Patent for mechanical improvements in "automatic fans intended especially for use on beds, whether in houses or in sleeping-cars" (lines 7-9).

Patent for a new and improved railway-rail tie. This design consists "of a railway-rail tie provided with a transverse recess, projection, the transverse slots, and the apertures leading from the recesses to the slots, the retaining-blocks fitting in the apertures, and keys working in the slots and adapted to press the retaining-blocks against the flange and web of the rail" (lines 71-78).

This is a letter from the Charles B. Moore Collection. It is written by Adelitia "Dinkie" McGee to the Moore family and Alice McGee. In this letter, Dinkie details the goings-on in Gallatin, Tennessee and the news includes: weather updates, a discussion concerning Alice's Grandma McGee who has passed, a dialogue about making molasses from cane, news about the crops that survived and the crops that were ruined from frost, updates on family and friends, and the daily happenings since the Moore family and Alice have left. She closes the letter by Birdie want to see Alice and Linnet very badly but since Bessie has come to visit, she has not been as lonely. Dinkie notes that she would like for the Moore's and Alice to write soon. On the first page, Dinkie writes another letter dated October 17 to the Moore family and Alice. She details her daily schedule and mentions that Birdie will write next time. She writes a note for Alice to write Bettie Wilson and that Mother (Matilda Dodd) will write the Moore family on Sunday. The envelope is included with the letter.

Patent for a new and improved gate. This design consists in "the post having projecting pins or studs combined with the gate having the hinges composed of a pair of plates bolted together, the said plates being swelled outward to provide collars, which are provided with cams" (lines 66-71).

Patent for a new and improved saw-set. This design "is to set saw-teeth in a new and efficient manner without the use of a lever" (lines 14-16). To this end, it "consist[s] of the frame having the arms, blade-bearings, setting-recess, and the three screws" (lines 48-50).

Patent for "a means whereby with one motion a stamp will be supplied from the'apparatus, moistened, and placed in position upon a letter, wrapper, or parcel adapted to receive it, and wherein a number of stamps may be consecutively placed when and as desired" (lines 10-15).

Patent for a press that is related to "letter or book presses" and it has "a simple and comparatively inexpensive construction, and which shall at the same time be effective and strong and convenient for use" (p. 2).

Patent for a new and improved gangway. This design consists in "[t]he combination, in an animal-trap having an inclined bottom and opposite sides, of a winch journaled at one end thereof, a movable platform mounted on the bottom and provided with opposite posts at its front end, a gate hinged to one of said posts, and opposite chains connected to the winch at one end and passing over drums located at the opposite ends of the sides, the opposite terminals of the chains being connected to the opposite posts" (lines 6-16).

Patent for a new and improved heel attachment. This design consists in "[t]he shoe having the sole provided with the plate having the struck-up flange and U-plate, the flange and plate forming the groove, and the plate being further provided with the perforation, in combination with the heel provided at its upper end with the plate, supported slightly above the same and adapted to fit the groove and provided with a perforation aligning with the [former] perforation, and the screw inserted downwardly through the perforation and terminating in the heel" (lines 71-82).

Patent for a new and improved door for railroad cars. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the car having the door-opening with its upper and lower edges parallel and inclined upward and inward, and the bolt-keeper secured to the sill of the car, of the door having correspondingly-inclined upper and lower edges, the guide-staple and fulcrum-bracket secured to the door at proper points, the operating-lever pivoted to said bracket, the link-rods and bolt, the [other] link-rod pivoted at its lower end to the operating-lever" (lines 4-14).

Patent for a new and improved plow. This design "relates to double-mold-board plows, such as lister or middle-breaking plows. Its principle features are the depressed center bar, the removable point upon the center bar, and the removable shares" (lines 8-12).

Patent for a new and improved axle lubricator. This design "consist[s] of a box provided with bearings in which the axle works, and with a cellar below the said bearings for the reception of the waste for containing the lubricant; [and] . . . of a frame in which the box fits, . . . being provided with screws for elevating or depressing the box, whereby it may be kept always in contact with the axle . . . The object is to produce an axle or journal lubricator . . . [that] will keep the bearings of an axle or journal shaft thoroughly lubricated at all times, thereby preventing the same becoming heated and swelling" (lines 14-35).

Patent for "a truck mounted upon wheels, to the reat end of which is adjusted a sifter that, as the machine is progressing, will have lateral reciprocating motion imparted thereto and eject powder through an attached meshed screen" (lines 10-15).

Patent for a new and improved axle-box for locomotives. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with a pedestal, of an axle-box mounted to slide vertically in the said pedestal, a second axle-box mounted with one side in a bearing in the said pedestal, and a connecting-rod secured to the last-named axle-box and pivotally connected with the first-named axle-box" (lines 67-73).

Patent for a new and improved plow. This design consists in "the combination of the center bar, the adjustable sweep, and the saddle . . . [the] longitudinal center bar extending below the base of the sweep and having the pointed nose and the fan-shaped lip" (lines 85-90).

Patent for "an apparatus which will indicate to the passengers of railway or street cars when the car is approaching, standing at, or leaving a station, the station or street name, distance from the last station passed or to the next station, or any point upon the line that may be desired, and wherein all of the above data may be displayed simultaneously or any one or more items" (lines 10-18).

Patent for a new and improved hammock. This design "is to provide a . . . hammock which is simple and durable in construction, very comfortable, and yielding to the motion of the body, at the same time avoiding the catching of buttons on the dress, as is frequently the case with hammocks having meshes. The invention consists of a number of slats, each provided at its ends with a transverse aperture, through which passes a cord or wire for holding the slats together to form the hammock" (lines 7-18).

Patent for a new and improved fire-escape. This design "has relation to that class of fire-escapes consisting of a chute placed in an inclined position against a window . . . and it consists in the improved construction and combination of parts of such a chute fire-escape having transverse rollers in the bottom of the chute for reducing the friction between the bottom of the chute and the body sliding down the chute, and provided with means for regulating the revolutions of the anti-friction rollers" (lines 21-32).

Patent for a new and improved water-trap. This design consists in "the combination, with a bent main pipe, of a vessel secured on the said main pipe and connected at its top with the interior of the said main pipe, a pin held on the bottom of the said vessel, a fixed sleeve provided with a spiral groove and engaged by said pin, a grooved pin held in the said fixed sleeve and resting at its top end on the bottom of the said pin, a roped connected with the said grooved pin, and a weight held on the said rope to counterbalance the said main pipe and vessel" (lines 103-114).

Patent for a new and improved baling-press. This design has for its object "to provide a press in which the material to be baled can be compressed into bales of the desired sizes, and then emptied from the baling-box by tilting up the tail-board, which is provided with angle irons to catch under the bale" (lines 15-20).

Transcription and two copies of court record no. 116, The Mayor, Aldermen and Harris Kempner, in which Kempner was charged with the offense of "running through the streets of Houston on horseback at a rate quicker than 5 miles an hour." Kempner was brought into court and, after evidence was presented, ordered to pay a fine of $5.00 plus the cost of the court for this offense.

Patent for improvement in swings, including instructions and illustrations.

Patent for "improvement in machines for destroying bugs and worms that infest cotton and other plants" (lines 8-10), including instructions and illustrations.

Patent for a new and improved soap-making machine. This design "consist[s] of grease and soda tanks, the latter tank having a diaphragm . . . a register-tank, pipes leading from said grease and soda tanks to said register-tank, a pivoted converter, a rotary shaft in said converter and blades, a shaft journaled in uprights attached to said converter and provided with a crank and a bevel wheel, the latter gearing with a bevel-wheel on said rotary shaft in the converter, and removable furnaces for said grease tank and converter" (lines 21-32).