Davis Vertical Feed - Howe connection
 

hey folks,

For those not on Needlebar, this information was posted from "The Growth of a Century" brief Davis Watertown history". I took the original article and did OCR on it to make the image into text..

Here is an interesting portion:

The inventor of this machine, named Davis, came to Watertown in 1866, and exhibited his model. After careful examination, Mr. John Sheldon was induced to organize a company that would make the needed investment to secure a plant for Its manufacture. It so happened that the Hon. Joseph Sheldon, brother of John, was an intimate friend, at New Haven, Conn., of that Elias Howe, who invented the first machine, and was then largely interested in the manufacture of sewing machines. He examined, at Mr. Joseph Sheldon's request. the Davis machine, before any investment had been made for its manufacture at Watertown, and pronounced the device novel and valuable. This was the opinion upon which Mr. John Sheldon and the company organized by him, based their willingness to put money into manufacturing the Davis machine.

Mr. J. Johnson was induced to give up his partnership in the Great Wardrobe clothing store, and accept the office of secretary and treasurer, and he holds that office to-day, having piloted the company through all its embarrassments. Mr. Johnson has been the main dependence of the company in its monetary affairs, and has proved himself an able financier. Taking a corporation handicapped with a debt of over a half a million dollars, he has liquidated every cent of its indebtedness without a compromise, and has paid the enormous sum of '700,000 in interest alone. This manifests not only the ability of Mr. Johnson, but also the intrinsic merit of the Davis machine, and verifies Mr. Howe's assertion that the vertical feed was not only novel but valuable

Steve,

Howe helped Davis get there start with a good word and Singer and Wheeler and Wilson gave them a kick in the pants in the early 1870's with lawsuits and contracts that didn't go well for Davis hence the debt.

Jon

yeah, there was a LOT more info, but i did not want to "clog the pipes"

It is a somewhat convoluted story, but a fun read if Davis or "Combination" history is your cup of tea. I believe the Howe patent had expired by the time Davis incorporated in 1868.

Jon