Elias Howe

Elias Howe

Elias Howe Jr. was an American inventor best known for his creation of the modern lockstitch sewing machine. Howe was not the first to conceive of the idea of a sewing machine, one as early as 1790. Howe served in the Union Army during the Civil War in which he served as a private. He died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1854, after a long illness.

About Elias Howe in brief

Summary Elias HoweElias Howe Jr. was an American inventor best known for his creation of the modern lockstitch sewing machine. Howe was not the first to conceive of the idea of a sewing machine, one as early as 1790. His machine contained the three essential features common to most modern machines: a needle with the eye at the point, a shuttle operating beneath the cloth to form the lock stitch, and an automatic feed. Howe served in the Union Army during the Civil War in which he served as a private in the D.C. Postmaster General’s Regiment. He died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1854, after a long illness. He is buried in Cambridge’s Mount Auburn Cemetery. He was buried next to his wife, Elizabeth Jennings Ames, who he married in 1841.

He had three children: Jane Robinson Howe, Simon Ames Howe, and Julia Maria Howe. He is survived by his three children and his wife’s daughter, Jane Robinson Robinson Howe, and his son, Simon Ames Ames, Jr. The Howe family is buried at Mount Auburn, Connecticut, in a plot of land that is now part of the Mount Auburn National Cemetery. For confidential support call the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255 or visit http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/. For support on suicide matters call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 or visit a local Samaritans branch or click here.