Attachment for Harness. (open access)

Attachment for Harness.

Patent for a new and improved harness attachment. This design utilizes two disks, "one being notched in its thick or heavy edge and the other being notched in its thin or less weighty portion . . . thus effectively closing the space that would otherwise be left at the point of the hook, and preventing the ring . . . from becoming detached" (lines 55-63).
Date: June 28, 1881
Creator: Baton, Durham D.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Car Coupling. (open access)

Car Coupling.

Patent for a new and improved coupling for cars. This design "relates to that class of couplers that are self-couplers; and it consists of an open-top hook-shaped draw-bar provided with a pivoted T-shaped vertically-moving coupling-bar, and provided also with an end socket for using the ordinary coupling link" (lines 7-12).
Date: June 21, 1881
Creator: McCray, John Henry Branic
System: The Portal to Texas History
Corn Planter and Dropper. (open access)

Corn Planter and Dropper.

Patent for a new and improved seed planter or dropper. This design utilizes a hopper, a shaft provided with cups, a bevel having a countersunk opening provided with a recess, a gate hinged in said recess and held in contact with the cups on the shaft by a spring, and a concave partition fitting the periphery of the shaft, all constructed and arranged in a novel way (lines 68-75). Additionally, this design utilizes a wheel, the motion of which dispenses the seed.
Date: June 28, 1881
Creator: Dawson, John Henry
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Elevator. (open access)

Cotton Elevator.

Patent for a new and improved cotton elevator. This design "facilitate[s] the delivery of cotton to the gin, and at the same time . . . removes from the cotton the gravel and other foreign substances that may be in it, thereby preventing injury to the gin and causing it to deliver the cotton in a cleaner and better condition" (lines 7-13).
Date: June 14, 1881
Creator: Newton, William Frederick
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Gin. (open access)

Cotton Gin.

Patent for a new and improved cotton gin. This design consists of an "endless wire-gauze band or apron, bound at its sides with strips of flexible material, such as leather . . . and provided on its inner side with slats, in combination with the saw-shaft, the condenser-roller, and the upper roller, around which the band passes, provided with longitudinal channels . . . in [a] cylinder and [a] wiper" (lines 81-92).
Date: June 14, 1881
Creator: Edgar, Valentine K.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Picker's Shade. (open access)

Cotton Picker's Shade.

Patent for a new and improved cotton picker's shade. This design "consists of a portable frame having an adjustable and detachable awning or shade . . . for the use of cotton-pickers and others whose vocation obliges them to work in the field during the hot season" (lines 19-23).
Date: June 14, 1881
Creator: Arnold, William Noah
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Stalk Cutter. (open access)

Cotton Stalk Cutter.

Patent for a new and improved cotton-stalk cutter. This design utilizes a frame with two small, curved blades, which, with the assistance of pins, can be locked in place either in two corresponding recesses or outwardly when in use.
Date: June 28, 1881
Creator: Pearce, Aaron B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cultivator. (open access)

Cultivator.

Patent for a new and improved cultivator. This design is "first, to provide for use in such implements a sectional axle which shall be capable of being so manipulated as to cause the wheels to be placed at a greater or less distance from each other; second, to provide the necessary mechanism and suitable combinations thereof for moving the parts of the axle and the wheels into their desired positions" (lines 20-27). This enables the cultivator to adapt to different spacings of crops, marking an improvement over previous cultivators.
Date: June 21, 1881
Creator: Connor, Laurance H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Drawer of Furniture, Store Fixture, &c. (open access)

Drawer of Furniture, Store Fixture, &c.

Patent for a new and improved chest of drawers. This design "consists, first, in a drawer applied upon side cleats or ledges, grooved longitudinally with the movement of the drawer, and having balls placed in such grooves in such a manner that they are kept separated and are free to roll or move longitudinally, and that they serve as bearings for the drawer, while they keep it from frictional contact with the cleats . . . second, in a novel mode of construction of cleats" (para. 1).
Date: June 7, 1881
Creator: Johnson, William H. & Whomes, Joseph
System: The Portal to Texas History
Game Board. (open access)

Game Board.

Patent for a new and improved bowling alley. This design calls for depressed gutters running along either side of the elevated alley, with cushions running along the lengths of the other sides of the gutters.
Date: June 28, 1881
Creator: Henry, Marcus Linsay
System: The Portal to Texas History
Hopper for Leaching Ashes. (open access)

Hopper for Leaching Ashes.

Patent for improved ash-hopper that is composed of suitable frame, two side boards, two triangle end boards that can be used to improve leaching ashes.
Date: June 7, 1881
Creator: Alexander, Abbington B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Motive Power. (open access)

Motive Power.

Patent for a new and improved motive power. This design "consists of an inclined wheel applied to a center shaft that turns in fixed bottom bearings and adjustable top bearings and transmits the power by a crown-wheel and gear-wheels and shafts in one or both directions" (lines 19-23).
Date: June 14, 1881
Creator: Gibson, Obadiah William
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oil Press Mat. (open access)

Oil Press Mat.

Patent for a new and improved oil press mat. This design "is to flexibly connect the metal plates or leaves of a three-leaved oil-press mat in such manner that when the mat with the bags of meal interposed between its leaves is subjected to pressure for the purpose of expressing the oil the parallelism of the leaves will be maintained and endwise shifting of the same prevented. A further object is to provide a fastening . . . which shall be stronger, more durable, and more positive in its functions" (lines 31-41).
Date: June 7, 1881
Creator: Ahrenbeck, William
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oil Press Mat. (open access)

Oil Press Mat.

Patent for a new and improved oil-press mat. This design "produce[s] a mat which is provided with three leaves, whereby two cakes can be pressed at the same time, and the three leaves to be flexibly connected together in such a manner that the mat can be readily and easily handled, at the same time that it is made strong and durable and lasting" (lines 25-31).
Date: June 28, 1881
Creator: Mistrot, Jean Jacques
System: The Portal to Texas History
Permutation Lock. (open access)

Permutation Lock.

Patent for a new and improved combination lock. This design consists of "[a] door having at its edges the sockets formed by ribs and mouths in combination with permutation-disks, seated in said sockets and handles" (lines 5-8).
Date: June 28, 1881
Creator: Sevier, Moses Nimrod
System: The Portal to Texas History
Press Mat. (open access)

Press Mat.

Patent for a new and improved cotton-seed-oil press mat. This design calls for three separate plates to be bound together, which allows for two pressings simultaneously. The materials (sheet metal, leather, press cloth) make for a press that is stronger, cheaper, more durable, and more effective than previous presses.
Date: June 7, 1881
Creator: Mistrot, Jean Jacques
System: The Portal to Texas History
Seed Planter. (open access)

Seed Planter.

Patent for a new and improved seed planter. This design consists "[i]n a seed planter, [with a] seed-dropping cylinder . . . with a row of recesses around its middle part, and rows of different-sized recesses provided with adjustable gage-screws around its end parts, whereby different-sized seeds can be dropped by the same cylinder" (lines 67-74).
Date: June 14, 1881
Creator: Holekamp, Julius
System: The Portal to Texas History
Seed Planter. (open access)

Seed Planter.

Patent for a new and improved seed planter. This design consists in "[t]he combination [of] a lever, shaft, bars, and ring-plate on a wheel, [and] of the four fixed cams and intermediate detachable cams" (lines 66-69).
Date: June 28, 1881
Creator: Gallway, Richard James.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Shovel Plow. (open access)

Shovel Plow.

Patent for a new and improved shovel plow. This design "provide[s] a shovel . . . having extensible wings pivoted to its rear surface, and combined with suitable mechanism by which they may be extended and forced inward . . . second, [it] provide[s] novel means of adjusting the angularity of the shovel and its standard with reference to the beam of the plow; third, [it] provide[s] novel means for adjusting the positions of the outer ends of the handles" (lines 16-26).
Date: June 21, 1881
Creator: Conner, Laurance H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Stock Car. (open access)

Stock Car.

Patent for an improved stock-car for transporting cattle and horses on railways.
Date: June 28, 1881
Creator: Jones, Jeremiah C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Water Heater for Washing Machines. (open access)

Water Heater for Washing Machines.

Patent for a new and improved water heater for washing machines. This design "relates to that class of washing-machines in which a rotary slatted cylinder for holding the clothes and a coil of pipe for supplying the drum with hot water are employed; and it consists in certain improvements in the construction and arrangement of the heater and pipes for conveying water to and discharging it from the drum" (lines 14-21).
Date: June 28, 1881
Creator: Bailey, Charles F. & Perrenot, George F.
System: The Portal to Texas History