Speed was born in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, on July 20, 1803, and his family moved to Caroline, New York, in 1807. Speed was educated in Caroline and became a farmer before relocating to Ithaca to become a merchant. In 1832 he married Anne Sophia Morrell, an aunt of Theodore L. Cuyler.
Smith contracted with Cornell and Speed in 1847 to build a line from Buffalo to Detroit, Chicago and Milwaukee, and Speed moved to Detroit. Speed built the section from Detroit west. He made a sub-contract with Jeptha Wade for the construction of a line from Detroit to Jackson, the first line completed west of Buffalo in the summer of 1847.[2] When the line reached Chicago it was organized at the Erie and Michigan Telegraph Company with Speed as President. Direct contact was established between Chicago and Buffalo in January, 1849. However, the line was not well constructed and revenues were initially small.
Speed and Taliferro Shaffner connected the eastern and western hemispheres with a line from Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. During the American Civil War he constructed a telegraph line from Washington, D.C. to Portland, Maine. He continued to invent, and received patents for his improvements to the telegraph. In his later years he left the telegraph business and became involved in iron manufacturing.
^Robert L. Thompson "Wiring A Continent" Princeton University Press, 1947
^New York, New York, Death Index, 1862-1948, entry for John James Speed, retrieved July 20, 2014
External linksedit
Initial Ithacans: Comprising Sketches and Portraits of the Forty-Four Presidents of the Village of Ithaca (1821 to 1888) and the First Eight Mayors of the City of Ithaca (1888 to 1903). 1904. Thomas W. Burns, author.
john, james, speed, july, 1803, june, 1867, american, farmer, merchant, politician, pioneer, telegraphy, contents, biography, death, references, external, linksbiography, editspeed, born, mecklenburg, county, virginia, july, 1803, family, moved, caroline, york. John James Speed Jr July 20 1803 June 15 1867 was an American farmer merchant politician and pioneer in telegraphy John James Speed Jr Contents 1 Biography 2 Death 3 References 4 External linksBiography editSpeed was born in Mecklenburg County Virginia on July 20 1803 and his family moved to Caroline New York in 1807 Speed was educated in Caroline and became a farmer before relocating to Ithaca to become a merchant In 1832 he married Anne Sophia Morrell an aunt of Theodore L Cuyler He was active in the New York Militia in the 1820s and 1830s and became commander of a regiment with the rank of colonel A Whig in politics in 1832 he was elected to the New York State Assembly and in 1838 he was elected a trustee of the village of Ithaca as well as Town Supervisor of the town of Ithaca In 1843 he was elected President of the village trustees In 1840 he was a presidential elector and cast his ballot for William Henry Harrison and John Tyler Speed lost his mercantile fortune in the Panic of 1837 and turned to telegraphy to recover In the 1840s he experimented with both visual and electric telegraphs 1 In Ithaca he was friends with Ezra Cornell and together they became agents for Samuel Morse s partner Francis Ormand Jonathan Smith who had become the agent for the Morse patent in the states of Michigan Ohio Indiana Illinois and Wisconsin Smith contracted with Cornell and Speed in 1847 to build a line from Buffalo to Detroit Chicago and Milwaukee and Speed moved to Detroit Speed built the section from Detroit west He made a sub contract with Jeptha Wade for the construction of a line from Detroit to Jackson the first line completed west of Buffalo in the summer of 1847 2 When the line reached Chicago it was organized at the Erie and Michigan Telegraph Company with Speed as President Direct contact was established between Chicago and Buffalo in January 1849 However the line was not well constructed and revenues were initially small Speed and Taliferro Shaffner connected the eastern and western hemispheres with a line from Greenland Iceland and the Faroe Islands During the American Civil War he constructed a telegraph line from Washington D C to Portland Maine He continued to invent and received patents for his improvements to the telegraph In his later years he left the telegraph business and became involved in iron manufacturing Death editSpeed died in Brooklyn New York on June 15 1867 3 He was buried at Green Wood Cemetery References edit Taliferro P Shaffner The Telegraphic Manual Robert L Thompson Wiring A Continent Princeton University Press 1947 New York New York Death Index 1862 1948 entry for John James Speed retrieved July 20 2014External links editInitial Ithacans Comprising Sketches and Portraits of the Forty Four Presidents of the Village of Ithaca 1821 to 1888 and the First Eight Mayors of the City of Ithaca 1888 to 1903 1904 Thomas W Burns author John James Speed at Find a Grave Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John James Speed amp oldid 1072836101, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
