Letters Patent

From the files of Stephen M. Lawson

Samuel Morey Inventor Extraordinary - Morey Family Narrative

The New Hampshire Bar Association published "Nashua Attorneys Find, Help Restore Historic NH Patents" by Andrew P. Cernota, in Bar News on 8/13/2004. Mr. Cernota, a patent attorney with Maine and Asmus, provides information concerning his and Scott Asmus' search for Samuel Morey patents. The original information at the U.S. Patent Office was destroyed in an 1836 fire, and Cernota and Asmus located copies of 10 Morey patents at Rauner Special Collections Library at Dartmouth. The U.S. Patent database will be updated, and Letters Patent copies are presently being shared by the firm of Maine and Asmus. The ten Morey patents located appear in the following list from Mr. Cernota's article.

Pat #	Issue Date	Letters Patent Signers	Patent Title
X51	01/29/1793	Go. Washington and Th. Jefferson	Turning A Spit
X246	04/24/1799	John Adams and Timothy Pickering	New And Invented Water Engine
X306	11/17/1800	John Adams and J. Marshall	Force From Water With Assist Of Steam
X2339	07/14/1815	James Madison and Jas. Monroe	Steam Engine *
X2339	07/14/1815	James Madison and Jas. Monroe	Apply The Power Of Water To Water Wheels *
2752X	03/13/1817	James Madison and Jas, Monroe	Tide And Current Water Wheel For Driving Mills Or Machinery With Or Without A Dam
2880X	12/11/1817	James Monroe and J. Q. Adams	Method Of Burning Water Called The American Water Burner
3060X	01/19/1819	James Monroe and John Quincy Adams	Shooting With Steam And Gas
4378X	04/01/1826	John Quincy Adams and H. Clay	Gas Or Vapor Engine
7826X	11/19/1833	Andrew Jackson and Louis McLane	Decomposing And Recomposing Water In Combo With Spirits Of Turpentine

* The US Patent Office has deemed this to be a single patent even though the applications describe two distinct inventions.

Presidential Signatures on Early Samuel Morey Patents

The ten Letters Patent were signed by the first seven Presidents of the United States - six of them signing as President, and Thomas Jefferson signing as Secretary of State. Two other Presidents signed as both President and Secretary of State. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshal signed as Secretary of State for President John Adams, "The Great Compromiser" Senator Henry Clay signed as Secretary of State for President John Quincy Adams. The Letters Patent numbers for the signatures shown are as follows:

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson - X51
John Adams and John Marshall - X306
James Madison and James Monroe - 2752X
James Monroe and John Quincy Adams - 3060X
John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay - 4378X
Andrew Jackson and Louis McLane - 7826X

The two Samuel Morey signatures are from Letters Patent X246 and 2880X, respectively.

Letters Patent Sigs

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Modified: 9/27/04