s of New
England and elsewhere the Matzeliger type of machine is well known,
and to this day it is frequently referred to in trade circles as the
"Nigger machine," the relic, perhaps, of a possible contemptuous
reference to his racial identity; and yet there were some newspaper
accounts of his life in which it was denied that he had Negro blood in
him. A certified copy of the death certificate of Matzeliger, which
was furnished the writer by William J. Connery, Mayor of Lynn, on Oct.
23, 1912, states that Matzeliger was a mulatto.

[Illustration: J. E. MATZELIGER

LASTING MACHINE

NO. 274,207

PATENTED MAR. 20, 1883

AN ILLUSTRATION SHOWING THE MODELS MADE BY MATZELIGER TO ILLUSTRATE
HIS INVENTIONS IN SHOE MACHINES.]

Another prosperous business growing out of the inventions of a colored
man is The Ripley Foundry and Machine Company, of Ripley, Ohio,
established by John P. Parker. He obtained several patents on his
inventions, one being a "screw for Tobacco Presses," patented in
September, 1884, and another for a similar device patented in May,
1885. Mr. Parker set up a shop in Ripley for the manufacture of his
presses, and the business proved successful from the first. The small
shop grew into a large foundry where upwards of 25 men were constantly
employed. It was owned and managed by Mr. Parker till his death. The
factory is still being operated, and on the business lines originated
by the founder, but the ownership has passed from the Parker family.

Another business, the development of which is due in large measure to
the inventions of a colored man, Elijah McCoy, is that of making
automatic lubricators for machinery. Mr. McCoy is regarded as a
pioneer inventor in that line. He completed and patented his first
lubricating cup in 1872. Since then he has patented both in this
country and abroad nearly fifty different inventions relating
principally to the art of automatic lubrication machinery, but
including also a considerable variety of other devices. His
lubricating cup was at one time in quite general use on the
locomotives of the leading railways of the Northwest, on the steamers
of the Great Lakes, and in up-to-date factories throughout the
country. He is still living in Detroit, Michigan, and still adding new
inventions to his already lengthy list.

In completing and patenting upwards of 50 different inventions
Granville T. Woods, late of New York, appears to have surpassed every
other colored inve