Background
Joseph was born on January 18, 1813, in Charleston, New Hampshire, United States. Son of David and Polly (Hurd) Glidden.
Joseph was born on January 18, 1813, in Charleston, New Hampshire, United States. Son of David and Polly (Hurd) Glidden.
There is no informatioan about his education.
From 1852 to 1854, he served as Sheriff of DeKalb County. In 1851, 1861, 1862, 1869, 1870, 1871, 1872, and 1876 he served on the Board of Supervisors of the County. In 1876, he was the Democratic nominee for Illinois State Senator. From 1861 to 1874, he served as a member of the Board of School Directors of DeKalb County, and for 20 years paid the largest school tax of any citizen of the county. He was also Vice-President of the DeKalb National Bank, Director of the North Western Railroad, and owner of the DeKalb Rolling Mill.
Joseph received his most impotrant patent for barbed wire in 1874. He created barbed wire by using a coffee mill to create the barbs. He placed the barbs along a wire and then twisted another wire around it to keep the barbs in place. To demonstrate the effectiveness of barbed wire, Glidden and his sales agent for the State of Texas, Marques Fortner, developed the "Frying Pan Ranch" in Bushland, Potter County, Texas, in 1881. Thus, Joseph Glidden created the Barb Fence Company in DeKalb, Illinois, that maed him extremely rich. He died on October 9, 1906 in DeKalb, Illinois, United States.
Joseph Glidden was the inventor of the modern barbed wire. By the time of his death, he was one of the richest men in America. He was also one of the largest contributors to the erection of Northern Illinois State Normal School and one of the churches there. The town of Glidden, Iowa, is named in his honor.
In 1837 Joseph married Clarissa Foster. She and their two sons died after the move to Illinois. Later he remarried Lucinda Warne (about 1851).
