Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [folder], Vine and Ashmead Patent, 1849-1850, Ms1986-014, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The Vine and Ashmead patent was acquired by Special Collections and University Archives prior to 1986.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Vine and Ashmead Patent completed in November 2023.

Biographical Notes

James H. Ashmead was born about 1810 in Pennsylvania. Ashmead married Susan Jane Terry of Hartford, Connecticut, in 1839. During his life, Ashmead worked as a gold foil merchant. He died in 1880.

William Vine was born in England in 1798. By 1830, he and his wife Sarah moved to New York, where they had several children. By 1850, he was a machinist in Hartford, Connecticut. The next year, he was listed in the Hartford city directory as a "patentee and manufacturer of gold beating machines, knife polishing machines, and a variety of other articles." He died around 1872.

Sources:

U.S. Federal Censuses, 1850-1860

James Ashmead (abt. 1810 - aft. 1870), WikiTree, https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Ashmead-40 , accessed November 2023.

"James H Ashmead", Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/146075354/james-h-ashmead , accessed October 8, 2025.

"William Vine" in the U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/2469/records/1276711508 , accessed October 8, 2025.

"William Vine", Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14138566/william-vine , accessed October 8, 2025.

Scope and Content

This collection contains a handwritten patent certificate (No. 7552) awarded to William Vine and James H. Ashmead of Hartford, Connecticut for "machines for beating gold." The four-page document includes a description of the device and a set of engineering drawings for it.

Related Material

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has digitized a copy of the published patent, which can be retrieved by searching the USPTO's Patent Public Search for patent number 0007552.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Patents -- United States
• Science and Technology

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Vine and Ashmead Patent by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).