Carteret County Woman Patents Invention

In the 19th century, women were seldom involved in commercial activities. However, creativity can often be found in unexpected places. The following is taken from the1892 Patent Application of Leah Donnell Jones of Carteret County, NC. I was not able to find more information about Leah Jones.

 

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PANTALOONS-PROTECTOR

­­­­­­­­SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 519,632, dated May 8, 1894.

Application filed December 9, 1892. Renewed January 22, 1894. Serial No. 497,721. (No Model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEAH DONNELL JONES, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Berne, in the county of Craven and State of North Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pantaloons-Protectors; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

… It is well know how the use of ordinary rubber shoes to keep the feet dry does not prevent the necessity of turning up the pants to keep them from being soiled by the spattering of mud and water, and how such turning produces creases and destroys the shape of the lower ends of the pants. The turning up may be obviated by the use of rubber and other boots with longer or shorter legs, but with these also it is impossible to maintain the proper shape and contour of the pants, as the same are soiled and folded, creased and rumpled to fit the shape and movements of the confining boot leg.

The object of my invention is to protect the lower ends of pantaloons from wear and wet, and from being soiled and spattered and at the same time to maintain their proper shape and contour.

Drawing of invention.

To this end my invention consists of the combination of a shoe with upright parts forming a leggin constructed as a part of the shoe, the lower ends of said parts surrounding the mouth of the shoe turned outwardly and then projecting upwardly from the quarters and vamp at some distance below said mouth forming a pocket to hold and protect the lower end of the trousers leg in its normal position on the shoe, as hereinafter described and claimed.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which—

Figure 1, is a side view in elevation of a shoe with my improvement attached, the mouth of the shoe within the protecting pieces being show in dotted lines; Fig. 2, a top view, and Fig. 3, a side view showing the lower portion of a pantaloons leg in position in which it is held by the protector.

… B, B', are the protecting pieces made of canvas, or other cloth, leather or rubber, or other sutable material, and lined or unlined, and are secured to the top of the shoe around and outside of the mouth thereof. … The upright parts B,B', form a leggin constructed as an integral part of the shoe, …

LEAH DONNELL JONES.

Witnesses:

            W. B. Boyd,
            K. B. Boyd

[This patent was included in the WOMEN INVENTORS INDEX - 1790-1895  data base at http://www.lib.muohio.edu/epub/govlaw/FemInv/NC.php ]