Vail, Alfred, 1807-1859
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person
Vail, Alfred, 1807-1859
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Name :
Vail, Alfred, 1807-1859
Vail, Alfred
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Vail, Alfred
Vail, Alfred Lewis 1807-1859
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Vail, Alfred Lewis 1807-1859
Vail, A. 1807-1859 (Alfred),
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Vail, A. 1807-1859 (Alfred),
Vail, A. 1807-1859
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Vail, A. 1807-1859
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Biographical History
Genealogist.
Inventor.
Alfred Vail, a co-inventor of the telegraph, was born in Morristown, New Jersey on September 25, 1807 to Bethiah Youngs and Stephen Vail. On September 2, 1837, he witnessed one of Professor Samuel F.P. Morse's first telegraph experiments and became strongly interested in the project. By September 23, he had formed a partnership with Morse and with his father's financial backing, went to work on the telegraph in the machine shops of his father's company, Speedwell Iron Works. He created the crucial dot-dash mechanism and means of communication that became known as "Morse Code," and on January 6, 1838, the first successful experiment of the equipment took place over three miles of wire running around the machine shops at Speedwell. It wasn't until 1843, however, that Congress appropriated money to build a line between Baltimore and Washington D.C., and on May 24, 1844, a message reading, "What Hath God Wrought!" was sent between Vail in one city and Morse in the other. For the next four years Vail continued working with Morse in Philadelphia. He retired in 1848 and moved with his family back to Morristown, New Jersey where he spent the remaining ten years of his life researching Vail family genealogy. Alfred Vail married Jane Elizabeth Cummings (1817-1852) on July 23, 1839. They had three sons together: Stephen (1840-1909), James Cummings (1843-1917), and George Rochester (1852-1931). After Elizabeth Vail's death, Alfred married Amanda O. Eno. Alfred Vail died on January 18, 1859.
Between 1837 and 1844, inventor Alfred Lewis Vail worked together with Samuel F.B. Morse in the development and spread of the telegraph. In 1848, Vail moved to his home town, Morristown, New Jersey, and spent the last ten years of his life conducting genealogical research.
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External Related CPF
https://viaf.org/viaf/48205299
https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q454292
https://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n85185997
https://id.loc.gov/authorities/n85185997
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Languages Used
Subjects
Universities and colleges
Families
Inventions
Iron industry and trade
Morse code
Theological seminaries
Technological innovations
Telegraph
Theology
Nationalities
Activities
Occupations
Genealogists
Inventors
Legal Statuses
Places
Iowa
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Morristown (N.J.)
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Ohio
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New York (State)
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New York (State)
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New Jersey
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New York (State)
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New York (State)--New York
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Morris County (N.J.)
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New York (State)
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New York (State)
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Pennsylvania
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Massachusetts
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New York (State)
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Michigan
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Virginia
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Morristown (N.J.)
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Vermont
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New Jersey
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Convention Declarations
<conventionDeclaration><citation>VIAF</citation></conventionDeclaration>