Charles D. Gregory of Brownfield, Texas: Solved
Aug 24, 2022 8:31:17 GMT -8
Post by Uncle Buddy on Aug 24, 2022 8:31:17 GMT -8
This one's been driving me crazy for years.
In August 1936, an inventor named C. D. Gregory of Brownfield, Texas was interviewed by a newspaper in Amarillo about his compressed air engine. Amarillo isn't very close to Brownfield; Lubbock is way closer and for that matter, Brownfield has newspapers too. He told the reporter he'd always liked Amarillo, and was going back to Brownfield the next day. He said he had been granted two US patents in the past. When inventors talk about their patents, they're usually lying or exaggerating in an attempt to protect their invention, or else they've just applied for a patent and ran to the newspaper to tell them about it, but then we never hear from them again because the application was denied.
C. D. Gregory didn't claim to have a patent on his air engine but exactly two prior patents do in fact exist, for a toy, granted to Charles D. Gregory of Brownfield, Texas in 1933-34. C. D. claimed that the air engine invention, which he'd been working on since he was young in 1913, had given him quite a few white hairs. So it looks like he was probably born in the 1880s or 1890s. If he was born any earlier or later, the news article would have called him a young man or an old man. Here's a timeline on what we think we know about Charles:
--has worked as a miner, crane operator, fireman
--no book learning
--became interested in mechanics since began learning abt machinery age 14
--started on the motor in 1913 and worked hard all his life on the invention (young in 1913)
--first workable motor 1928
--improved motor 1931
--patented a toy 1933-34
--lived in Brownfield 1933-1936 at least
--perfected motor 1936
--many white hairs in 1936
--has a farm
--never heard from again
Other than the article, which appeared in digested form in several newspapers, and the two patents, we know absolutely nothing about this guy. He's an excellent candidate for a name change. If Brownfield was really his longtime home, we'd probably find other Gregorys there but there are no Gregory families there to speak of. There are other Charles D. Gregorys in Texas but none of them pan out. The most likely was Charles Dennis Gregory, a pump engineer who had already settled in Southern California by 1930. I no longer believe this is him.
What I'm missing at this point is newspapers and city directories from Brownfield for the mid-1930s. Just because he didn't apparently live there in 1930 or 1940 doesn't mean he never lived there. But it seems likely that he might have only lived there a few years. Maybe I could get a librarian or genealogist in Brownfield to put an hour or two into this quest.
I had two pet theories about who C D Gregory was, but today I casually dipped back into that search once again and was surprised to immediately find him after searching for years. The proof is not absolute but the evidence is overwhelming. I will be posting the rest of the story soon.
In August 1936, an inventor named C. D. Gregory of Brownfield, Texas was interviewed by a newspaper in Amarillo about his compressed air engine. Amarillo isn't very close to Brownfield; Lubbock is way closer and for that matter, Brownfield has newspapers too. He told the reporter he'd always liked Amarillo, and was going back to Brownfield the next day. He said he had been granted two US patents in the past. When inventors talk about their patents, they're usually lying or exaggerating in an attempt to protect their invention, or else they've just applied for a patent and ran to the newspaper to tell them about it, but then we never hear from them again because the application was denied.
C. D. Gregory didn't claim to have a patent on his air engine but exactly two prior patents do in fact exist, for a toy, granted to Charles D. Gregory of Brownfield, Texas in 1933-34. C. D. claimed that the air engine invention, which he'd been working on since he was young in 1913, had given him quite a few white hairs. So it looks like he was probably born in the 1880s or 1890s. If he was born any earlier or later, the news article would have called him a young man or an old man. Here's a timeline on what we think we know about Charles:
--has worked as a miner, crane operator, fireman
--no book learning
--became interested in mechanics since began learning abt machinery age 14
--started on the motor in 1913 and worked hard all his life on the invention (young in 1913)
--first workable motor 1928
--improved motor 1931
--patented a toy 1933-34
--lived in Brownfield 1933-1936 at least
--perfected motor 1936
--many white hairs in 1936
--has a farm
--never heard from again
Other than the article, which appeared in digested form in several newspapers, and the two patents, we know absolutely nothing about this guy. He's an excellent candidate for a name change. If Brownfield was really his longtime home, we'd probably find other Gregorys there but there are no Gregory families there to speak of. There are other Charles D. Gregorys in Texas but none of them pan out. The most likely was Charles Dennis Gregory, a pump engineer who had already settled in Southern California by 1930. I no longer believe this is him.
What I'm missing at this point is newspapers and city directories from Brownfield for the mid-1930s. Just because he didn't apparently live there in 1930 or 1940 doesn't mean he never lived there. But it seems likely that he might have only lived there a few years. Maybe I could get a librarian or genealogist in Brownfield to put an hour or two into this quest.
I had two pet theories about who C D Gregory was, but today I casually dipped back into that search once again and was surprised to immediately find him after searching for years. The proof is not absolute but the evidence is overwhelming. I will be posting the rest of the story soon.