JOHN FITCH, INVENTOR OF STEAMBOATS.
BY MIRA CLARKE PARSONS.
By a coincidence of which the writer was
not then aware,
while the article* on the
"Steamboat" was in type, the name of
Robert Fulton was brought to public
notice, for the purpose of
bestowing further honors upon the memory
of a great inventor.
The object of this paper is to offer
additional proof of the
validity of the prior claim of John
Fitch, as the inventor and
originator of steam navigation. While
all due regard must be
paid to Robert Fulton, it is only the
part of generosity and
justice to offer tribute to the master
to whom he was indebted
for the first idea of the invention
which was to be productive of
greater results than their wildest
dreams had ever conceived.
The first patent right of employing
steam as a means of
navigation was granted John Fitch by the
State of New Jersey,
in 1786, as will be seen by the
following communication, re-
ceived in reply to an inquiry regarding
it. The State Library of
Ohio furnishes no copies of the laws of
New Jersey previous
to 1800. TRENTON, N. J., Aug. 29, 1900.
My Dear Madame-The act granting certain
rights and
privileges to John Fitch was
"Passed at Trenton, March 18,
1786. The title of the act is 'An act
for granting and securing
to John Fitch the sole right and
advantage of making and
employing the steamboat, by him lately
invented, for a limited
time.' "
The act granted to Fitch "of Bucks
county, in the State of
Pennsylvania, for and during the full
end and term of fourteen
years, from and after the present
sessions of the legislature,"
the sole right of making and using boats
"which may be urged
or impelled through the water by the
force of fire or steam, in
all creeks, rivers, bays and waters
whatsoever within the territory
and jurisdiction of this State."
The penalty for infringement was
£100 and forfeiture of "all such
boat, boats or watercraft, together
with the steam engine, and all the
appurtenances thereof."
Very truly yours, HENRY C. BUCHANAN,
State Librarian.
*John Fitch, Inventor of Steamboats.
Vol. VIII, page 397, Ohio
Archaeological and Historical
Publications.
(238)