a shank adapted to be inserted through a slot in the lamp-collar and the valve afterward bent down over the valve-opening, thus presenting a valve that will be sensitive to the pressure of gas within the reservoir, and consequently insure its successful operation at all times" (lines 18-29).
Date: May 11, 1886
Creator: Ingle, Ezra William
System: The Portal to Texas History
Sash Lock. (open access)

Sash Lock.

Patent for a new and improved sash lock. This design, "by means of a series of bolt-holes in both the upper sash and the frame the sashes can be held open for ventilation or securely locked in a closed position, as found desirable, and by means of the mortised seats and overhanging shoulders at the extremities of the slots, both the bolts can be drawn entirely within the casing and securely held in such position to enable both sashes to be raised or lowered at pleasure, and in the ordinary manner" (lines 75-84).
Date: November 30, 1886
Creator: Price, Harry F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Seeding Attachment for Disk Harrows (open access)

Seeding Attachment for Disk Harrows

Patent for "improvements in seeding attachments for disk harrows, whereby the operation of harrowing the stubble and seeding-grain may be accomplished simultaneously" (lines 10-14).
Date: July 2, 1889
Creator: Rogers, Jonathan Judson & Kennedy, Oliver Sylvester
System: The Portal to Texas History
Metallic Shingle. (open access)

Metallic Shingle.

Patent for a new and improved metallic shingle. This design calls for "[t]he ends of the shingles adjacent to the groove [to be] turned up to provide a guard which, when the joints are made between the shingles, prevents the water from obtaining access to the roof-boards, and directs it down the shingle to the bead, where the water is drained off" (lines 80-86).
Date: March 22, 1887
Creator: Harry, Hugh W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Metallic Shingle. (open access)

Metallic Shingle.

Patent for a new and improved metallic shingle. This design consists in "a roof made up of a series of metallic shingles bent and doubled at the ends . . . and the joint at the sides of the shingle, the doubled ends being bent at the sides to correspond with the joint at the sides of the shingle, whereby a double thickness is provided at the sides of the end joints and notching is obviated" (lines 11-18).
Date: March 27, 1888
Creator: Harry, Hugh Walker
System: The Portal to Texas History
Piano-Forte Tuning-Pin Lock. (open access)

Piano-Forte Tuning-Pin Lock.

Patent for a new and improved lock for forte-piano tuning-pins. This design consists "of an elongated or oblong metal plate provided with a slot in a part of its length and having one of its faces roughened into serrations . . . which, together with . . . correspondingly-toothed hooks bolted to said plate, form a clamp to bind two or more tuning-pins of a piano together, to prevent them from turning as a set or independently" (lines 16-25).
Date: March 2, 1880
Creator: Norcross, Levi W.
System: The Portal to Texas History