James Hartness
| James Hartness | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 58th Governor of Vermont | |
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In office January 6, 1921 – January 4, 1923 |
|
| Lieutenant | Abram W. Foote |
| Preceded by | Percival W. Clement |
| Succeeded by | Redfield Proctor, Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
September 3, 1861 Schenectady, New York |
| Died | February 2, 1934 (aged 72) Springfield, Vermont |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Lena Pond |
| Profession | Machinist, toolmaker, inventor, manager, entrepreneur, governor |
James Hartness (September 3, 1861 – February 2, 1934) was an American inventor; a mechanical engineer; an entrepreneur who mentored other inventors to develop their machine tool products and create a thriving industrial center in southeastern Vermont; an amateur astronomer who fostered the construction of telescopes by amateurs in his town; an early aviator who built one of Vermont’s first airports; and the 58th Governor of Vermont from 1921 to 1923.
Hartness was born in Schenectady, New York, one of three sons. His family moved to Cleveland, Ohio in 1863 where his father was a foreman in local machine shops and Hartness attended public school. Hartness worked up through the ranks in machine shops in Connecticut before moving to Springfield, Vermont, where he had a brilliant career as an innovator of machine tools. He became one of the nation’s first aviators and became a one-term governor of the state of Vermont. He had two daughters, Anna and Helen. His daughter, Helen (Helen Hartness Flanders), was a noted folk song collector who married Ralph Flanders, a U.S. Senator from Vermont Hartness died in Springfield in 1934. He is buried in the Summer Hill Cemetery in Springfield, not far from his mansion.
He built his Springfield home in 1904, which an example of shingle style architecture. An inn and restaurant since 1954, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its connection to him.
At age 16, Hartness began his career in machine shops. At age 21 he became a foreman at the Winsted-Norway Bolt Company in Winsted, Connecticut. He moved in 1886 to Torrington, Connecticut to work as a tool-maker and foreman at the Union Hardware Company. His lifetime achievement of more than 100 patents began here with patents of locks, roller skates, and bicycle pedal mechanisms.
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