Ancient History 105 - Mistaken Identity Multi-Cache
Ancient History 105 - Mistaken Identity
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This cache was one of the more interesting ones for me as far as
picking an interesting spot and then researching the history behind
it. I found a piece of trivia and a picture stating the holder of
the first patent was from Pittsford, NY. Well there was a lot more
to discover than that! I hope you enjoy this cache and the history,
old and new, behind it. I am sure very few people know this, but
now you do!
Here a sign proudly states "First U.S. patent issued July 31,
1790 signed by George Washington. The first U.S. patent was granted
to Samuel Hopkins, who moved to Pittsford, N.Y. in 1810 and is
buried here." Wow patent #1 issued to someone from around
here?! No, not really.
Patent #1 was issued to John Ruggles of Maine in 1836 for his 'cog
mechanism.' However, prior to 1836 there were 10,000 patents
issued, they were cataloged by name not number. A fire raged
through the building they were stored in and all patents were
lost.
Through personal records many were
restored. All of those first patents were now issued
numbers starting with an "X." So, back to poor Samuel Hopkins.
He is the holder of Patent #X0000001, which can be viewed at
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The Hopkins patent was for an "Improvement, not known before such
Discovery, in the making of Pot ash and Pearl ash by a new
apparatus and Process", and was granted for a term of fourteen
years. His patent was an important one. Not only because it was the
first of its kind but also because it was vitally linked with the
nation's early economy. In fact, potash was America's first
industrial chemical.
Potash is an impure form of
potassium carbonate, mixed with other potassium salts. Until
the 1860s it was derived solely from the ashes of hardwood
trees and certain other plants. (The name of the element
potassium is derived from the word potash.) Pearl ash is a
less impure form of potassium carbonate. Its name comes from
its pearly color. Potash was a leading industrial alkali from
antiquity until the close of the nineteenth century, when it
was finally abandoned for most uses in favor of soda (sodium
carbonate). It was essential for making soap and glass, dyeing
fabrics, baking, and making saltpeter for gunpowder. Today its
principal use is in fertilizers.
However, the Samuel Hopkins buried here in NY, is not the Samuel
Hopkins of Pot Ash fame. How exactly it all got confused is anyones
guess, and much of the story of both Sam's has been lost to history
for the most part. Our Sam Hopkins, was born in Aremenia, NY and
most likely lived in Pittsford, VT at some time. He is thought to
have moved to Pittsford, NY with some of his family. He is most
likely related to Caleb Hopkins, buried nearby. Who may be featured
in another cache I am planning, so I won't go more into that. Caleb
was also from VT. So the link with Pittsford, VT is established
there. His wife was listed as Betsey, who is also buried here. It
is also said he later married "Sarah Dunn" who, to my knowledge is
not buried here.
So who was the REAL Samuel Hopkins? Samuel Hopkins was born
December 9, 1743, just north of Baltimore, the second child of
Quaker parents. About the age of 16 he was apprenticed to Robert
Parrish, a Philadelphia Quaker tradesman. In the spring of 1765
Hopkins married Hannah Wilson, a sister-in-law of Parrish. Over the
next twenty five years in Philadelphia Samuel and Hannah raised six
children. The Census of 1790 lists Hopkins' occupation as "Pott Ash
Maker" while the city directories of this same period gives his
trade as "pot-ash maker" or "pot-ash manufacturer".But becoming
impoverished before the century was over, he and his wife took
temporary refuge in Rahway, New Jersey, with their daughter Sarah
and son-in-law, William Shotwell. After returning to Philadelpia,
Hopkins died in 1818, survived by his wife.
Talk about a case of mistaken identity! Most of these facts were
only uncovered a short time ago, and many places still list Samuel
Hopkins of Pittsford, NY as the holder of the first patent. Around
1998 the facts were finally straightened out, and the sign was
reported missing in 2001, maybe someone figured it out. Hope you
enjoyed this piece of local trivia.
There are also a couple other neat things nearby. Check out the
cannon, and note that the sign on it says "Prize of The World War -
1932" who knew there would be a second world war?! Also of note is
the historic marker for the old school located here.
The final cache coordinates are:
N 43 04.ABC W 77 31.DEF
To get the north coordinates Look at Samuel's Grave (use the newly
carved numbers only - they are the legible ones further down).
A = The 3rd number
B= The 8th number
C= The 5th number
Look at Betsey's grave
D =the 1st number
E = the 4th number
F= the 6th number minus the 5th number
Be sure to visit all the Anceint History caches:
Ancient
History 101 - Smith Family
Ancient
History 102 - First Settlement
Ancient
History 103 - Soldiers Memorial Tower
Ancient
History 104 - You Reap What You Sow
Ancient
History 105 - Mistaken Identity
Placed by a member of NYGO
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)