Arthur G. Elvin

Elvin was born in Peru, Indiana in 1865.[1] He began working when he was 16 in a railroad shop in Indiana, employed as a machinist.[1] He eventually became the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad's superintendent of motive power, during which time he resided in Huntington, West Virginia. He then relocated to Montreal to serve in the same capacity for the Grand Trunk Railroad, prior to relocating again to Scranton, Pennsylvania to hold the same position with the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad.[1] Then, in 1904, relocated to Franklin, Pennsylvania, where he became the head of the Franklin Railway Supply Company's mechanical engineering department.[1]

Elvin was the inventor of (and held patents for) several railway devices, such as the Elvin automatic stoker and the Elvin grate-shaker, and was a key figure in the development of several pneumatic freight devices, such as those used for conveyors and elevators; he was also involved in the creation of the Franklin fire door for locomotives and was a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.[1][2][3][4][5]

He eventually moved onto Long Island, New York, where he would be a founding member of the First National Bank of Manhasset and enter politics.[1][6]

Elvin died from heart failure on October 12, 1934 at his summer home at 65 Abbey Road in Munsey Park, New York.[1] He is buried at Christ Church Cemetery in Manhasset.[1]

Elvin was survived by his daughter, E. R. Lederer (née Elvin), who resided in Fort Worth, Texas.[1]