| James Knibbs was baptised at
Somerton, Oxfordshire on 14th October 1827. James emigrated to New York,
USA in 1840 with his parents Joseph and Hannah KNIBBS and siblings
Elizabeth, George and Cornelius.
He was named the first steam engineer of Troy, 1860 and was the engineer of the Arbba Read Steam Fire Engine1860-1873. He was paid a substantial wage of $50.00 a month. |
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He invented and patented a device called the "Knibbs Run
Around" and applied it to the Arbba
Read
Steam
Fire
Engine. It's a pressure
valve
with
the
main objective of the invention
being
to allow one, two,
three or more discharge pipes or hoses to throw streams of water
from
the
fire
engine
at the
same time, without any waste of water or risk of injury or damage to it's
operators or the engine itself. It appears that at James' request, for
experimental purposes, the device was installed into an engine constructed
by the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company. Amoskeag then manufactured and sold
engines containing James' invention for two years before James eventually
applied for the patent. James fought many court cases against the State Of New York to obtain money on his invention. He tried to get $26,000,000.00 and fought from 1881 till his death. The family continued to fight for it after his death but ended up settling for just $1,500.00. Click on the image to see Patent details |
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