Fort Wayne Jenney and Indianapolis Jenney
The stories of the Fort Wayne Jenney and Indianapolis Jenney incandescent lamps are not well-known. They are muddied because the two companies that produced these lamps were primarily interested in arc lamps. The manufacturers of arc lamps soon realized that they would also have to develop incandescent lamps because arc lamps were not suitable for use in the home.

The story begins with an arc lamp developed by John William Langley in the State of Michigan. In 1881 he and sixteen other individuals formed The Langely Electric Light Company to utilize five patents filed by him. Manufacture of Langley's lamp was to begin in July of 1881 in Ann Arbor. A firm in Ann Arbor, Ailes & Gratton, was contracted to built prototypes. It was this firm that hired James A. Jenney (1830-1904) and his 17-year-old son, Charles D. Jenney (1864-1926), in June of 1881.

In July of 1881 James Jenney and Walter S. Hicks, a businessman, traveled to Fort Wayne, Indiana to seek out investors for the Langley arc lamp and dynamo. At a dinner table they were seated with one John Kiess, who was employed as a shipping clerk at the Evans-McDonald wholesale dry goods company. Kiess had traveled to Cleveland in 1879 to view the demonstration of the Brush arc lamp on Public Square. In the subsequent conversation Kiess suggested that they talk with his employer, Ranald T. McDonald. McDonald was one who was interested in any enterprise that appeared to have potential. A meeting was set up and subsequently, in November of 1881, the Fort Wayne Electric Light Company (FWELC) was organized for the purpose of manufacturing electric lighting apparatus under the Langley patents. For marketing reasons the firm was called the Fort Wayne Jenney Electric Light Company.

Between August of 1881 and April of 1882 three patents ( Nos 255,999; 261,815; 262,544) were filed by Charles D. Jenney and James A. Jenney, and these were granted between April of 1882 and August of 1882. These were for lamps as well as a dynamo. In 1882 these patents were purchased by FWELC and manufacture of arc lamps began in October of that year. However18,

"...Charles Jenney became dissatisfied in Fort Wayne. On February 27, 1885, he petitioned the circuit court to release him from a contract that his father and guardian had made when he was 17 years of age which bound him and his inventions for life to the Fort Wayne 'Jenney' Electric Light Company. He had been given $10,000 common stock out of a capitalization of $100,000 issued at the time of the contract probably just for the assignment of his patents...The decision of the court in detail has not been found, but subsequent events show that there was either a negotiated separation, or a court ordered separation.

"It was not only a separation from the company, but also his father. His father, James A. Jenney, still had connections with the Fort Wayne 'Jenney' Electric Light Company as late as August 24, 1888, but the Fort Wayne Sentinel on May 19, 1888 refers to him as visiting from Boston. He may have left at the time the company dropped the use of 'Jenney' in its name which occurred when the Thomson-Houston Company obtained a controlling share of the stock. This occurred in June of 1888 and James A. Jenney was one stockholder who sold to T-H."

Clovis Linkous18 discussed the beginning of the Indianapolis business:
"On March 23, 1885, Charles Jenney, Addison Nordyke, Daniel Marmon, Amos Hollowell and Brainard Rorison as a Board of Directors filed Article of Association for a manufacturing company at Indianapolis, IN to be known as The Jenney Electric Light Company. (In less than a month, the name was amended to be Jenney Electric Company.) ...By August, 1885, they were on the street with dynamos, arc lamps and incandescent lamps to demonstrate."

It appears that more information is known about the Fort Wayne incandescent lamp than the Indianapolis lamp. Consider first the Fort Wayne Jenney lamp. Quoting from the Western Electrician5, 7:

"...The lamp, which is the most important feature of any system, is manufactured by this company in a novel way. The material for the filament is suspended in a vacuum in which the carbonization takes place, and is shaped gradually during the process, thus making a filament as flexible as the finest steel wire and insures a long life of the same. The finest filament desired can be manufactured in this manner to withstand a heavy current. After the filament is finished it is connected by a very ingenious apparatus with platinum wires, by means of metals melting at a low temperature, which joins both parts together. This process, in connection with a good vacuum, secures a highly efficient and long-lived lamp. The average candlepower per commercial horse power is 200 candles, and with large lamps somewhat higher. These it is claimed are the best results ever obtained in the world. The company will guarantee ten sixteen-candle lamps per horse power even with a percentage of loss on the circuit. With larger lamps of 20 to 150 candle-power, they will guarantee a proportionately greater economy. The potential adopted for these lamps varies from 10 to 100 volts, according to circumstances and distances, and lamps are made from 10 to 150 candle power. The difficulty of obtaining a reliable and ornamental lamp socket has been overcome. The button is nonsparking, and a half turn separates the two parts of the socket, leaving the terminals entirely clear and ready for connection without the twisting of the wire, —a feature greatly appreciated by those versed in incandescent circuit construction. Any size of lamp can be attached and disconnected instantly by simply pushing it in or out.

"Fig. 2 shows the ornamental appearance of the socket and the method of connection. Fig. 3 shows the lamp proper with the two terminals, but without the socket, and gives a fair idea of the manner of connection with the socket. Fig. 4 shows the lamp and socket complete."

The lamp shown in Fig. 5 is the style made when used on arc light circuits. Lamps were made for 16, 20, 25, 40, 75, 100 and 150 candle power. An obvious difference between this lamp and those shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is the shape of the bulb and the presence or absence of the filament bridge.

From left to right above, Figures 2, 3, 4 and 55, 7

The origin of the Indianapolis Jenney lamp base is not clear to this writer. A picture of an Indianapolis Jenney lamp is shown to the far left. These pictures were kindly provided by Jerry R. Westlick for use with this topic. A patent was granted to John S. Adams in 18889 in which a drawing of the lamp and socket shows this type of contact. The lamp might have been manufactured for only a short time (perhaps from 1885-1889); few examples of this lamp type exist in private collections. In Sep, 1889 the Jenney Electric Co. (of Indianapolis) was purchased by the Fort Wayne Electric Co., it being controlled by the Thomson-Houston Co.



There are six "Jenney" lamps in the William J. Hammer Collection, which is housed at the Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. As noted below, five were made in Indianapolis and one was made in Fort Wayne. Frederick Schaefer worked in the Fort Wayne facility about 1886. He had been granted a patent for the manufacture of filaments (No. 320,297- dated Jun 10, 1885). The descriptions below are due to Hammer.

  • 1888-362-----Indianapolis Jenney Lamp Co. (American). Made by J. C. Reed at Indianapolis, IN.
  • 1888-363-----Indianapolis Jenney Lamp Co. (American). Made by J. C. Reed in 1888. Ground detector lamp two filaments in series. Three outside connections.
  • 1888-364-----Indianapolis Jenney Lamp Co. (American). Lamp No. 3. Made by J. C. Reed. Fused metallic silver clamp enclosed in glass cap to prevent discoloration.
  • 1888-365-----Indianapolis Jenney (American). Carbon filament lamp with fused metallic around shank and inside of platinum caps drawn on leads.
  • 1888-366-----Indianapolis Jenney Lamp Co. (American). Made by J. C. Reed. Clamp is made of spongy platinum block and cane sugar. The glass balls are to prevent heating.
  • 1888-367-----Fort Wayne Jenney Co. (American). Schaefer cellulose carbon filament lamp, carbon paste clamps.

    Timeline
    Fort Wayne (Jenney) Electric Light Co. organized Nov 1881
    Jenney Electric Light and Power Co. (Fort Wayne) organized Nov 1883
    Thomson-Houston Company formed 1883
    Jenney Electric Light Co. (Jenney Electric Co.) (Indianapolis) formed Mar 1885
    Thomson-Houston started to manufacture incandescent lamps in 1885
    McDonald (FWELC) purchased property and rights of the Sun Mfg. Co. of Woburn, MA 1888
    Thomson-Houston bought controlling interest in the Fort Wayne Jenney Electric Co. Jun, 1888
    Jenney Electric Co. purchased by the Fort Wayne Electric Co. (successor of Fort Wayne Electric Light Co.) Sep 1889
    Thomson-Houston bought the Brush Electric Co. Oct 1889
    Merger of Thomson-Houston Co. and Edison General Electric Co. to form the General Electric Co. Apr 1892

    Thus, any manufacture of the "Jenney" lamps after Jun 1888 was done under the control of the Thomson-Houston Company and, after Apr 1892, under the control of the General Electric Company. Incandescent lamps manufactured by the Indianapolis firm of the Jenney Electric Company when not under external control probably were made between 1885 and 1888. Incandescent lamps made by the Fort Wayne concern when not under external control were probably made during the same time period.

    The following is an article that appeared in The Indianapolis News upon the death of Charles D. Jenney (1864-1926).14

    "A Pioneer in Electricity

    "The development in electricity has been so rapid and its application so common, that the present generation probably thinks or cares little of the early inventors in this field of modern life. There, for instance, was Charles D. Jenney, who recently died in this city, and whose name at one time was commonly known to every inventor and manufacturer in the electrical world. The Jenney motor was one of the first that was made, and one of the best. There are many Jenney motors still in use. Mr. Jenney was the first to attach an individual motor to a printing press. Several of his appliances are at the foundation of application of electricity to newspaper machinery. He was one of the early workers in Ft. Wayne and Indianapolis. He was probably the inventor of the third rail — or at least he made use of the third rail principle before it was commonly introduced in subways and elevated railways. The overhead trolley is only a modification of the third rail, the current being drawn from the wire through the trolley to the mechanism in the car. The Jenney lights in the days when electric illumination came from tall towers in the air, will be remembered by old-timers. He was distinctly an inventor, and had he been financed properly and been held to the development of devices rather than to the business end of electric construction, he would probably been as widely known as some of the greater names in electricity. At any rate, he did his share and made his contribution to his day and generation."

    Note: Many references spell McDonald's first name as "Ronald". The correct spelling is "Ranald".

    References
    1) Frederic Schaefer, "Manufacture of Filaments for Incandescent Lamps", U. S. 320,297, Jun 16, 1885.
    2) "The Jenney Lighting Interests", The Electrical World, Vol 5, 1885, pg 142.
    3) Arthur S. Hickley, "Carbons for Incandescent Lighting", The Electrician and Electrical Engineer, Vol 5, Oct 1886, pp 371-372.
    4) Arthur S. Hickley, "Incandescent Lamp", U. S. 354,788, Dec 21, 1886.
    5) "Fort Wayne Jenney Incandescent System", Western Electrician, Vol 1, No 2, Jul 9, 1887, pp 13-14.
    6) "The Fort Wayne Jenney Incandescent System", The Electrical World, Vol 10, Jul 16, 1887, pg 31.
    7) "Fort Wayne Jenney Incandescent Lamp", Western Electrician, Vol 1, No 5, Jul 30, 1887, pg 52.
    8) "Ronald T. McDonald", The Electrical Engineer, Vol 7, Sep 1888, pg 381.
    9) John S. Adams U. S. Patent No. 391,351 If a message saying "Search Time Has Expired" comes up, then click on "Full Text" and in the next window click on "Images."
    10) "The Affairs of the Fort Wayne Electric Company", The Electrical World, Vol XIV, No 8, 1889, pg 134.
    11) "The Factory and Apparatus of the Fort Wayne Electric Corporation", The Electrical Engineer, Vol XVII, No 321, Jun 27, 1894, pp 552-566.
    12) "Death of Ronald T. McDonald", Electricity, Vol XV, No 25, Dec 28, 1898, pg 386.
    13) Obituary Notes, "Mr. Ronald Trevor McDonald", The Electrical World, Vol XXXII, No 27, Dec 31, 1898, pg 734.
    14) The Indianapolis City Directory, 1925.
    15) "A Pioneer in Electricity", The Indianapolis News, May 17, 1926.
    16) The Indianapolis City Directory, 1927.
    17) Bob Parker, "The Lights", Old Fort News, Summer 1971, Published by the Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society, 15 pages.
    18) Clovis E. Linkous, General Electric at Fort Wayne, Indiana—A 110 Year History, Gateway Press, Inc., Baltimore, 1994.
    19) Nancy Vendrely, "History of GE Sheds Light on Fort Wayne's Past", Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, Sep 27, 1994.