Product Description
This short work contains the 40-page, memoirs of19th Century inventor and engineer Orley Clifton Houghton. The memoir was hand-written to his son Bruce Robertson Houghton, Sr. in the 1950s. Sadly, I believe that several pages of his autobiography have been lost or destroyed, as the document ends abruptly. It was meant to be a brief history of the heritage of the Houghton Farm in Wisconsin and an overview of Orley’s early work as an inventor, in designing and producing mechanized farm equipment. It certainly was never meant to be published, but just as an historical reference for his son. As one of Orley’s grandsons, I believe this document should be preserved and shared with future Houghton generations, as well as being a fascinating window into American 19th Century rural life.
Orley was born on the Houghton Farm, in LaGrange, Wisconsin, on March 19, 1877. He was the son of Horace and Elizabeth Houghton and attended grade school in a small, one-room, schoolhouse in LaGrange Wisconsin, a small, unincorporated town in Walworth County, WI. The schoolhouse is no longer there, but was about three-quarters of a mile from the family home and farm, which is still standing and in residence today. Orley came from a very religious family and was a member of the LaGrange Methodist Church, in LaGrange. He was kind and gentle man, and like the rest of his family, would never swear of use a whip on the draft horses that tilled the land or pulled his farm machinery.
Orley often spoke to this author of taking a horse and buggy from the Houghton Farm in Wisconsin to the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, when he was only 16-years-old. The World’s Fair was meant to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ 1492 arrival in the New World. On opening day, President Grover Cleveland depressed a golden telegraph key which sent the first courses of electricity throughout the Fair powering fountains, machines, electric railways and thousands of lights. It was the first use of electricity on such a massive scale, and must have been a thrilling site for this young man of 16. Orley told us of his amazement at visiting the International Exhibit, which was a devoted exhibit on electrical current, motors, and lighting. Orley recalled with amazement viewing the huge exhibits of General Electric, Westinghouse, and Western Electric. He saw one of his heroes Thomas Edison at the General Electric exhibit and told of how one of the first, incandescent light bulbs only lasted “a few seconds” after it was turned on, before it burned out. Orley was amazed that 71 years later he would watch, on live TV, the first, successful, unmanned landing, by Ranger 7, on the moon in July 1964. He insisted on staying up till late at night to watch the landing. As an engineer and inventor, he would say that his lifetime was filled with man’s greatest achievements.
As editor, I have tried to copy his manuscript just as Orley had written it. The chapter titles and sentence structure are completely those of Orley. Any errors made in copying his original, handwritten, document are, of course, strictly the fault of the editor. Occasionally, I have added some bracketed information, footnotes, or photos to assist in clarifying the meaning of his autobiography. The photos, unless otherwise credited, are from the personal collection of Orley’s two grandsons, Bruce R. Houghton, Jr. and William D. Houghton.
Orley was born on the Houghton Farm, in LaGrange, Wisconsin, on March 19, 1877. He was the son of Horace and Elizabeth Houghton and attended grade school in a small, one-room, schoolhouse in LaGrange Wisconsin, a small, unincorporated town in Walworth County, WI. The schoolhouse is no longer there, but was about three-quarters of a mile from the family home and farm, which is still standing and in residence today. Orley came from a very religious family and was a member of the LaGrange Methodist Church, in LaGrange. He was kind and gentle man, and like the rest of his family, would never swear of use a whip on the draft horses that tilled the land or pulled his farm machinery.
Orley often spoke to this author of taking a horse and buggy from the Houghton Farm in Wisconsin to the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, when he was only 16-years-old. The World’s Fair was meant to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ 1492 arrival in the New World. On opening day, President Grover Cleveland depressed a golden telegraph key which sent the first courses of electricity throughout the Fair powering fountains, machines, electric railways and thousands of lights. It was the first use of electricity on such a massive scale, and must have been a thrilling site for this young man of 16. Orley told us of his amazement at visiting the International Exhibit, which was a devoted exhibit on electrical current, motors, and lighting. Orley recalled with amazement viewing the huge exhibits of General Electric, Westinghouse, and Western Electric. He saw one of his heroes Thomas Edison at the General Electric exhibit and told of how one of the first, incandescent light bulbs only lasted “a few seconds” after it was turned on, before it burned out. Orley was amazed that 71 years later he would watch, on live TV, the first, successful, unmanned landing, by Ranger 7, on the moon in July 1964. He insisted on staying up till late at night to watch the landing. As an engineer and inventor, he would say that his lifetime was filled with man’s greatest achievements.
As editor, I have tried to copy his manuscript just as Orley had written it. The chapter titles and sentence structure are completely those of Orley. Any errors made in copying his original, handwritten, document are, of course, strictly the fault of the editor. Occasionally, I have added some bracketed information, footnotes, or photos to assist in clarifying the meaning of his autobiography. The photos, unless otherwise credited, are from the personal collection of Orley’s two grandsons, Bruce R. Houghton, Jr. and William D. Houghton.
