Grain Measure and Tally. (open access)

Grain Measure and Tally.

Patent for improving the measurement of grain.
Date: August 7, 1888
Creator: Holland, John Newton
System: The Portal to Texas History
Automatic Water Trap for Cisterns and Other Receptacles. (open access)

Automatic Water Trap for Cisterns and Other Receptacles.

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).
Date: August 7, 1888
Creator: Pickering, Charles H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Baling Press. (open access)

Baling Press.

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).
Date: August 7, 1888
Creator: Hoop, Friedrich W. J. & Isaac, Joseph
System: The Portal to Texas History
Check Hook. (open access)

Check Hook.

Patent for a new and improved check-hook. This design is "composed of the U-shaped frame having a threaded stem projecting from its lower end, and having the lugs extending from its vertical branches, the spring, and the cross-bar pivoted at one end between the lugs, and having side depressions near its other end to receive the lugs, and having its end adapted to be engaged by the spring and provided with the thumb-piece or horse-head" (lines 90-100).
Date: August 14, 1888
Creator: Matchette, James S.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Washing Machine. (open access)

Washing Machine.

Patent for a new and improved washing machine. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the supporting stand and the suds-box, of the cleats at the upper end of said box and formed with openings, the blocks pivotally secured to said stand and provided at one end with the thumb-screw, and the springs secured at their lower ends in said blocks and their upper ends working loosely in the openings in the cleats" (lines 24-31).
Date: August 7, 1888
Creator: Neal, Stephen N.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Kitchen Table and Cabinet. (open access)

Kitchen Table and Cabinet.

Patent for a combined table and cabinet for use in the kitchen, intended to aid "invalids or weak persons to accomplish considerable work without inconvenience or fatigue" (lines 11-13).
Date: August 14, 1888
Creator: Brack, Mary S.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Insecticide (open access)

Insecticide

Patent for "a compound or composition for the extermination of ants, moles, salamanders, prairie-dogs, large rats, &c." (lines 11-13).
Date: August 21, 1888
Creator: Simpson, James Thomas
System: The Portal to Texas History
Wheel-Planter (open access)

Wheel-Planter

Patent for an improvement on a patent granted on the 4th of October 1870, numbered 108,032.
Date: August 7, 1888
Creator: Kling, Peter
System: The Portal to Texas History
Well Bucket. (open access)

Well Bucket.

Patent for a new and improved well-bucket. This design consists in "the cylinder or body, the flaring bottom rim or hoop provided on its inner surface with suitable screw-threads, and also having on its lower peripheral portion diametrically-opposed lugs or projections, the perforated bottom pieced provided with suitable threads upon its peripheral portion, the upper curved or arched guide-arm having a central perforation and provided with screw-threaded ends having shoulders bearing against the upper side of the bottom of the bucket, said ends also passing through perforations" (lines 39-50).
Date: August 28, 1888
Creator: Van Hook, John Lloyd
System: The Portal to Texas History
Stalk-Shopper (open access)

Stalk-Shopper

Patent for "improved stalk-chopper for corn, cotton, or other stalks, where-in a reel or reels carrying longitudinal knives is supported and adjusted upon a frame which may be easily connected and disconnected from the running-gear of an ordinary wagon" (lines 14-20)
Date: August 17, 1888
Creator: Ferrel, Alexander
System: The Portal to Texas History
Plow. (open access)

Plow.

Patent for a new and improved plow. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the plow-beam, the slotted and braced standard, and the adjustable land-bar, of the winged attachment formed with perforated lugs, the plow-point formed with upper and lower extensions and secured to said attachment" (lines 95-100).
Date: August 21, 1888
Creator: Wied, August & Lürssen, Henrich
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
Motor for Sewing Machines. (open access)

Motor for Sewing Machines.

Patent for a new and improved sewing-machine motor. This design has for its object "the production of a motor capable of rapid and convenient adjustment to permit operation by hand or foot . . . Heretofore motors have been provided for [this purpose] but the difficulty experienced in these machines is that during the operation of the machine by hand the treadle forms no substantial support for the feet, the pitman simply being disconnected from the driving-wheel and thrown back. . . . [T]he present invention . . . will obviate the above objection" (lines 10-22).
Date: August 28, 1888
Creator: Briggs, Emma Flora
System: The Portal to Texas History
Gear Power for Presses. (open access)

Gear Power for Presses.

Patent for a new and improved gear-power for presses. This design consists in "[t]he combination of the shafts geared together at one end, and having at the other ends sleeved or loose pinions geared to a fixed pinion upon a third shaft having a second pinion, and the sleeve or tap carrying a gear-wheel meshing with the said second pinion, together with the clutch-sleeves upon the first-named shafts and the clutch-sleeve-shipping mechanism" (lines 1-9).
Date: August 7, 1888
Creator: Roquemore, Peter D.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Gate Latch. (open access)

Gate Latch.

Patent for a new and improved gate-latch. This design consists "[i]n a latch, the combination of the case having at its lower end a guide ledge or flange with its bearing face arranged laterally in from the inner face of the side plate of the case, a loosely suspended ring held and movable against the said ledge or flange, and means whereby the said ring may be operated" (lines 5-11).
Date: August 7, 1888
Creator: Charleville, George W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Gate. (open access)

Gate.

Patent for a new and improved gate. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the gate composed of the latch-upright, hinge-upright, longitudinal wires and cross-braces, of the spring-depressed latch, pivoted to the brace just in front of the crossing part of the opposite brace, the double-armed lever pivoted through its center to the inner surface of the top of the latch-upright, and the cords connecting said arms to a proper point of the latch" (lines 82-90).
Date: August 28, 1888
Creator: England, David
System: The Portal to Texas History
Fire Escape. (open access)

Fire Escape.

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).
Date: August 21, 1888
Creator: Howard, William H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Receptacle For Use In Outhouses And Like Places (open access)

Receptacle For Use In Outhouses And Like Places

Patent for Receptacle For Use In Outhouses And Like Places. "This invention relates to an improvement in receptacles for use in outhouses and other like places, the object being to construct a simple and inexpensive receptacle which will not give out any offensive or unhealthy odors while being removed from the outhouse for the purpose of cleaning or for any other purpose." (lines 13-19)
Date: August 14, 1888
Creator: Carrico, Thomas W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Fly Fan or Brush. (open access)

Fly Fan or Brush.

Patent for a new and improved fly fan or brush. This design consists "[i]n an automatic fly fan or brush, a suitable hollow post terminating at its upper end in a casing, a crank-shaft and conical pulley located therein, and gearing connecting the crank-shaft with the pulley-shaft, in combination with a cord connected to the pulley and to a rubber band or cord passing around a pulley at the base of the post, said rubber cord or band at one end being connected thereto, a pitman-rod connecting the crank-shaft with the arm carrying the fan or brush" (lines 84-94).
Date: August 28, 1888
Creator: Rembert, Henry
System: The Portal to Texas History
Draw-Bridge (open access)

Draw-Bridge

Patent for improvements in the construction and design of draw bridges.
Date: August 14, 1888
Creator: Briggs, William J.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Door Check. (open access)

Door Check.

Patent for a new and improved door-check. This design "has relation to door-checks . . . for retaining a door or gate in any desired opened position; and it has for its objects to provide such a door-check in which the holding or clamping mechanism of the check is operated automatically from the latch or knob of the lock, to provide a strong brace for retaining the door in its adjusted position . . . a bolt casing slides upon a rail carried at the upper edge of the door and has a bolt operated from the lock of the door for engaging the said rail, and in which a brace or arm is pivoted to the door-frame" (lines 8-26).
Date: August 14, 1888
Creator: Scarborough, William Daily
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cultivator. (open access)

Cultivator.

Patent for a new and improved cultivator. This design consists in "[t]he combination of the beams having the arms provided with the openings, the beams having openings concentric with [the arms'] openings, the standards, the bolts pivoting the latter to the arms and extending through the openings, the plates having their lower ends secured on said pivotal bolts and adapted to engage the rear sides of the standards, the triggers, and the bolts to pivot the said triggers to the beams, said bolts being adapted to pass through either of the [beams'] openings" (lines 3-13).
Date: August 14, 1888
Creator: Swearingen, Columbus Alexander
System: The Portal to Texas History
Attachment for Plows. (open access)

Attachment for Plows.

Patent for a new and improved attachment for plows. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the rear of the land-side of a turning plow, of an attachment for dirting the plants, consisting of a shank having a rearwardly and upwardly extending blade diagonally attached thereto, having a sharp curved lower edge and a curved upper edge, said edges forming a point on the outer end of the blade, said blade having a concaved upper face" (lines 7-15).
Date: August 14, 1888
Creator: Tennison, James B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Horse Hay Rake. (open access)

Horse Hay Rake.

Patent for a new and improved axle for hay rakes. This design consists in "[t]he rake-head comprising the middle section and end sections, and the links having their opposite ends pivoted, respectively, to the front and rear side at the outer ends of the [one] section and the inner ends of the [other] sections" (lines 19-24).
Date: August 7, 1888
Creator: Milam, Moses L.
System: The Portal to Texas History