250 



SCIENCE 



[Vol. V., No. 112. 



JOHN BLOOMFIELD JERVIS. 



The subject of this sketch, one of the most 

 eminent of American engineers, died at Rome, 

 N.Y., Jan. 12, 1885, after a long life, dis- 

 tinguished for the prominent enterprises with 

 which he had been connected and to which he 

 had given many features they still retain. He 

 was noted for his purity of life, and profes- 

 sionally for his caution, accuracy, sound judg- 

 ment, and integrity. His engineering training 

 was not obtained in any technical school, such 

 as is offered to the youth of the present day, 

 and his preparatory education was extremely 

 moderate in amount. 



John Bloomfielcl Jervis was born at Hunt- 

 ington, Long Island, Dec. 14, 1795, and was 

 the oldest of seven children. His father was 

 a carpenter, who in 1798 removed to the neigh- 

 borhood of Rome, N.Y., and engaged in saw- 

 ing lumber. The son attended the common 

 school of that date until he was fifteen years 

 old ; and for the following seven years he 

 worked at the saw-mill, on the farm, and in the 

 woods. In 1817 the construction of the Erie 

 canal through that region brought about his 

 emplo3 T ment as axeman on the work, and first 

 turned his attention to engineering. He was 

 soon promoted to rodman, and in two years 

 was made resident engineer of a section of 

 seventeen miles, from Canastota to Limestone 

 Creek. He gave such satisfaction that in 1821 

 he was assigned to a similar position near Am- 

 sterdam, and was retained, after the opening 

 of the canal, to superintend repairs. 



A condensed statement of the more impor- 

 tant of his professional engagements, which are 

 described at greater length in the Railroad 

 gazette of Jan. 23, will give an idea of how 

 active and responsible a position in life he has 

 occupied. In 1825 he became chief engineer 

 of the Delaware and Hudson canal compairy, 

 and remained until 1830. He constructed the 

 inclines of the Carbondale railroad, and or- 

 dered from England the ' Stourbridge lion,' 

 the first locomotive imported into this county. 

 In 1830 he was made chief engineer of the 

 Albany and Schenectady railroad, the first rail- 



road constructed in the state of New York, 

 and, later, of the Schenectady and Saratoga 

 railroad. Here he devised the four-wheeled, 

 swivelling or c pony ' truck used for the lead- 

 ing wheels of a locomotive, and generally 

 adopted in this country. In 1833 he was chief 

 engineer of the Chenango canal, ninety-eight 

 miles in length, with a hundred locks, where 

 he originated the use of artificial reservoirs 

 for the supply of the summit level. In 1835 

 he made surveys and estimates for an enlarge- 

 ment of the eastern section of the Erie canal. 

 He was made chief engineer of the Croton 

 aqueduct in 1836, — a work considered, at the 

 time of its completion, as a magnificent exam- 

 ple of hydraulic engineering, and in which the 

 Croton dam, High bridge, and the 42d-street 

 reservoir show his professional skill. From 

 1846 to 1848 he was consulting engineer on 

 the Cochituate aqueduct, Boston water-supply. 

 Water- works at Port Jervis and at Rome, N.Y., 

 were later constructed under his supervision. 

 Between 1847 and 1850 he was first chief and 

 then consulting engineer of the Hudson-River 

 railroad when it was completed from New York 

 to Poughkeepsie, a portion covering most of 

 the difficult work of that line. After a short 

 trip to Europe, he became chief engineer on the 

 construction of what is now the western part 

 of the Lake shore and Michigan southern rail- 

 road, and was connected with this road until 

 1858. During 1851 he was made president of 

 the Chicago and Rock Island railway. In 1861 

 he became general superintendent of the Pitts- 

 burgh, Fort Wa} T ne, and Chicago railway ; in 

 1864 was made its chief engineer, and in 1866 

 its consulting engineer, — a position he held 

 until 1872. In 1868 he was connected with the 

 organization of the Rome iron-mill company, 

 and was its secretary from 1872 until his 

 death. 



After retiring from active work in the field 

 in 1866, he wrote a book on ' Railway prop- 

 erty,' and another on ' The question of labor 

 and capital.' In 1868 the American society 

 of civil engineers elected him an honorary 

 member, and in 1878 Hamilton college con- 

 ferred on him the degree of LL.D. Mr. Wil- 



