Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1878-04-10
TnOS. ALVEY EDISON.
Interesting sketch Of the Great Inventor
by a Well Known Cincinnati Eleeiri-
clan.

4 O1ntECiut Has titdlHft mum - i''
+. Gilliaud au Interesting statement
regarding Thos. Alvey Edison the
areat electrician and inventor. Mr..
Gilliland has been more or less associ-
a.cd with Mr.. Edison since boyhood
and for three years. recently. wa-
associated with him IN business. He
SAYS:
Edison was born in Milan. in the
north part of this State aud his parents
move to Pnrl Huron Michigan. while
he Wa, quite small boy. Tie VAS rm-
ployed a, lran boy on a Jlilroad
running through Port Huron. 1t was
while thus employed that he learned
telesraphins.
first met him in 1868 at Adrian
Michigan. where We were both employed
as telrgraph operators. e bolh lcil
there ab ut the :; me time. he going to
Indianapolis AMI coming to tins cl'l.
lie remained only short time in
indianapolis, and camc t" Cincinnati l
WAS then boarding at the B-vis House,
Mr.. ll,ams. now manager ot Woods.
Edison and my sell occupied one room.
One day Edison Was relating to NlamN
and m, >cll how. on one occasion. Whllr
he was peanut boy, he had taken
charge Ol locomotive and run Tie
train the entire trip. The eng and
fireman had been compelled to make
one or TWO extra trips. and had b come
completely worn out, aud wnlle OF a
,ldjur both engineer aud fir nm i'll
asleep nn their s,als. The c"Ldutt"r
slgialcd to 20 ahead. and Edison en-
dcaynrrd To- awake thvu. but Was uh-
ablc to do 50. ana decided he ~"uid
pull cut, expecting ihey would So"n
awake after they GOT IN motion. tnd-
in. yer, thing Was gong AL right lie
,rrw a nltlc bold and dldu't ,iuib
thrm. The lra.n BEN. a lsht one. he
Was enabled lo do the ,tokmg. II The
tram and, look,d toNard they saN
Tom bus, Singing wood or pulling The
bell. or. perhaps. with uis hand on tie
throul,yaiyc. But as he was very iona
ol riding on the engiue and had often
been allowed to do tie same. nothing
was thou.ht of il. and 20 he drove
ahead. completing the entire trip. Vi
course bat very little could be SAID
about il at the tim" without giving the
engineer away. But It made Tom solid
with the engineer, WHO. on many oc-
ca,lons. und,r tie pret' nSr al adjusting
me part of the machinery. would de-
la, starting few minstcs to enable h'S
to get his box aboard. when he had
oycr,lrpl and VA, little late.
From this story learned that Tom
wa, Of mechanical turn oi mind, and
having in my youth L'on apprcnIic'd
uul at .un,mithn.. wc found much to
talk about. He thin showed me a lllle
steam engine he had made out oI brass
tubing. with very Ingenious valve
motion. and told oi several other III
ycnlions ne had gotten up. From TIL
time Forward lil OF our spare time was
spent IN tinkcrius and experimenting
Al that time hr mad very pnnr facilities
-no tools very little APPARATUS havln-
To RELY wholly upon the old. wolnou'
and discarded ia, mcnls and battery
from The ollicc.
In 1865. when the Western Union
nihce was moved from F"urh and
WalAnt to Thrd street, th,rc WAS al
old scl Of rcpeatyro not wanted IN th'
new office, and Mr.. Stevens. the chm,
operation. told Edison he could have
tncm. For s,n. tmc + lis'n hHd an
.dca tnal he could ,cnd two messages
,.nuitalI uusN over one "ire. lie hi'
mIaue "A .rcal many sketch drawings o
i aud ollcn explained tie Inyenuon %
ne, (l have til, >e draw ms> NOW ID my
pos,, s,lon.) but up to Tins Time ha'
never been ,nabied to secure suilicl'nl
apparatus to teste 1t.
lmmedi ,tcly upon getting poSs' sSioi
Of the oldrcpeatcr it WAS taken to Is
nome aud pulled to pieces, and the woIb
0. cnnstructln! Il dupleA was begun, ano
when completed and tested. was toun'
/ lu work precisely as he expected. Ih'
lew operators to whom II Was shown
could not uldcrstaud or appreciate H.
and went away b,hcymS II 10 be som'
rack. or that IL, va, dec, ly.nS hlm'cii
Z Atthat Tine tins unkern. or 'A
pr.lmculm, MAS nUl lOOk,d upon Viii
mucn laNOr. and nO hope, were enter
talncd UI D.in- able to sct Il set ol ar
paralus aud making Il practical t's
anon the wires. Iur mstluh' nta Us''
.or tne ,Xpcrlu,nt were. oi c"ursr' h'
suitable ior Practical tranSmisHiO" q
messages, BEN. stuck together "il'
seaLuswaX, and u,d d up with sInnss
Al old cisar.boX. BENG easily whittie'
and bured with gimlet. was usual,
tine base or iounuatlUn OF this eApor'
mculal apparatus.
| have always believed that, had
Edison rccrlycda httle encouragement
at this ,nnc, from the telegraph 'om'
pauy. they would have enjoyed th'
brnciils OF the duplex aud quadrupleA
tor i've to eight years earlier IMAM they
did. Edisou's early knowledge o
electricity was largely acquired lro"
books in the Mechanics Library, which
was then situated at sixth and Vine
Nr Jnnusou. the present Chief Op ra-