Hidden Figures: Sarah Boone #BlackHERstoryMonth 6/28 (Patreon)

Hidden Figures: Sarah Boone #BlackHERstoryMonth 6/28

Sarah Boone (1832-1904) was an African American inventor who on April 26, 1892, obtained United States patent rights for her improvements to the ironing board. Boone's ironing board was designed to improve the quality of ironing sleeves and the bodies of women's garments. The board was very narrow, curved, and made of wood. The shape and structure allowed it to fit a sleeve and it was reversible, so one could iron both sides of the sleeve. Boone was born Sarah Marshall in Craven County, North Carolina, near the town of New Bern in February 1832. On November 25, 1847, in New Bern, she married a freedman named James Boone (or Boon); they would have eight children. The Boone family left North Carolina for New Haven, Connecticut, before the outbreak of the American Civil War; they settled into a house at 30 Winter Street. James Boone worked as a brick mason until his death in 1874 while his wife was listed in New Haven directories as a dressmaker. She filed her patent July 23, 1891, listing New Haven, Connecticut as her home. Her patent was published nine months later. Boone's patent was not the first for an ironing board, but ironing was usually done with irons heated on the stove or fire, using a table that was covered with a thick cloth. Often women would simply use the kitchen table, or prop a board on two chairs. Sarah Boone patented an improvement to the ironing board (U.S. Patent #473,653) on April 26, 1892. Boone's ironing board was designed to be effective in ironing the sleeves and bodies of ladies' garments. Boone's board was very narrow and curved, the size and fit of a sleeve common in ladies' garments of that period. It was reversible, making it easy to iron both sides of a sleeve. She noted that the board could also be produced flat rather than curved, which might be better for the cut of the sleeves of men's' coats. She noted that her ironing board would also be well-suited for ironing curved waist seams. In her patent application, she wrote that the purpose of her invention was "to produce a cheap, simple, convenient and highly effective device, particularly adapted to be used in ironing the sleeves and bodies of ladies' garments.” She was one of the first black women to receive a patent in the United States, and she lived in New Haven for the rest of her life. Sarah Marshall Boone died in 1904 and is buried in a family plot in Evergreen Cemetery in New Haven. #SarahBoone #HiddenFigures ****************** Merchandise! MAKE SURE U GETTA SHIRT!! https://www.teepublic.com/user/sssseren Follow me on social media! Twitter: @seren_sensei Instagram: @sensei_aishitemasu Personal Tumblr: http://sensei-aishitemasu.tumblr.com Tumblr for my work: https://sssseren.tumblr.com Snapchat: sssseren GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/tc5wh7q Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/seren_sensei ****************** Did you know I wrote a book? ☺️ 'So, About That... A Year of Contemporary Essays on Race and Pop Culture' Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/About-That-Contemporary-Essays-Culture-ebook/dp/B013V0CHK6 Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013V0CHK6 Digital download (e-book): https://gumroad.com/l/IkUa ****************** Links: An American Inventor - Sarah Boone (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhFSdV2UTtU 'LOOKING BLACK ON TODAY IN 1892, SARAH BOONE RECEIVED PATENT FOR HER IDEA THAT TRANSFORMED THE IRON BOARD FOREVER:' https://blackthen.com/looking-black-on-today-in-1892-sarah-boone-received-patent-for-her-idea-that-transformed-the-iron-board-forever/ 'Biography of Sarah Boone:' https://www.thoughtco.com/sarah-boone-inventor-4077332 Sarah Boone Biography: https://www.biography.com/people/sarah-boone-21329877 Sarah Boone: http://blackinventor.com/sarah-boone/ Sarah Boone Biography: https://famousbiographies.org/sarah-boone-biography/ Sarah Boone (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Boone