Jacob Haish

Jacob Haish (March 9, 1826 – February 19, 1926) was one of the first inventors of barbed wire. His type of barbed wire was in direct competition with the other barbed wire manufacturers in DeKalb, Illinois. He was a known carpenter and architect in DeKalb County and designed several prominent DeKalb homes.[1]

Jacob Haish
Born(1826-03-09)March 9, 1826
Baden, Germany
DiedFebruary 19, 1926(1926-02-19) (aged 99)
DeKalb, Illinois
Occupation(s)Carpenter, architect
Spouse
Sophie Ann Brown
​
(m. 1847)​
Signature

Early life

Haish was born in Baden, Germany on March 9, 1826, and immigrated with his family to the United States in 1835.[2] He came to Illinois in 1845, married Sophie Ann Brown in 1847, and moved to DeKalb in 1853, where he was a carpenter.[2] He cultivated osage orange hedges whose thorns made them effective as cattle fencing.[3]

Invention of barbed wire

m In late 1872, Henry Rose developed a wire fence with an attached wooden strip containing projecting wire points to dissuade encroaching livestock. He patented his fence in May 1873 and exhibited it at the DeKalb County Fair that summer. This prompted Haish and other DeKalb residents Isaac Ellwood and Joseph Glidden to work on improving the concept. Haish had patented three styles of barbed fencing by June 1874.[4][5][6] When Haish's patent for an "S-barb" design was granted in August 1875, he launched a drawn out legal battle to stymie his rivals.[7] It failed at the US Supreme Court in 1895.[8]

Libraries

In 1893, the city council of DeKalb, Illinois, decreed the establishment of a public library.[9] The impetus for this ordinance was requests from the Ladies of the Library Association, a group that had conducted a reading room for several years. The library moved twice before the Haish gift came along; it was first located on the second floor of the city hall and then, in 1923, moved to the second floor of the DeKalb Daily Chronicle building on Lincoln Highway.

Jacob Haish died at his home in DeKalb on February 19, 1926.[2] He had bequested a $150,000 gift for a library building in his will. The result was the Haish Memorial Library in downtown DeKalb.

See also

References
  1. Bigolin, Steve. The Landmarks of Barb City - Part 43C, Daily Chronicle, 7 March 2005. Retrieved 21 February 2007.
  2. "Jacob Haish Dead". The DeKalb Daily Chronicle. February 19, 1926. p. 1. Retrieved April 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Barbed Wire Inventors: Jacob Haish". Antique Barbed Wire Society. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  4. "U.S. Patent 146,671". Jacob Haish, DeKalb, Illinois, Improvement in Wire Fences – "spirally wrapped wires, the ends being hooked together to form projecting spikes" (January, 1874). Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  5. "U.S. Patent 147,634". Improvement in Barbed Fences – "sheet metal pronged attachments", riveted or nailed to fence rails (February, 1874). Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  6. "U.S. Patent 152,368". Barbed-Wire Fences – "twisted wires and spirally interwoven metallic strip having projecting spurs" (June, 1874). Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  7. "U.S. Patent 167,240". Improvement in Wire-fence Barbs – "single piece of wire bent into the form of the letter S" so that both strands are clasped (August, 1875) This improvement was the foundation for Haish's successful business. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  8. "THORN WIRE HEDGE CO. v. WASHBURN & MOEN MANUF'G CO. WASHBURN& MOEN MANUF'G CO. v. THORN WIRE HEDGE CO". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  9. "About the Library". DeKalb Public Library. Retrieved March 27, 2018.

Haish patents
  • U.S. Patent 146,671 – Jacob Haish, DeKalb, Illinois, Improvement in Wire Fences – "spirally wrapped wires, the ends being hooked together to form projecting spikes" (January, 1874)
  • U.S. Patent 147,634 – Improvement in Barbed Fences – "sheet metal pronged attachments", riveted or nailed to fence rails (February, 1874)
  • U.S. Patent 152,368 – Barbed-Wire Fences – "twisted wires and spirally interwoven metallic strip having projecting spurs" (June, 1874)
  • U.S. Patent 167,240 – Improvement in Wire-fence Barbs – "single piece of wire bent into the form of the letter S" so that both strands are clasped (August, 1875) This improvement was the foundation for Haish's successful business.
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