Background
James Rumsey, the son of Edward and Anna (Cowman) Rumsey, was born on his father's farm at Bohemia Manor, Cecil County, Maryland. Information regarding the first forty years of his life is scanty.
(Excerpt from A Short Treatise on the Application of Steam...)
Excerpt from A Short Treatise on the Application of Steam: Whereby Is Clearly Shewn, From Actual Experiments, That Steam May Be Applied to Propel Boats or Vessels of Any Burthen Against Rapid Currents With Great Velocity This is the fate of the unlucky projector, even in the cie ties of Europe, where every material is at his command, and every artificer at his fervice. A candid public then confider my fituation, thrown by hard fate beyond the mountains, and deprived of every advantage which, that grand mover, money, produces, they will ealily perceive how 1ny.dili:iculties have been multiplied, which'is the only reafon of my not exhibiting my long promifed boat be fore this; and which l,hope will be a fufiiment apology. Even now, thefe difficulties render my machinery very in: complete 5but Mr. Fitch's endeavouring to procure pa;4. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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James Rumsey, the son of Edward and Anna (Cowman) Rumsey, was born on his father's farm at Bohemia Manor, Cecil County, Maryland. Information regarding the first forty years of his life is scanty.
He had an elementary schooling and learned blacksmithing.
He is said to have served in the Revolutionary War. He was living in Baltimore in 1780 and two years later, in partnership with a friend, began operating a grist mill at Sleepy Creek, Md. This enterprise lasted less than a year, however, because Rumsey paid no attention to the business and spent his time dreaming of "impossible things. "
In 1783 he went to Bath, now Berkeley Springs, W. Va. , and, with another friend, opened a general store and engaged in the building trade as well, for Bath even then was popular as a health resort. He was busy with these concerns throughout 1783 and 1784 and had the honor of building a house and stables for General Washington on his lands at Bath. Meanwhile, he had been working in secret on a mechanically propelled boat, at the same time endeavoring to interest capital in his undertaking.
While he failed to secure any money, the House of Delegates of the Virginia Assembly in June 1784, by resolution, indicated a sympathetic interest in his boat plans; Washington, after seeing a model of Rumsey's craft, gave him a kindly worded certificate in September; in November, the Virginia legislature granted him the exclusive rights to build his special boats and navigate the waters of the state with them; and two months later, the Maryland legislature granted him a similar privilege.
In gaining these advantages, however, Rumsey had neglected his family and business, and by the summer of 1785 he was in bad repute and much in debt. Accordingly, he was glad to accept a position as superintendent of construction of canals for the Potomac Navigation Company, of which General Washington was president. He held it for only a year, however, giving it up because he was dissatisfied with the "pay and emoluments" allowed him (Washington, Diaries, post, III, 85). He now became engrossed in perfecting a steamboat.
It is said that he had considered the use of steam power for a boat as early as 1783, but it was not until the winter of 1785 that he actually began to experiment with a steam engine. He worked in secret on his plans throughout 1786 and 1787, but because of the publicity which John Fitch was getting in Philadelphia with his project, Rumsey was urged by Washington and others to come out in the open and demonstrate his plans.
This he did on December 3, 1787, and again on December 11, exhibiting on the Potomac River, near Shepherdstown, W. Va. , a boat propelled by streams of water forced out through the stern, a steam engine being employed to operate the force pump. Having no money to proceed with his experiment and being unable to secure any locally, Rumsey went to Philadelphia in the spring of 1788 and presented his case to the American Philosophical Society, whereupon, on May 9, a number of the members formed the "Rumseian Society, " to promote Rumsey's several projects. These included, in addition to his steamboat, an improved steam boiler; an improvement in a saw mill; an improvement in a grist mill; and a plan for raising water by means of a steam engine.
Because Fitch held the public's interest in America, the Society immediately sent Rumsey to England to patent his improvements and to interest English capital. He soon secured English patents on his boiler and steamboat, and through his friends, similar patents were granted him by the United States in 1791. For over four years he labored abroad to perfect his second steamboat but throughout that time had the most disheartening experiences, due mostly to the lack of money. Even the Rumseian Society failed him. By the winter of 1792, however, the completion of the Columbia Maid, so christened by Rumsey, was in sight; but just a few months before it was finished Rumsey died in London, at the age of forty-nine. His friends in England buried him in St. Margaret's churchyard, near Westminster, but the grave is unmarked.
(Excerpt from A Short Treatise on the Application of Steam...)
Rumsey was married twice, his second wife having been Mary Morrow. At the time of his death he was survived by his widow and three children, one a daughter by his first wife.
