Colter Attachment for Plows. (open access)

Colter Attachment for Plows.

Patent for a new and useful colter attachment for plows, including instructions and illustrations.
Date: July 19, 1898
Creator: Haynes, Thomas
System: The Portal to Texas History
Bale Tie Buckle. (open access)

Bale Tie Buckle.

Patent for a new and improved bale tie buckle. This design is for "bale-tie buckles so constructed that the bale can be easily and quickly tied, that will hold the tie securely, and at the same time can be made lighter and neater than ordinary buckles, while having the necessary strength" (lines 11-16).
Date: January 25, 1881
Creator: Starr, Henry Daniel
System: The Portal to Texas History
Buckle. (open access)

Buckle.

Patent for a new and improved buckle. This design utilizes a bifurcated end and crossbars, a flat crossbar, a swinging crossbar, a tongue, and a stud to cover the underside of the strap, which would otherwise be exposed. This eliminates the need for stitching the strap, as well as being stronger than previous buckles.
Date: February 1, 1881
Creator: Owen, Abram
System: The Portal to Texas History
Buckle. (open access)

Buckle.

Patent for a new and improved buckle. This design utilizes two frames rather than one, and each has a stud. The studs fasten the strap(s) to the frame; thus the studs eliminate the need for a tongue and for the stitching of the strap to itself around the frame. Additionally, the larger frames allow for easier use in the cold or the dark.
Date: February 1, 1881
Creator: Owen, Abram
System: The Portal to Texas History
Buckle. (open access)

Buckle.

Patent for a new and improved buckle. This design utilizes a knob in addition to the tongue to hold the strap more securely, preventing slippage.
Date: February 22, 1881
Creator: Owen, Abram
System: The Portal to Texas History
Ant-Trap. (open access)

Ant-Trap.

Patent for an ant-trap using a portable receptacle with three different designs, each can be used as an individual trap or in any combinations to lure ants into the bottom of the receptacle without any means of escaping, including illustration.
Date: August 7, 1860
Creator: Cottingham, G. W. & Menefee, John S.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Attachment for Stalk-Cutters. (open access)

Attachment for Stalk-Cutters.

Patent for an attachment for stalk cutters to help prevent corn stalks from clogging the cutter after being cut.
Date: December 4, 1917
Creator: Jansky, John
System: The Portal to Texas History
Wire Stretcher. (open access)

Wire Stretcher.

Patent for a new and improved wire stretcher. This design utilizes a roller shaft, hand crank, ratchet wheel, and pawl to stretch wires to any desired tautness.
Date: October 31, 1882
Creator: Milby, Robert
System: The Portal to Texas History
Wire-Stretcher. (open access)

Wire-Stretcher.

Patent for an improved wire-stretcher that tightens fence wire.
Date: December 1, 1885
Creator: Mullinax, Eli Stephens
System: The Portal to Texas History
Wire Stretcher. (open access)

Wire Stretcher.

Patent for a new and improved wire stretcher. This design is "for stretching and repairing wire, the combination of a main bar having a longitudinal slot, and having an upwardly-facing shoulder provided with a groove, a guide-block in the lower end of the slot, a shaft journaled in the sides of the slot and having a pinion within the slot and a ratchet handle at its outer end for revolving it, a spring pawl engaging the pinion, a cam-lever pivoted upon the upper end of the main bar and engaging the grooved shoulder with its cam end, [and] a rack-bar sliding in the lower end of the slot upon the guide-block" (lines 43-55).
Date: May 4, 1886
Creator: La Bauve, Odelon Joseph
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
Insect-Destroyer. (open access)

Insect-Destroyer.

Patent for an insect destroyer for removing boll weevils and other insects from cotton or other crops.
Date: April 7, 1908
Creator: Ednall, George W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Washing-Machines. (open access)

Improvement in Washing-Machines.

Patent for an improvement to washing machines, in which "the novelty consists in allowing both cylinder and blades to be rotated or oscillated independently of each other." (Lines 17-19) Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: January 5, 1875
Creator: Starr, Henry D.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Dish-Washing Machines. (open access)

Improvement in Dish-Washing Machines.

Patent for a dish washer that allows dishes to be placed on shelves and rotated through a column of water. The machine can also be modified for washing clothing. It includes illustrations.
Date: February 24, 1874
Creator: Starr, Henry Daniel
System: The Portal to Texas History
Prod-Pole (open access)

Prod-Pole

Patent for care of live stock and particularly the pod poles. This invention is to produce a pod designed to podding the animals when they are loading or unloading for the shipment.
Date: July 4, 1916
Creator: Bishop, William P.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Post-Hole Diggers (open access)

Improvement in Post-Hole Diggers

Patent for certain new and useful improvements in Post-Hole Diggers.
Date: November 20, 1877
Creator: Armstrong, John J.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Animal-Traps. (open access)

Improvement in Animal-Traps.

Patent for an improvements in animal traps. It is similar to a hook and proper for mouse and rat.
Date: June 10, 1879
Creator: Milby, Frank Whitson
System: The Portal to Texas History
Tractor (open access)

Tractor

Patent for a tractor. Illustrations included.
Date: October 22, 1912
Creator: Miks, Ambrose
System: The Portal to Texas History
Plunger Head or Valve. (open access)

Plunger Head or Valve.

Patent for a plunger head or valve, which cannot come unscrewed accidentally while inside a pump.
Date: November 23, 1909
Creator: Shutt, John E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Seed-Planters. (open access)

Improvement in Seed-Planters.

Patent for a seed feeder using a tube connected to a revolving cylinder at the bottom of the hopper to deposit the seeds into the earth, including illustration.
Date: March 9, 1858
Creator: Doss, William C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Seeding-Machines. (open access)

Improvement in Seeding-Machines.

Patent for the improvement of the seed-box so the seeds are properly distributed into the soil while preventing the seed from clogging the machine, including illustration.
Date: August 24, 1858
Creator: Keiper, D. B. & Fox, A. C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Gasket (open access)

Gasket

Patent for a gasket. Illustration included.
Date: January 8, 1907
Creator: Shutt, John E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Snap-Hook. (open access)

Snap-Hook.

Patent for a snap-hook for general use that can be used for attaching whips, ropes, and similar things to saddles and harnesses. It is composed of a flat metal plate with screw holes, a hook that is secured to the edge of the plate, and a screw.
Date: February 14, 1893
Creator: McDowell, Anthony B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Filling-Box For Cotton-Presses. (open access)

Filling-Box For Cotton-Presses.

Patent for a new and improved filling box for cotton presses, including instructions and illustrations.
Date: October 10, 1899
Creator: Thorsen, Ole Andrias & Shutt, John Edward
System: The Portal to Texas History