Amanda Jones (inventor) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Amanda Theodosia Jones
|
|
|---|---|
Jones at age 44 (1879)
|
|
| Born | October 19, 1835 East Bloomfield, New York, US
|
| Died | March 31, 1914 (aged 78) Brooklyn, New York, US
|
| Resting place | Riverside Cemetery, Cleveland, Ohio, US |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation |
|
Amanda Theodosia Jones (born October 19, 1835 – died March 31, 1914) was an American writer and inventor. She is best known for creating a special vacuum method for canning food. This method is called the Jones Process.
Amanda Jones came from families with a long history in America. Her ancestors were involved in the American Revolution. During the American Civil War, she wrote many poems about the war. These poems, along with others, were later published in a book.
For some years, she faced health problems. This made it hard for her to continue her writing work. Her poems appeared in famous magazines like Scribner's Magazine and Century. She also published a book of poems called A Prairie Idyl and Other Poems. She lived in Chicago, Illinois.
Contents
Early Life and School
Amanda Jones was born in East Bloomfield, New York, on October 19, 1835. She was the fourth child of Henry and Mary Alma Jones. She went to local schools in East Bloomfield and Black Rock, New York.
She also completed training at the East Aurora Academy in New York. At age fifteen, she started working as a teacher. In 1859, she became very sick with tuberculosis. She spent over a year and a half getting better. Even after recovering, she continued to have health issues. She often sought special treatments to help her feel better.
Belief in Spiritualism
Amanda Jones was interested in the idea of spiritualism. This was a belief that people could communicate with spirits. In 1854, she became a follower of spiritualism. She believed that spirits could guide her.
In 1869, she moved to Chicago. She felt that spirits wanted her to be there. In Chicago, she wrote for several newspapers and magazines.
Inventions and Patents (1872–1880)
While working in Chicago, Jones became interested in new ideas for healing. She also focused on inventing.
In 1872, Jones developed a new way to preserve food. This was a vacuum canning process. She worked with Professor Leroy C. Cooley to create it. At that time, understanding how to keep food safe was still new.
The common way to can food involved cooking it a lot. This often made the food soft and less tasty. Also, food was usually canned in tin cans. These were hard to open because can openers had not been invented yet. This old process was also difficult for people to do at home.
The Jones Method was different. It involved steaming sealed jars of fruits and vegetables. They were steamed in a light syrup, juice, or water. The temperature was kept lower, around 120 degrees Fahrenheit. This process pushed the air out of the jar. It created an airtight seal. This seal protected the food from oxygen, which causes bacteria to grow.
Jones's invention allowed food to be preserved without being fully cooked. This meant fresh fruits and vegetables could be enjoyed later in the year. Her method also made canning easier for people at home. It used glass jars with vacuum-sealed lids, which were simpler to open.
Professor Cooley helped her get patents for her invention. A patent is a special right given to an inventor. It means others cannot copy their invention. On June 3, 1873, Cooley got a patent for the canning machine. He gave this patent to Jones. On the same day, they both received a patent for their canning process. Jones also got two more patents for her improved jars. Later, Cooley got a patent for the device that removes air from the jars. These five patents together formed the Jones Preserving Process.
Jones believed that spirits continued to guide her inventions. Following their advice, she developed an oil burner. She received a patent for this in 1880. However, her attempts to start businesses based on her inventions were not successful. She then went back to writing. She published A Prairie Idyll in 1882.
Overall, Amanda Jones received six patents. These included her canning process, the oil burner, different types of valves, and a form of the tin can opener.
Starting the Women's Canning and Preserving Company (1890)
Amanda Jones strongly supported women's rights and their right to suffrage (the right to vote). In 1890, she started the Women's Canning and Preserving Company in Chicago. This company hired only women.
She told her employees, "This is a woman's industry. No man will vote our stock, transact our business, keep our books, pronounce on women's wages, supervise our factories. Give men whatever work is suitable, but keep the governing power. This is a business training school for working women – you with all the rest. Here is a mission; let it be fulfilled."
The business did well at first. But it failed in 1893. After this, she moved to Junction City, Kansas, where her sisters lived. A group of investors later bought the canning business. It is not clear if Jones willingly sold it or if she was forced out.
Later Life
Jones continued to work on her inventions. She received more patents for the canning process in 1903, 1905, and 1906. She also got more patents for her oil burner in 1904, 1912, and 1914. She kept publishing books of poems, including Rubaiyat of Solomon and Other Poems in 1905.
After the Spanish–American War, the U.S. Navy started looking into using oil instead of coal for their ships. In 1904, they released a big report about this. Amanda Jones was asked to write a technical review of this report. She wrote four articles for a magazine called Engineer. She was paid well for her work. These articles can still be found online.
In 1910, she published her autobiography, A Psychic Autobiography. This book focused on her interest in spiritualism. Later in her life, she moved to Brooklyn, New York. She wanted to work on new business ideas there. She died in Brooklyn in 1914 from influenza. She was listed in important books like Who's Who in America.
Amanda Jones is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio.
Works
Amanda Jones stopped teaching in 1854. This was after her first poem was published in The Ladies' Repository magazine. In 1861, she published Ulah, and Other Poems. Her second book of poems, Poems, came out in 1867. Her health was not strong after she got tuberculosis in 1859. After her second book, she spent a year resting at her mother's home in Wisconsin.
Books
Jones published six books during her life. All of them can be found online.
- Ulah: And Other Poems. Jones, Amanda T. Buffalo: H.H. Otis. 1861
- Poems. By Amanda T. Jones, Published/Created: New York, Hurd and Houghton, 1867.
- A Prairie Idyl, and Other Poems. Published/Created: Chicago, Jansen, McClurg & company, 1882.
- Rubáiyát of Solomon, and Other Poems. By Amanda T. Jones; Introduction by J. N. Larned. Published/Created: New York, Alden brothers, 1905.
- Poems, 1854–1906, by Amanda T. Jones. Published/Created: New York, Alden Brothers, 1906.
- A Psychic Autobiography / by Amanda T. Jones; with introduction by James H. Hyslop. Published/Created: New York: Greaves Publishing Co., c1910.
See also
In Spanish: Amanda Jones para niños
