John Stevens (engineer)

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John Stevens 1749-1838

John Stevens (* 1749 in New York Province, † March 3, 1838 in Hoboken (New Jersey) ) was Treasurer of New Jersey in the American Revolutionary War . At the end of the war he acquired the land on which Hoboken would later lie. He was considered the inventor of steam-powered ships and locomotives. He appeared before Congress as an intellectual property advocate , which led to the Patent Law Act .

The Stevens villa at Castle Point in Hoboken NJ was rebuilt in 1855

Life

His parents were John Stevens, whose father John came to America in 1699 so that he became John III. was and the mother Elizabeth, daughter of James Alexander, and sister of William Alexander, the American general from the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), known as "Lord Sterling". He grew up in Perth Amboy New Jersey , where his father held the office of chamberlain. He received lessons from private tutors and at Kenersley's College near Woodbridge. In 1760 his parents moved back to New York and after graduating from school in 1762 he moved in with his parents. Four years later he attended King's College (now Columbia University ), graduating in 1768, and studying law for the next three years. In 1771 he was admitted to the bar, but did not practice this profession. Instead he helped his father in his business as a shipowner and businessman as well as political tasks in New Jersey and was occasionally active as a "special aide" (special help) for Governor William Franklin .

With the outbreak of war he offered his services to General George Washington and was immediately accepted as captain of the Hunterdon County NJ regiment. His job was to raise money for the Continental Army. A few months later he was named Treasurer of New Jersey and held that position for the duration of the war. He was promoted to colonel. 1782–83 he was general supervisor of the eastern divisions in New Jersey, based in Trenton.

In March 1783 Colonel Stevens bought the land of Hobuck Island, (now Hoboken ), which had been confiscated from William Bayard, who had joined the army of the King of England, for £ 8,360. He also bought the adjacent piece of land from Weehawken. The purchase of so much land excited New York tempers as did the house it built. The house was called "Stevens Villa" in the newspapers, but he simply referred to it as "The Castle". During the next three years he was busy developing the land and building a home for his family. After his marriage, he and his wife had moved into his father's old house in New York at 7 Broadway, across from Bowling Green. They lived there until 1814 and from 1786 only used Hoboken during the summer months. From 1814 they lived permanently in their castle. Colonel Stevens enjoyed his new property and his wife helped him set up the more than 20 rooms. He boasted that the view from each of the windows was of unsurpassed beauty because the house stood on a hill.

Photo gallery

  • View of Hoboken from the ferry around 1838

  • View of New York from Hoboken around 1838

Services

The ships

In 1787 he saw John Fitch's steamboat on the Delaware River, near Burlington, NJ, going against the current. He was so excited that he whipped his horse to the landing site of the boat, where he examined the engine and the mechanism of the steam-powered paddles. The ideas of John Fitch and James Rumsey inspired him to undertake his own experiments in his workshop and he studied the drawings of Thomas Savery .

Back then, streets were not paved as we know them today. For the transport of trade goods, they were laid out with wooden planks so that traders with horses and carts and travelers could pass them more easily. Before the railroad came they were the only means of getting from one place to another, e.g. B. from the coast over the Appalachian Mountains . As the United States grew in size and trade increased with immigrants, road construction achieved a sudden boom in the early 19th century. The “ turnpikes ” provided safe and reliable roads for traders and travelers. They demanded road tolls because they were privately financed. A stock corporation often raised the necessary capital for financing. Steven's father had already been commissioner for the turnpikes during the war and on November 30, 1802 Colonel John founded the company "Bergen Turnpike", which ran from Hoboken to Hackensack via Ridgefield and Little Ferry.

Stevens patented an improved boiler and steam engine. He got Robert R. Livingston (1746-1813), his brother-in-law and friend from college, to build a steamboat with him. They teamed up with the mechanic Nicholas Roosevelt and - after several test models - Stevens built the Little Juliana . The boat, completed in 1804, used a new high-pressure steam engine and two screw propellers to cross the Hudson.

Livingston, who had bought an exclusive right to use steamboats on the Hudson, was now in France, where he convinced the American inventor Robert Fulton to build his steamship, which ran at 5 miles per hour, in America. On his return, Livingston was not impressed with the Little Juliana , which was not reaching the contractually agreed speed. He offered Stevens a stake in Fulton's future steamboat, but Stevens turned down the offer because he believed Livingston had broken his word. On October 11, 1811, the Juliana began the ferry service from New York's Barclay Street to Hoboken, New Jersey .

In 1808 John R. Livingston bought from his brother Robert R. Livingston the right to operate a steamboat between New York and New Jersey. Much to Stevens' annoyance, the Livingston-Fulton monopoly was extended by the New York legislature on April 11, 1808 for five years for each additional ship they launched, but for a maximum of 30 years.

Stevens launched his first ocean steamer, the 30-meter-long “Phoenix”, just a few days after Fulton's Clermont began its successful voyage from New York to Albany in 1807. Stevens used the Phoenix for the ferry service across the Delaware River, while the Livingston-Fulton ferry drove exclusively on the Hudson. It was the first ship of its category to sail across the Atlantic from New York to Philadelphia.

The locomotive

Together with his sons, he developed not only technology for steamships and ferries, but also various elements of railway technology . 1826 is considered to be the year the first locomotive built in the United States was put into service. It was built by Stevens and his son Robert. A ring of rails that had been laid in a field served as a test track.

family

He was the son of a member of the Continental Congress, also named John Stevens . On October 17, 1782, he married Rachel, daughter of Col. John Cox of Bloomsbury NJ

They had 11 children:

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The First United States Patent Statute . Patent Act of 1790, Ch. 7, 1 Stat. 109 (April 10, 1790)
  2. ↑ William Alexander, Lord Sterling
  3. ↑ W.JAY MILLS: HISTORIC HOUSES OF NEW JERSEY . P. 39.
  4. ↑ Thomas Savery: The Miner's Friend: Or, an Engine to Raise Water by Fire. Publisher: S. Crouch, London 1702. Reprinted W. Clowes, London 1827 Drawings pp. 64-66
  5. ^ Bergen Turnpike Company
  6. ↑ Raymond J. Baxter, Arthur G. Adams: Railroad ferries of the Hudson , p. 118. ( Memento of the original from October 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Fordham University Press 1999. ISBN 978-0-8232-1954-4 , accessed October 10, 2011. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / fordhampress.com
  7. ^ Journal of the Steamboat. Phoenix's Passage from New York to Philadelphia - Saturday June 10th 1809 in: Turbull: John Stevens, an American Record.
  8. ^ Morton Memorial and Biographical Record of the Stevens Family
  9. ^ Benjamin F. Sands: From Reefer to Rear Admiral , page 11 . Publisher: Frederick A. Stokes Company New York 1899.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Stevens, John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION New Jersey Treasurer, Engineer, Inventor, and Lobbyist
DATE OF BIRTH 1749
PLACE OF BIRTH new York
DATE OF DEATH March 3, 1838
Place of death Hoboken, New Jersey