Elisha King Root (May 5, 1808 - September 1, 1865) was a

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

machinist A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who operates machine tools, and has the ability to set up tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling machines. A competent machinist will generally have a strong mechan ...

, inventor, and President of

Colt's Manufacturing Company Colt's Manufacturing Company, LLC (CMC, formerly Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company) is an American firearms manufacturer, founded in 1855 by Samuel Colt that has become a subsidiary of Czech holding company Colt CZ Group. It is th ...

. Root was born on a Massachusetts farm and worked as a bobbin boy in a cotton mill before switching, at the age of 15, to working in a machine shop in

Ware, Massachusetts Ware is a New England town, town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,066 as of 2020 United States census, 2020. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield metropo ...

. At age 24 he was hired by Connecticut industrialist Samuel W. Collins to work in his

axe An axe (; sometimes spelled ax in American English; American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for thousands of years to shape, split, a ...

factory in Collinsville, a village of

Canton, Connecticut Canton is a town, incorporated in 1806, located in the Farmington Valley of Connecticut in the United States. It is part of Connecticut's Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region and the population was 10,124 as of the 2020 Un ...

. According to historian

Diana Muir Diana Muir, also known as Diana Muir Appelbaum, is an American historian from Newton, Massachusetts, best known for her 2000 book, ''Reflections in Bullough's Pond'', a history of the impact of human activity on the New England ecosystem. Perso ...

writing in

Reflections in Bullough's Pond ''Reflections in Bullough's Pond: Economy and Ecosystem in New England'' is a book by Diana Muir, published in 2000. ''Providence Journal'' called ''Bullough’s Pond'' "a masterpiece", and ''Publishers Weekly'' called it "lyrical". The Massachu ...

, Root "reconceptualized" the making of axes. Until his invention, axes were made by "flattening wrought iron, folding it around a steel pin, and forging the two sides together under a

trip hammer Trip may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books Fictional characters * Trip (Pokémon), Trip (''Pokémon''), a ''Pokémon'' character * Trip (Power Rangers), in the American television series ''Time Force Power Rangers'' * Trip, in the 2013 film ...

." Root arranged "a series of dies and rollers that could 'die forge' -or apply pressure to a mold, forming a piece of hot wrought iron into the shape of an ax, with an eye already punched to receive the handle." According to Muir, Root next automated the tempering of axes by inventing a machine that moved ax heads through a temperature-regulated oven on a rotating wheel. And a machine that "shaved" the axes to give them a sharp edge, so that they needed only a small amount of finishing on a grindstone. In 1849

Samuel Colt Samuel Colt (; July 19, 1814 – January 10, 1862) was an American inventor, industrialist, and businessman who established Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company and made the mass production of revolvers commercially viable. Col ...

hired Root to come work in his

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

firearms factory as a superintendent. Root performed this role with great success, developing many star employees. It was while working for Colt that Root perfected the Lincoln miller milling machine, 150,000 of which were sold in the late 19th century, making it the most important American

machine tool A machine tool is a machine for handling or machining metal or other rigid materials, usually by cutting, Boring (manufacturing), boring, grinding (abrasive cutting), grinding, shearing, or other forms of deformations. Machine tools employ some s ...

of the era. He modernized firearms production at Colt by designing state of the art drop hammers, boring machines,

gauge Gauge ( ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, especia ...

s, jigs, etc. Root also improved the

milling machine Milling is the process of machining using rotary cutters to remove material by advancing a cutter into a workpiece. This may be done by varying directions on one or several axes, cutter head speed, and pressure. Milling covers a wide variety of ...

invented by

Simeon North Simeon North (July 13, 1765 – August 25, 1852) was an American gun manufacturer, who developed one of America's first milling machines (possibly the very first) in 1818 and played an important role in the development of interchangeable parts ma ...

and improved by the Robbins and Lawrence Company of Vermont and by Francis A. Pratt of the George S. Lincoln company in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

. The improved tool was known as the Lincoln Miller. The Colt Model 1855 Sidehammer Pocket Revolver, or Colt Root Revolver, was named in honor of the engineer, and saw use during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. After Colt's death in 1862, Root took over as president of Colt's Patent Firearms until his death on September 1, 1865.Root Genealogical Records. 1600-1870
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References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Root, Elisha K. 1808 births 1865 deaths 19th-century American inventors Machine tool builders People from Ludlow, Massachusetts

See also

References

Bibliography