HENRY BURDEN Was Born at Unblane , S , P , 1 1 His Outh 79
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HEN RY B URD EN H IS LIF E AND A H I STORY O F H IS INVENTION S CO MPILED F R O M THE P UBLIC PRES S B Y HIS DA UGHTER MA RGA RET B U RDEN PROUDFIT ' i TR OY NEW YO RK 1 904 PUBLIC LIB RA RY S O R LE N Y A T , O . A N D I D T L E N F O UN D ATIO N S 1 9 20 LIST OF ILLUSTRATION S H ENRY BURDEN ( ME''OTINT) F rontispiece BURDEN FA M ILY VA ULT HENRY RDEN I N ENTIVE A E BU , V G WOOD SIDE CHURCH THE WA TER WH EEL WOODSID E RESID EN CE M ILLS O N THE WYNA NT SKILL H ENRY BURD EN R IVER M ILLS A ND BLA ST FURNA CE HEN RY B URD EN D cotland A ril 22 HENRY BURDEN was born at unblane , S , p , 1 1 His outh 79 . father was a small farmer ; and it was while a y , t son e engaged on the farm , tha the gav evidence of inventive his s - genius , by making with own hand labor saving machinery o from the r ughest materials , with but few tools and no models . His first marked success was in constructing a threshing - ma chine . He afterward engaged in erecting gristmills and making various farm implements . During this period he attended the school of William Hawley , an accomplished arithmetician ; and a afterward , having resolved to try his fortunes in America as u n a machinist and inventor, he went to Edinburgh and entered po m course of studies embracing mathe atics , engineering , and draw . c 1 8 1 ing Arriving in this ountry in 9, he devoted himself to the improvement of agricultural implements . His first effort was to e make an improved plow , which took the first premium at thre 1 820 county fairs . In he invented a cultivator, which was among o the first , if not the first , ever put in practical peration in this 1 822 country . In he took his first patent , which was for a hemp and flax machine . In the same year he removed from Albany to ‘ Troy, where he became the agent of what was then known as ” N F insi The Troy Iron and ail actory , then a comparatively g nifi n i ca t concern . F or a period of over forty years he devoted himself to the development of this establishment . From the M r R position of superintendent , . BU DEN gradually made his way upward until he became sole proprietor . Numerous and exten sive additions were made by him to the works ; and these and other works erected and put into successful operation in the neighborhood are now among the most important industrial establishments in the country . 4 HENRY BURDEN In 1 82 5 Mr. BURDEN received his first patent for making 1 8 o wrought nails and spikes , and in 34 an ther patent for an improved machine for the purpose was issued to him . In the - same year he took a patent for a furnace for heating bar iron , and another for an improvement in the construction of steam boats . In the following year he obtained his first patent in the manufacture of horseshoes , the fame of which and subsequent improvements upon machinery for this manufacture, patented - 1 8 1 8 1 862 . in 43 , 57, and , has become world wide The improved and machines make shoes per hour, may be regarded as one of the greatest triumphs in mechanics . In 1 840 Mr . BURDEN obtained a patent for a machine for rolling - w - puddle balls in the manufacture of rought iron , known as the ” h rotary squeezer, w ich is considered one of the most import ant machines in the iron manufacture , and is now in almost ' - universal use . In the same year he patented the hook headed ” o o . spike , now used up n every railway in the c untry His suits o against Messrs . C rning and Winslow , for infringement of this o 1 8 2 1 86 — patent , c mmenced in 4 and extending in 7 running — through a quarter of a century wi ll always rank among the cau e 'l' s s c bras in American patent law . F or thirteen years the w matter was in the hands of a referee , hose charges amounted ’ to abou t The expenditure for lawyers fees must have o been enormous , but the t tal amount realized for damages was inconsiderable , though the patent was sustained . A U D 1 8 e patent was obtained by Mr . B R EN in 49, for improv d - machinery for rolling puddled iron into bars , and in the same year he obtained an extension for the further term of seven 1 1 years of his horseshoe patent of 83 5 . In 854 his patent of ” 1 8 40 for the rotary squeezer was extended for seven years . His last patent was that for the final improvement on the horse h s oe machine . The patents we have referred to twelve in num ber were all he obtained . Their number is inconsiderable com pared with those obtained by many inventors, but they are among the most important in the history of the industrial arts . H e was at one time much interested in navigation . In 1 833 H ENRY BURDEN 5 he a 00 on - built cigar boat, 3 feet l g, with paddle wheels thirty its n feet in diameter, and i ventor had great faith in it , but it r was lost on the t ial trip through the mismanagement of the pilot . Mr. The loss entailed upon BURDEN was most severe , and though he had every faith in the principle upon which the boat m was constructed , he never ade another experiment in that dirce . 1 8 6 to tion In 3 he turned his attention ocean navigation, and warmly advocated. the construction of a line of steamers of . n 1 8 the m e tons burden Whe , in 4 5 , stea ship Gr at Britain was the - r crippled by breakage of one of her screw blades , M . BURDEN went to England for the special purpose of inducing her owners f to adopt the side wheel , but his ef orts were unsuccessful . His views on ocean navigation becoming known to some gentlemen G him in lasgow , who , like , felt a deep interest in the subject , m ' B ’ they, with his per ission, issued a prospectus for urden s F Atlantic Steam erry Company , in which was advocated the establishment of a line of steamers of enormous dimensions . This project anticipated by several years the Great Eastern . Some idea of the magnitude of the iron works at Troy under his control may be had when it is stated that in the year 1 864 m the number of men e ployed was the cost of iron , coal , and other raw material was over a million and a half of dollars , and the manufactured products turned out amounted in value to over three millions . Mr. E and In person BURD N was large well made , with a large u head , and prominent though reg lar features , a wide and high - e u suallv forehead , overhanging, deep set ey s , and a mouth which n Hi s ma had a cheerful , kindly expressio . appearance , as y be seen in the portrait , was remarkable and venerable . His mental re faculties were unimpaired to the last , and his physical vigor markable for a man of fourscore . Some time ago it had been R intimated to Mr . BU DEN by his physician that his disease , which f m was an af ection of the heart , was liable to ter inate his life at an m y moment , and he at once ade his will and otherwise arranged his earthly aff airs . r he The estimation in which M . B URDEN was held w re he was 6 HENRY BURDEN m best known may be j udged of by the following re arks , which appeared in a local contemporary on the day of his death The sudden and afflicting event of course produced a great sensation throughout the city. Rapidly the news was communi cated from mouth to mouth , and among all classes it caused a feeling of sorrow such as no similar event in years has occasioned . - Among the men employed in his extensive iron works , the emo tion was indeed great . Each man felt as if he had not only lost a friend , but a protector . The beautiful Woodside Presbyterian church , which he erected at his own expense, will tell the story of his love to God and man ; but the daily acts of benevolence s that he performed also testify to his Christianity , and are perhap ” his surest passports to the bliss of eternity. Phrenological ou rnal A ril 1 8 1 . J , p , 7 S UDDEN DEATH OF HENRY BURDEN S KETCH or H IS LIFE HENRY BURDEN Our pen almost refuses to write the sad words HENRY BUR DEN IS D ' EAD And yet this eminent man, this distinguished in v entor , this great worker and manufacturer, is no more . He closed his earthly career, full of honors and of years , at about ’ 1 1 o clock this morning dying suddenly, without a murmur or so a a struggle , and pe cefully and gently that when his daughter , Mrs . Prou dfit , went into his room and found him lying upon the sofa she supposed him to be asleep .