|
Tobias Witmer
Tobias Witmer (October 8, 1816 – August 14, 1897) was an American inventor, spelling reformer, civil engineer, and a notable poet in the Pennsylvania Dutch language. He was also one of the most well known surveyors of the Niagara County, New York region. His inventions included a bicycle wheel made from the wires of an old hoop skirt; a corn sheller; and an automatic railroad switch. For a time, he was a schoolteacher and was one of the founders of the Williamsville Classical Institute, later known as the Williamsville Academy. Witmer's Pennsylvania German poetry was anthologized by Abraham R. Horne and Edward H. Rauch. He and his twin brother were born in Niagara Falls, New York to a family from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He died in Williamsville, New York. Bibliography *''T. Witmer's patent musical scale, shewing the transpositions of the scale by sharps and flats for the use of singing school teachers'' (1857) *''A system of phonetic spelling adapted to English and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pennsylvania Dutch Language
Pennsylvania Dutch (, or ) or Pennsylvania German is a Variety (linguistics), variety of Palatine German dialects, Palatine German spoken by the Pennsylvania Dutch, including the Amish, Mennonites, Fancy Dutch, and other related groups in the United States and Canada. There are approximately 300,000 native speakers of Pennsylvania Dutch in the United States and Canada. The language traditionally has been spoken by the Pennsylvania Dutch, who are descendants of late 17th- and early to late 18th-century immigrants to Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina, who arrived primarily from Southern Germany and, to a lesser degree, the regions of Alsace and Lorraine in eastern France, and parts of Switzerland. Pennsylvania Dutch#Autonym, Differing explanations exist on why the Pennsylvania Dutch are referred to as ''Dutch'', which typically refers to the inhabitants of the Netherlands or the Dutch language, only distantly related to Pennsylvania German. Spe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Niagara County, New York
Niagara County is in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 212,666. The county seat is Lockport. The county name is from the Iroquois word ''Onguiaahra''; meaning ''the strait'' or ''thunder of waters''. The county is part of the Western New York region of the state. Niagara County is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, and across the Canada–US border is the province of Ontario. It is the location of Niagara Falls and Fort Niagara, and has many parks and lake shore recreation communities. In the summer of 2008, Niagara County celebrated its 200th birthday with the first settlement of the county, of Niagara Falls. History When counties were established in the New York colony in 1683, the present Niagara County was part of Albany County. Prior to the British, the area was part of New Netherland. Albany was an enormous county, including the northern part of New York State as well as all of the present Sta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Newspapers
A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports, art, and science. They often include materials such as opinion columns, weather forecasts, reviews of local services, Obituary, obituaries, birth notices, crosswords, editorial cartoons, comic strips, and advice columns. Most newspapers are businesses, and they pay their expenses with a mixture of Subscription business model, subscription revenue, Newsagent's shop, newsstand sales, and advertising revenue. The journalism organizations that publish newspapers are themselves often Metonymy, metonymically called newspapers. Newspapers have traditionally been published Printing, in print (usually on cheap, low-grade paper called newsprint). However, today most newspapers are also Electronic publishing, published on webs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hoop Skirt
A hoop skirt or hoopskirt is a women's undergarment worn in various periods to hold the skirt extended into a fashionable shape. It originated as a modest-sized mechanism for holding long skirts away from one's legs, to stay cooler in hot climates and to keep from tripping on the skirt during various activities. Small hoops might be worn by farmers and while working in the garden. Hoops were then adopted as a fashion item, and the size and scale of the hoops grew in grandeur, especially during the mid-nineteenth century transition from the 1850s to the 1860s.Fogg, Marnie: ''Fashion: The Whole Story'', 2013, Prestel, New York, New York, As the society of consumerism evolved, the roles of men and women changed and so did their dress. In the mid-19th century, the fashionable silhouette was a small waist with large, dome-shaped skirts. More and more petticoats were added to make the skirts appear even larger. When the circular crinoline came out in 1856, it was a revelation not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corn Sheller
{{more sources, date=May 2016 A corn sheller is a hand-held device or a piece of machinery to shell corn kernels off the cob for feeding to livestock or for other uses. History The modern corn sheller is commonly attributed to Lester E. Denison from Middlesex County, Connecticut. Denison was issued a patent on August 12, 1839, for a freestanding, hand-operated machine that removed individual kernels of corn by pulling the cob through a series of metal-toothed cylinders which stripped the kernels off the cob. Soon after, other patents were granted for similar machines, sometimes having improvements over Denison's original design. Operation The operation of a corn sheller is similar to a threshing machine, but with some differences to deal with larger grain size and other differences of corn compared to wheat and other crops. Corn shellers can be powered by a hand crank, a tractor, a stationary engine, or by an electric motor. Whole corn cobs are fed in. They are pulled between tw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abraham R
Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the covenantal relationship between the Jewish people and God; in Christianity, he is the spiritual progenitor of all believers, whether Jewish or non-Jewish; and in Islam, he is a link in the chain of Islamic prophets that begins with Adam and culminates in Muhammad. Abraham is also revered in other Abrahamic religions such as the Baháʼí Faith and the Druze faith. The story of the life of Abraham, as told in the narrative of the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible, revolves around the themes of posterity and land. He is said to have been called by God to leave the house of his father Terah and settle in the land of Canaan, which God now promises to Abraham and his progeny. This promise is subsequently inherited by Isaac, Abraham's son by his wife Sarah, while Isaac's half-brother Ishmael is also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward H
Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Saxon England, but the rule of the Norman and Plantagenet dynasties had effectively ended its use amongst the upper classes. The popularity of the name was revived when Henry III named his firstborn son, the future Edward I, as part of his efforts to promote a cult around Edward the Confessor, for whom Henry had a deep admiration. Variant forms The name has been adopted in the Iberian peninsula since the 15th century, due to Edward, King of Portugal, whose mother was English. The Spanish/Portuguese forms of the name are Eduardo and Duarte. Other variant forms include French Édouard, Italian Edoardo and Odoardo, German, Dutch, Czech and Romanian Eduard and Scandinavian Edvard. Short forms include Ed, Eddy, Eddie, Ted, Teddy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Niagara Falls, New York
Niagara Falls is a City (New York), city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a total population of 48,671. It is adjacent to the Niagara River, across from the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and named after the famed Niagara Falls which they share. The city is within the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area and the Western New York region. While the city was formerly inhabited by Native Americans, Europeans who migrated to the Niagara Falls in the mid-17th century began to open businesses and develop infrastructure. Later in the 18th and 19th centuries, scientists and businessmen began harnessing the power of the Niagara River for electricity and the city began to attract manufacturers and other businesses drawn by the promise of inexpensive hydroelectric power. After the 1960s, however, the city and region experienced an economic decline. As industries left the region, affluent and middle-class families ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Lancaster County (; ), sometimes nicknamed the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 552,984, making it Pennsylvania's sixth-most populous county. Its county seat is also Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Lancaster. Lancaster County comprises the Lancaster metropolitan statistical area. Lancaster County is a tourist destination with its Amish community being a major attraction. The ancestors of the Amish began to immigrant, immigrate to colonial Pennsylvania in the early 18th century to take advantage of the freedom of religion, religious freedom offered by William Penn, as well as the area's rich soil and mild climate. They were joined by French Huguenots fleeing the Edict of Fontainebleau, religious persecution of Louis XIV. There were also significant numbers of English, Welsh and Ulster S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Williamsville, New York
Williamsville is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 5,423 at the 2020 census. The village is named after Jonas Williams, an early settler. It is part of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area. Williamsville is located mostly within the town of Amherst, New York, Amherst, but Creek Road and Creek Heights in the south part of the village (near the Wehrle Drive underpass of the New York State Thruway) are in the town of Cheektowaga (town), New York, Cheektowaga. The village is in the northeastern quadrant of Erie County. The Williamsville Central School District is a school system covering Williamsville, most of the eastern part of Amherst, and a small portion of the western end of Clarence. History The community developed where the major road between Batavia, New York, Batavia and Buffalo, New York, Buffalo crossed Ellicott Creek just above Glen Falls (New York), Glen Falls. The water power off ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earl C
Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The title originates in the Old English word , meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl''. After the Norman Conquest, it became the equivalent of the continental count. In Scotland, it assimilated the concept of mormaer. Since the 1960s, earldoms have typically been created only for members of the royal family. The last non-royal earldom, Earl of Stockton, was created in 1984 for Harold Macmillan, prime minister from 1957 to 1963. Alternative names for the rank equivalent to "earl" or "count" in the nobility structure are used in other countries, such as the ''hakushaku'' (伯爵) of the post-restoration Japanese Imperial era. Etymology In the 7th century, the common Old English terms for no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1816 Births
This year was known as the '' Year Without a Summer'', because of low temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere, possibly the result of the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia, causing severe global cooling, catastrophic in some locations. Events January–March * January 6 – (December 25, 1815 on the Russian Julian calendar): Tsar Alexander I of Russia signs an order, expelling the Jesuits from St. Petersburg and Moscow. * January 9 – **Sir Humphry Davy's Davy lamp is first tested underground as a coal mining safety lamp, at Hebburn Colliery in northeast England; **Ludwig van Beethoven wins the custody battle for his nephew Karl. * January 17 – Fire nearly destroys the city of St. John's, Newfoundland. * February 10 – Friedrich Karl Ludwig, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck, dies and is succeeded by Friedrich Wilhelm, his son and founder of the House of Glücksburg. * February 20 – Gioachino Rossini's opera buffa ''The Barber of Sevill ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
