James M. Spangler
Encyclopedia
James Murray Spangler was an American inventor, salesman and janitor who invented the first commercially successful portable electric vacuum cleaner that revolutionized household carpet cleaning. His device was not the first vacuum cleaner. However, Spangler’s device was the first that was practical for home use. It was the first to use both a cloth filter bag and cleaning attachments. Spangler improved this basic model and received a patent for it in 1908. He formed the Electric Suction Sweeper Company to manufacture his device. William H. Hoover
was so impressed with the vacuum cleaner that he bought into Spangler's business and patents.
, Pennsylvania and settled in Stark County, Ohio
.
On May 21, 1874, Spangler married Elista (Lettie) Amanda Holtz. They had three children, Clarence, Francis and Jennie. In 1880 they moved to Akron.
James Murray Spangler was granted a patent on a grain harvester in 1887. He invented certain new and useful improvements such as the sliding tailboard made of sheet metal. He removed a standard tailboard and provided the sliding tailboard to regulate the width of the platform and adjust it to grain of different length. He also installed guards that prevented straw or grain from wrapping around the roller.
James Murray Spangler invented a combined hay rake
and tedder
which was patented in 1893. By his peculiar arrangement, he was able to provide a combined hay rake and tedder in one machine, thereby reducing the cost. He formed a company for its sale which was unsuccessful and short-lived.
In 1897 he was granted a patent for a velocipede
wagon and sold his invention to a company in Springfield, Ohio. He claimed as new “the combination of the body or box, mounted upon traveling wheels”. The bicycle became quite popular at the same time and interfered with the sale of the wagon.
He later worked as a sweeper at the Zollinger Dept. Store located in the Folwell Bldg. located on the northwest corner of the public square in Canton, Ohio. (The top floor was occupied – in 1907 - by the Elks Club and the remaining floors occupied by the Wm. R. Zollinger Dept. Store.)
While watching a rotary street sweeper in operation, Spangler got the idea to mount the motor from a sewing machine onto a carpet sweeper and cut a hole in the back of the sweeper to attach fan blades which would blow dirt out of the rear of the cleaner into an attached dirt bag (a pillow case he borrowed from his wife). He attached a leather belt from the motor shaft to the wood cylinder brush roll and a broom stick supplied the handle. In his next attempt he used a wooden soap box as the main body. He used his invention successfully in cleaning the Folwell Bldg. Bringing his ingenuity to bear on the problem, Spangler fashioned a tin box, a pillowcase, an electric fan, and a broom handle into something we might recognize today as a crude vacuum cleaner. Spangler called it a "suction sweeper."
Despite being primitive and unwieldy, it worked—Spangler's asthma abated, and he received a patent for his troubles. He also realized that he might finally have a salable invention. Spangler first tested his invention in 1907. During the next year, he refined the vacuum numerous times, and on June 2, 1908, he received a patent for his sweeper.
Spangler, with $5,000.00 invested by a friend, formed the Electric Suction Sweeper Company.
Ray Harned, nephew and financial representative of F.G. and W.H. Folwell, formed partnership with Spangler in the fall of 1907. The Folwells had financed Zollingers and were financing Spangler who had filed an application for a patent in September 1907. However, in just a few months, finances were gone. Spangler didn't have the capital to mass-produce his gadget. So he showed the suction sweeper to his cousin Susan Hoover, who tried it, liked it, and extolled its virtues to her husband, William Hoover
, a leather-goods manufacturer.
The timing was fortuitous: With the automobile gaining popularity, William Hoover was concerned about the market for his horse collars and harnesses, and was eager to diversify. In 1908 he bought Spangler's patent, and he soon had a small staff toiling in the corner of his leather shop, turning out six suction sweepers a day. William Hoover made further improvements to the vacuum cleaner that resembled a bagpipe attached to a cake box. A novel look that was very functional. Sluggish sales of the Hoover vacuum cleaner were given a kick by Hoover’s ten day, free home trial. Hoover came up with the idea of door-to-door salesmen who gave home demonstrations of the new vacuum cleaners Hoover's success means that most people today associate the vacuum cleaner with him, rather than with Spangler.
Spangler was planning the first vacation of his life, a trip to Florida. He died on January 22, 1915, the night before he was to leave. He was 66. Spangler's family continued to receive royalties until his patent expired June 2, 1925.
The Hoover Company
The Hoover Company started out as an American floor care manufacturer based in North Canton, Ohio. It also established a major base in the United Kingdom and for most of the early-and-mid-20th century, it dominated the electric vacuum cleaner industry, to the point where the "hoover" brand name...
was so impressed with the vacuum cleaner that he bought into Spangler's business and patents.
Early Years and Personal Life
James Murray Spangler was one of ten children born to Mr. William Spangler & Mrs. Elizabeth Lind Spangler on November 20, 1848. The Spangler family was originally from Plain TownshipPlain Township
Plain Township may refer to:*Plain Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana*Plain Township, Franklin County, Ohio*Plain Township, Stark County, Ohio*Plain Township, Wayne County, Ohio*Plain Township, Wood County, Ohio- See also :...
, Pennsylvania and settled in Stark County, Ohio
Stark County, Ohio
Stark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2010 census, the population was 375,586. It is included in the Canton-Massillon, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area....
.
On May 21, 1874, Spangler married Elista (Lettie) Amanda Holtz. They had three children, Clarence, Francis and Jennie. In 1880 they moved to Akron.
Career
After moving to Akron, Spangler was in business with his brother selling gent's furnishings. He also worked for the Aultman Company as a salesman.James Murray Spangler was granted a patent on a grain harvester in 1887. He invented certain new and useful improvements such as the sliding tailboard made of sheet metal. He removed a standard tailboard and provided the sliding tailboard to regulate the width of the platform and adjust it to grain of different length. He also installed guards that prevented straw or grain from wrapping around the roller.
James Murray Spangler invented a combined hay rake
Hay rake
A hay rake is an agricultural rake used to collect cut hay or straw into windrows for later collection . It is also designed to fluff up the hay and turn it over so that it may dry. It is also used in the evening to protect the hay of the dew...
and tedder
Tedder (machine)
A tedder is a machine used in haymaking. It is used after cutting and before windrowing, and uses moving forks to airate or "fluff up" the hay and thus speed-up the process of hay-making...
which was patented in 1893. By his peculiar arrangement, he was able to provide a combined hay rake and tedder in one machine, thereby reducing the cost. He formed a company for its sale which was unsuccessful and short-lived.
In 1897 he was granted a patent for a velocipede
Velocipede
Velocipede is an umbrella term for any human-powered land vehicle with one or more wheels. The most common type of velocipede today is the bicycle....
wagon and sold his invention to a company in Springfield, Ohio. He claimed as new “the combination of the body or box, mounted upon traveling wheels”. The bicycle became quite popular at the same time and interfered with the sale of the wagon.
He later worked as a sweeper at the Zollinger Dept. Store located in the Folwell Bldg. located on the northwest corner of the public square in Canton, Ohio. (The top floor was occupied – in 1907 - by the Elks Club and the remaining floors occupied by the Wm. R. Zollinger Dept. Store.)
Invention of the portable electric vacuum cleaner
James Spangler was an asthmatic. Almost 60 and cursed with strong disease, he grew frustrated at the tedious and dusty work of sweeping the carpet in the store where he worked . He deduced that the carpet sweeper he used on the job was the source of his cough. A tinkerer at heart, he set his mind to making an electric carpet sweeper.While watching a rotary street sweeper in operation, Spangler got the idea to mount the motor from a sewing machine onto a carpet sweeper and cut a hole in the back of the sweeper to attach fan blades which would blow dirt out of the rear of the cleaner into an attached dirt bag (a pillow case he borrowed from his wife). He attached a leather belt from the motor shaft to the wood cylinder brush roll and a broom stick supplied the handle. In his next attempt he used a wooden soap box as the main body. He used his invention successfully in cleaning the Folwell Bldg. Bringing his ingenuity to bear on the problem, Spangler fashioned a tin box, a pillowcase, an electric fan, and a broom handle into something we might recognize today as a crude vacuum cleaner. Spangler called it a "suction sweeper."
Despite being primitive and unwieldy, it worked—Spangler's asthma abated, and he received a patent for his troubles. He also realized that he might finally have a salable invention. Spangler first tested his invention in 1907. During the next year, he refined the vacuum numerous times, and on June 2, 1908, he received a patent for his sweeper.
Spangler, with $5,000.00 invested by a friend, formed the Electric Suction Sweeper Company.
Ray Harned, nephew and financial representative of F.G. and W.H. Folwell, formed partnership with Spangler in the fall of 1907. The Folwells had financed Zollingers and were financing Spangler who had filed an application for a patent in September 1907. However, in just a few months, finances were gone. Spangler didn't have the capital to mass-produce his gadget. So he showed the suction sweeper to his cousin Susan Hoover, who tried it, liked it, and extolled its virtues to her husband, William Hoover
The Hoover Company
The Hoover Company started out as an American floor care manufacturer based in North Canton, Ohio. It also established a major base in the United Kingdom and for most of the early-and-mid-20th century, it dominated the electric vacuum cleaner industry, to the point where the "hoover" brand name...
, a leather-goods manufacturer.
The timing was fortuitous: With the automobile gaining popularity, William Hoover was concerned about the market for his horse collars and harnesses, and was eager to diversify. In 1908 he bought Spangler's patent, and he soon had a small staff toiling in the corner of his leather shop, turning out six suction sweepers a day. William Hoover made further improvements to the vacuum cleaner that resembled a bagpipe attached to a cake box. A novel look that was very functional. Sluggish sales of the Hoover vacuum cleaner were given a kick by Hoover’s ten day, free home trial. Hoover came up with the idea of door-to-door salesmen who gave home demonstrations of the new vacuum cleaners Hoover's success means that most people today associate the vacuum cleaner with him, rather than with Spangler.
Later years
After Spangler sold the patents to William Hoover, he stayed on with the Hoover Company as the superintendent. Spangler's wife and daughter (Jennie Spangler Painter) made all the bags for the sweepers until 1914 when the bag making was taken to New Berlin. Clarence, Spangler's son, worked about a year for The Electric Suction Sweeper Co. in New Berlin. He became very ill and died in December 1911.Spangler was planning the first vacation of his life, a trip to Florida. He died on January 22, 1915, the night before he was to leave. He was 66. Spangler's family continued to receive royalties until his patent expired June 2, 1925.
Patents
- Spangler, , "Grain Harvester"
- Spangler, , "Combined Hay Rake and Tedder"
- Spangler, , "Velocipede Wagon"
- Spangler, , "Carpet Sweeper and Cleaner"
- Spangler, , "Suction Carpet Sweeper"