Reuben Moffat Papers
name: label: Creator
content: Moffat, Reuben
label: Former owner
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of History of Technology
label: Former owner
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry
topic: label: Topic
content: Gold mines and mining
label: Topic
content: Inventors -- 19th century
label: Topic
content: Inventions -- 19th century
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Source of acquisition unknown.

Collected for the National Museum of American History, Division of Engineering and Industry (now called the Division of Work and Industry.) Transferred to the Archives Center in 2007.
creator: label: Creator
content: Moffat, Reuben
setName: label: See more items in
content: Reuben Moffat Papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The collection documents personal correspondence between Reuben Moffat and his 
father, John Little Moffat. The materials consist primarily of letters written during the 
year 1852 and detail Reuben Moffat's attempts to obtain a patent for his electric gold washer 
and magnetic separator invention.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Reuben Moffat of Brooklyn, New York, was an inventor seeking to obtain a patent for an "electric gold washer and magnetic separator", which he developed in the years following the Gold Rush. Whether this patent was ever obtained is not discernable from the papers in the collection.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 0.15 Cubic feet (1 box)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1852
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: Collection transferred from the Division of Engineering and Industry (now called the Division of Work and Industry) to the Archives Center in 2007. Previous provenance unknown.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.1101
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Correspondence
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Collection is arranged into one series. 

Series 1, Correspondence, 1852
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Processed by Kendra Ciccone (intern), April 2010; supervised by Alison Oswald, archivist.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence -- 19th century
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Personal correspondence with Moffat's family members on the subject of family matters and of his invention of an electric and magnetic gold amalgamator and washer.