﻿THE 
  SEWING 
  MACHINE 
  LEWTON 
  569 
  

  

  to 
  have 
  been 
  forgotten. 
  Several 
  ingenious 
  mechanics 
  who 
  had 
  

   seen 
  the 
  Howe 
  machine, 
  or 
  who 
  had 
  read 
  of 
  a 
  machine 
  for 
  

   sewing, 
  had 
  turned 
  their 
  attention 
  to 
  inventing 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  field 
  

   and 
  sewing 
  machines 
  were 
  being 
  carried 
  around 
  the 
  country 
  

   and 
  exhibited 
  as 
  a 
  curiosity. 
  Several 
  machines 
  made 
  in 
  Boston 
  had 
  

   been 
  sold 
  to 
  manufacturers 
  and 
  were 
  daily 
  in 
  operation. 
  Howe 
  found 
  

   that 
  these 
  machines 
  all 
  infringed 
  his 
  patent 
  rights 
  by 
  using 
  devices 
  

   which 
  he 
  had 
  combined 
  and 
  patented. 
  Though 
  he 
  was 
  very 
  poor 
  the 
  

   thought 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  suffering 
  he 
  and 
  his 
  family 
  had 
  endured 
  while 
  

   trying 
  to 
  introduce 
  his 
  invention 
  determined 
  him 
  not 
  to 
  submit 
  

   while 
  others 
  robbed 
  him 
  of 
  his 
  rights, 
  and 
  he 
  began 
  to 
  prepare 
  for 
  war 
  

   against 
  the 
  infringers. 
  The 
  first 
  step 
  was 
  to 
  get 
  back 
  from 
  England 
  

   his 
  precious 
  first 
  machine 
  and 
  his 
  patent 
  papers. 
  During 
  the 
  summer 
  

   of 
  1849, 
  the 
  $100 
  necessary 
  to 
  redeem 
  them 
  was 
  raised 
  and 
  intrusted 
  

   to 
  a 
  friend 
  who 
  was 
  going 
  to 
  London. 
  The 
  machine 
  and 
  papers 
  were 
  

   located, 
  redeemed 
  from 
  pawn 
  and 
  returned 
  to 
  Howe 
  within 
  a 
  few 
  

   months. 
  Howe 
  wrote 
  to 
  the 
  infringers 
  of 
  his 
  patent, 
  warning 
  them 
  

   to 
  stop 
  their 
  manufacture 
  and 
  offering 
  to 
  sell 
  them 
  licenses 
  to 
  continue 
  

   the 
  use 
  of 
  his 
  devices. 
  All 
  but 
  one 
  seemed 
  willing 
  to 
  accept 
  his 
  

   proposition 
  but 
  that 
  one 
  pursuaded 
  the 
  others 
  to 
  resist 
  and 
  Howe 
  was 
  

   was 
  soon 
  forced 
  to 
  return 
  to 
  the 
  courts 
  for 
  redress. 
  With 
  his 
  father's 
  

   help 
  he 
  began 
  a 
  suit, 
  but 
  soon 
  discovered 
  that 
  money 
  was 
  required 
  

   beyond 
  the 
  means 
  of 
  a 
  poor 
  journeyman 
  mechanic. 
  He 
  endeavored 
  

   to 
  arouse 
  the 
  interest 
  of 
  George 
  Fisher, 
  who 
  was 
  still 
  the 
  owner 
  of 
  a 
  

   half 
  interest 
  in 
  the 
  patent, 
  but 
  Fisher 
  had 
  had 
  enough 
  of 
  the 
  sewing 
  

   machine 
  and 
  would 
  not 
  advance 
  any 
  more 
  money. 
  He 
  was 
  willing 
  

   to 
  sell 
  his 
  half 
  of 
  the 
  patent 
  for 
  what 
  it 
  had 
  cost 
  him 
  up 
  to 
  that 
  time, 
  

   and 
  Howe 
  looked 
  around 
  for 
  someone 
  to 
  buy 
  out 
  Fisher's 
  interest. 
  

  

  In 
  February, 
  1851, 
  George 
  S. 
  Jackson, 
  Daniel 
  C. 
  Johnson, 
  and 
  

   William 
  E. 
  Whiting 
  became 
  joint 
  owners 
  with 
  Howe 
  of 
  his 
  patent 
  

   rights, 
  and 
  helped 
  him 
  to 
  procure 
  witnesses 
  in 
  the 
  furtherance 
  of 
  

   numerous 
  suits. 
  The 
  next 
  year 
  a 
  Massachusetts 
  man 
  named 
  George 
  

   W. 
  Bliss 
  was 
  persuaded 
  to 
  advance 
  the 
  money 
  needed 
  to 
  carry 
  on 
  the 
  

   suits 
  for 
  infringement. 
  This 
  was 
  done 
  as 
  a 
  speculation, 
  but 
  so 
  weak 
  

   was 
  his 
  faith 
  that 
  he 
  required 
  as 
  security 
  against 
  loss 
  a 
  mortgage 
  upon 
  

   the 
  farm 
  of 
  the 
  elder 
  Howe. 
  Elias's 
  long-suffering 
  parent 
  again 
  came 
  

   to 
  his 
  rescue 
  and 
  the 
  deal 
  was 
  completed. 
  

  

  While 
  the 
  suits 
  were 
  being 
  carried 
  on, 
  Elias 
  Howe 
  found 
  time 
  to 
  

   again 
  engage 
  in 
  maldng 
  sewing 
  machines. 
  Near 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  1850 
  he 
  

   was 
  in 
  New 
  York 
  looking 
  after 
  the 
  construction 
  of 
  14 
  of 
  his 
  machines 
  

   in 
  a 
  shop 
  on 
  Gold 
  Street, 
  near 
  which 
  he 
  opened 
  a 
  small 
  oflace. 
  Several 
  

   machines 
  were 
  sold 
  to 
  a 
  bootmaker 
  in 
  Worcester, 
  several 
  others 
  were 
  

   operated 
  by 
  garment 
  manufacturers 
  on 
  Broadway, 
  and 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  

   machines 
  was 
  exhibited 
  at 
  the 
  fair 
  held 
  in 
  the 
  Castle 
  Garden 
  in 
  Octo- 
  

   bM-, 
  1851. 
  

  

  