Wilmington daily commercial., 1872-03-16

Oliver Evans the Delaware Inventor A
sketch of His Life.
To he Editor of he Commercial.
In recent article, you inquired for informa-
tion concerning Oliver Evans. 1 will give the
main facts in his career;
Oliver Evans has been called the Watt Of
America" He was born at Newport, in Della
ware, about the year 1855, of respectable pa
rentage His father was farmer, Oliver was
apprenticed to a wheelwright. His education
WAS rudmental but sufficient to inspire him
with thirst for knowledge. His master was ig-
norant Of books, and attempted to put stop to
divers Improbable employment by denying
him the use of candles. Even at the early pe-
riod be gave evidence OF possessing inventive
faculties. His ingenuity was not confined to his
trade he invented machine for making card
teeth. He married at the age of twenty-five
and soon after went into partnership with his
brothers, who were miers. Here was an adj
mirable field for his talents, and to his many in-
ventons the miller fraternity greatly indebted.
But millers rejected his improvements, derided
them, and only at last yielded when compelled to
by the few enterprising competitors who at last
took them up.
In 1900 he determined to construct steam
carriage to run on a common road, at lis own
expense, not being able to induce capitalist to
embark with him. The result was an engine Of
new construction, but which was useful for
other purposes, that he temporarily abandoned
lis steam carriage in order to perfect the engine
for which he hoped to obtain a patent. He con-
structed his model and in order to bring it to
perfection, expended upon it every shilling he
owned but he still encountered prejudice, even
from scientific men. Mr.. Evans applied his ell
gine in 1904 to a dredging apparatus use in the
Sehuylkill performing all the operations required
of it, and propelling the vessel by a wheel in
her stern. But the skeptics would not believe
and condemned this machine for its slowness
aud weight. He made proposition to the Lam
caster Turnpike Company to construct carriages
on the principle he had invented, but received
no attention from the Company. He was dis
heartened without money, sympathy, or patron
age, and yet in possession OF secret of trans
cendant importance which would have poured
untold wealth into the hands of the capitalist
that had aided and believed in him.
- The time will come" says he " when people
" will travel in stages moved by steam-engines
" from one city to another, almost as fast as
" birds hy-ffteen or twenty miles an hour.
- Passing through the air with such velocity,
" changing the scene in such rapid succession,
"w will be the most exhilaratng exercise. A
=" steam carriage will set out from Washington in
" the morning, the passenger will breakfast in
" baltimore, dine st Philadelphia and sup in
" New York the same day.. To accomplish this
" two sets of railways will be laid, 30 nearly
" level as not in any way to deviate more than
two degrees from horizontal line, made of
" wood or iron or smooth paths Of broken stone
" or gravel, with rail to guide the carriages, 30
" that they may pass each other in different di-
rections and travel by night as well as by day.
Engines will drive boats ten or twelve miles
. per hour, and there may be many hundred
steamboats, running on the Mississippi" We
fell short Of the truth. Mr.. Evans appeared to
be unfortunate and the world treated him with
such neglect that he died poor and broken
hearted on the 2lst Of April, 1873.