US SENATOR ME INVENTOR PATENT OFFICE RUGGLES CIVIL WAR AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED !

Description

Here’s an Uncommon Civil War-Date ALS by
JOHN RUGGLES
The “Father of the U.S. Patent Office”
(1789 - 1874)
US SENATOR, AMERICAN INVENTOR, ORATOR and WRITER,
US JACKSONIAN-DEMOCRATIC PARTY SENATOR FROM MAINE 1835-1841,
FATHER OF THE UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,
PATENT-HOLDER OF
U.S. PATENT #
1
, ISSUED JULY 13, 1836 FOR HIS INVENTION OF A TRAIN WHEEL DESIGNED TO REDUCE THE ADVERSE EFFECTS OF THE WEATHER ON RAILROAD LOCOMOTIVE TRACKS,
MEMBER OF THE MAINE STATE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1823-1831, and SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE 1825-1829, and 1831
&
JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT 1831-1834.
Following the passage of the Patent Act of 1836, the patent numbering system came into use, and U.S. patent no. 1 was granted to Senator John Ruggles on July 13
th
1836. Patents issued before this date are known as X-patents.
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HERE’S A RARE CIVIL WAR DATE AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED BY RUGGLES, 2pp., DATELINED AT THOMASTON, MAINE, APRIL 6,
1863
TO
HANNIBAL HAMLIN
(1809 – 1891)
PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S FIRST VICE PRESIDENT DURING THE CIVIL WAR,
PROMINENT UNITED STATES SLAVERY ABOLITIONIST CONGRESSMAN, and US SENATOR FROM MAINE
&
26
th
GOVERNOR FROM MAINE, ETC.
RUGGLES WRITES TO VICE PRESIDENT HAMLIN ABOUT FILLING THE OFFICE OF COLLECTOR OF WALDOBORO DISTRICT, MAINE, BY RELEASING GENERAL TILLSON “…
from the burden of the civil office he holds, and left at liberty to devote himself to his high military duties
…” HE ADDS, “…
I address this to you, Sir, because you are a part of the government, relying, as we trust we may, upon your influence in the proper disposition of these matters.”
The document measures 5” x 8” and is in VERY FINE CONDITION.
A FINE PIECE OF AMERICAN POLITICAL HISTORY TO ADD TO YOUR AUTOGRAPH, MANUSCRIPT & EPHEMERA COLLECTION!
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BIOGRAPHY OF THE HONORABLE
JOHN RUGGLES
John Ruggles
(October 8, 1789 – June 20, 1874) was an
American politician
from the
U.S. state
of
Maine
. He served in several important state legislative and judicial positions before serving in the
U.S. Senate
.
Early life and career
Ruggles was born in
Westborough
,
Massachusetts
. He attended public school there and in 1813 graduated from
Brown University
in
Providence
,
Rhode Island
. Ruggles studied law, and after being admitted to the bar in 1815 he began practicing in
Skowhegan
,
Maine
. Two years later, Ruggles moved to
Thomaston
. In 1823, Ruggles was elected to the
Maine House of Representatives
. He served in the House until 1831, and was
speaker
(1825–1829 and again in 1831). He resigned from the state house to replace
Samuel E. Smith
(who had been elected
governor
) as a justice of the supreme judicial court of Maine, serving until 1834.
He also made the first US patent. The patent was for new traction wheels for trains for going uphill with heavy loads.
U.S. Senate career
The state legislature elected Ruggles as a
Democratic-Republican
(
Jacksonian
) to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of
Peleg Sprague
. He was later elected for the full term beginning March 4, 1835, and in total served from January 20, 1835, to March 3, 1841. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1840.
The "Father of the U.S. Patent Office"
During his tenure in
Congress
, Ruggles had served as Chairman of the Committee on Patents and Patent Office (
25th Congress
), and in 1836 framed the bill for the reorganization of the
United States Patent Office
. He was known for his interest in
inventions
and
patents
, and because of his legislative accomplishments in this area he has become known as the "Father of the U.S. Patent Office". Ruggles also was an inventor and the patent-holder of
U.S. Patent 1
, issued July 13, 1836. His invention was a type of train wheel designed to reduce the adverse effects of the weather on the track. This was not the first patent ever from the USPTO; the previous patents were destroyed by fire and afterwards called the
X-Patents
, and new patents afterwards were numbered from 1 again. Ruggles received the first patent granted under the new system;
Samuel Hopkins
received the first X-Patent.
Alleged misconduct & resolution
Ruggles faced an allegation of corruption in using Senatorial influence to secure positive outcomes for a patent application. On Apr. 12, 1838, Ruggles effectively discredited his accuser and the committee reported that the charges should be dismissed. On Apr. 25, 1838, the Senate
agreed with the committtee
.
Apr. 12, 1838
Ruggles effectively discredited his accuser and the committee reported that the charges should be dismissed.
Apr. 25, 1838
Senate
agreed with the committtee
Retirement and death
In retirement, Ruggles resumed the practice of law in
Thomaston
. There he made several more inventions and was well known as a political writer and orator. Ruggles was wealthy; he and his wife Margaret George Ruggles had children and lived in the largest house on the town's Main Street. He died in 1874 a few months before reaching age 85. He is interred in the Elm Grove Cemetery.
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BIOGRAPHY OF THE HONORABLE
HANNIBAL HAMLIN
Hannibal Hamlin
, a Representative and a Senator from Maine and a Vice President of the United States; born at Paris Hill, Oxford County, Maine, August 27, 1809; attended the district schools and Hebron Academy; took charge of the family farm and worked as a surveyor, compositor in a printing office, and school teacher; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1833 and practiced in Hampden, Penobscot County, until 1848; member, State house of representatives 1836-1841, 1847, and served as speaker in 1837, 1839, and 1840; unsuccessful Democratic candidate for election in 1840 to the Twenty-seventh Congress; elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth Congresses (March 4, 1843-March 3, 1847); chairman, Committee on Elections (Twenty-ninth Congress); unsuccessful Democratic candidate for election to the United States Senate in 1846; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate in 1848 by the anti-slavery wing of the Democratic party to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John Fairfield; reelected in 1850 and served from June 8, 1848, to January 7, 1857, when he resigned to become Governor; chairman, Committee on Commerce (Thirty-first through Thirty-fourth Congresses); Committee on Printing (Thirty-second Congress); left the Democratic Party in 1856; Governor of Maine January to February 1857, when he resigned; elected to the United States Senate as a Republican and served from March 4, 1857, until his resignation, effective January 17, 1861, to become vice president; elected Vice President of the United States on the ticket with Abraham Lincoln 1861-1865; appointed collector of the port of Boston in 1865 but resigned in 1866; again elected to the United States Senate in 1869; reelected in 1875 and served from March 4, 1869, until March 3, 1881; was not a candidate for renomination; chairman, Committee on the District of Columbia (Forty-first Congress), Committee on Manufactures (Forty-second Congress), Committee on Mines and Mining (Forty-second and Forty-third Congresses), Committee on Post Office and Post Roads (Forty-fourth and Forty-fifth Congresses), Committee on Foreign Relations (Forty-fifth Congress); United States Minister to Spain from 1881 to 1882, when he resigned; devoted the remainder of his life to agricultural pursuits; died in Bangor, Maine, July 4, 1891; interment in Mount Hope Cemetery.
Bibliography
American National Biography; Dictionary of American Biography; Hunt, H. Draper. Hannibal Hamlin: Lincoln’s First Vice President. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1969; Kazarian, Richard, Jr. ‘Working Radicals: The Early Political Careers of William Seward, Thaddeus Stevens, Henry Wilson, Charles Sumner, Salmon P. Chase and Hannibal Hamlin.’ Ph.D. dissertation, Brown University, 1981.
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