Recently I was at the Webster Flea Market looking for deals on insulators. As I was walking through the booths, I thought of a few past finds. Ten years ago I had come across a Hemingray-9 one half clear, one half blue for ten cents. The only white milk glass H.G. Co. beehive known was found there about twelve years ago. I kept thinking that maybe today would be the day that something significant would turn up. There were insulators, but only "clunkers", meaning they weren't of real value. 

As I continued my walk, I stopped at a booth and asked the man if he had any telegraph items for sale. He promptly replied that he had found an insulator in the basement of his home which was build in 1849. I asked him to describe the piece. His description made me think that he might have a "House" insulator, invented by Royal House, which dates back to 1847. He also told me that he had done some research on his home and in the process had discovered there was a possibility the insulator may have come from a private telegraph line used by one of the former owners. His theory was that the telegraph line ran to a town approximately ten miles away and was used to communicate with a relative.

At that time the "House" system would have been very practical as it printed the message on paper and anyone could send or receive messages on it and one did not have to learn any codes. Later, I found there was no private line but the insulator he found uses the "House" principal, in that it has an iron shell with glass inside and it is made to screw into a pole.

I asked the man what he would take for the insulator and promptly paid him. He said when he returned home in March he would send it to me, which he did. 

When the package arrived, I was intrigued by what was inside. I had never seen any insulator like it and knew immediately it was an early piece. It had, indeed, used the "House" principal as it was glass with an iron cover and I was aware that "House" had two patents in 1847 and 1852. It occurred to me that perhaps this was the first "House" insulator used (1847) and that later House used a different insulator when he applied for his other patent in 1852. But, unfortunately, I couldn't confirm anything. 

So, I made the decision to go North to find out what I could for myself. When I arrived, I spoke to everyone about the private line theory and came to the conclusion that there was no private line. The only other option was that the insulator came off the railroad. The railroad did run only a couple of miles away from the house. The problem was determining what telegraph company went through there at that time. I spoke to a number of people and finally at one of the local historian's home a book called "A History of Lawrence & Franklin Counties, 1853" was found containing the following information: "In the summer of 1851 the Vermont and Boston Line originally intended to extend only as far as Burlington, was continued on to Rouse's Point and Ogdensburgh, partly along the line of the railroad and partly along the highway. It has stations for receiving and transmitting intelligence at Ogdensburgh, Canton, Potsdam, North Potsdam, Malone, and Chateaugay. These lines are operated on the principle of Bain's electrochemical telegraph, and sufficient stock was taken up along the routes to defray the expense of erection."

After several more days of fruitless searching, I returned home. A book I had ordered from my local library, on the chance it might be of some help, had arrived during my absence. This book, "The Telegraph in America", by James D. Reid, was originally published in 1879 and proved to be great help. There is a chapter on the Vermont and Boston Telegraph Company which says:

"Before the company commenced operations, the Morse system was presented by Henry F. Rice, and the Bain system by Professor G.W. Benedict, a citizen of Burlington. Professor Benedict, who had the advantage of a local reputation, offered to construct the lines projected under the act of incorporation, under a contract for $212 per mile, one third of which to represent the cost of title in the Bain patent, and to be paid in stock. The offer of Prof. Benedict, after some discussion, was preferred, and a contract based upon it promptly executed. On March 21,1850, Prof. Benedict reported the line completed from Boston to Lowell, Nashua, Manchester, Concord, Woodstock, Northfield, Montpelier to Burlington. On this report the officers of the Company engaged Messrs. E. Stevens, of Franklin, and Moses G. Farmer, the latter widely known as an educated and practical electrician, to make a thorough examination of the whole line and offices, before the acceptance of the line from the contractor. 

These gentlemen reported April 24, 1850, that "the line was well and substantially built; that the wire was of No.8, of the highest quality of Swedish iron, and of great tenacity; and that the insulator used was the invention of the contractor, was the best of any yet produced, and, being covered with iron, was proof against injury. The insulator of Prof. Benedict was no doubt honestly praised by Mr. Farmer. It was, like the House insulator, glass molten in an iron shell, with a hook suspended in the glass. But experience soon caused its removal, and iron no longer forms a part of any approved American insulator. The committee reported, also, the machinery as being of a new pattern, of superior workmanship, and very elegant. The poles were of oak, chestnut, cedar, spruce, and hemlock. The line was worked from Boston to Burlington with three troughs of twelve pairs each of the "sand battery."

I was thrown off track somewhat when it mentioned a "hook". If it was like the "House" insulator it would not have a hook but a rod or center bar. Reading on, I discovered a few chapters later that it mentions Mr. Farmer again.

Moses G. Farmer

"The introduction of gutta percha also greatly stimulated the hope that a basis for a perfect and permanent insulation had been found. Especially was this so when John M. Bachelder and Moses G. Farmer began the construction of insulators from vulcanite or bone rubber."

So it seems that Farmer and Batchelder were in business together. From this information I feel it would be easy to assume that Batchelder took a look at my insulator and patented his improved design in 1851. He even says in his patent "The cup (iron shell), the glass and the center bar (not hook) were commonly known and used." Based on this information I believe what I have was used on the Vermont and Boston Telegraph Line in 1848 and the inventor was Prof. G. W. Benedict, of Burlington, Vermont. 

The information ranks the insulator with some of the earliest attempts. It puts it in a class with the "Little insulator", the Glass Block, Bureau Knob, "House" insulator, the Gutta Percha insulator, the Brimstone insulator, the Lefferts Hook and the Batchelder. The fact that it was not patented and I was still able to find out who invented it was, to me, quite remarkable.

Now, for the amazing part of my story! While I was visiting the gentleman, who sold me the insulator, we made a trip to his basement and while exploring, found THREE more! We couldn't get through the whole basement, but did search a lot of it. The basement was very dry and this preserved the iron very well. There is just a light rusting on the iron. The glass has cracks but considering their age they are in remarkable condition.

It just shows that there are still plenty of items left waiting to be found.

The photo above shows a CD 162 Brookfield next to the ironclad for size comparison. The top wire groove slot created by the two projections is clearly visible. At the right, the piece is seen after a quarter turn. Below the glass insert is pictured.

An interesting comparison to this newest early telegraph ironclad is the following information sent by Mike Guthrie, Crown Jewels of the Wire West Coast Correspondent:

Here are a couple of photos of the "batch of Batchelder's" which arrived at the Auburn, California show last December. They represent, I believe, all known styles: one suspension; and two screw spikes. The close-up photo shows the ramshorn type of wire securing attachment. This is very rare! The piece on the right shows split iron shell with hard rubber insert. This one "batch" probably represents close to 1/2 of the total known specimens. Can't wait to see what turns up at the Western Regional Show August 6th and 7th!