Betsey Ann Stearns ( Goward; professionally known as B. A. Stearns; June 29, 1830 – February 21, 1914) was an American inventor of the
long nineteenth century
The ''long nineteenth century'' is a term for the 125-year period beginning with the onset of the French Revolution in 1789 and ending with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It was coined by Russian writer Ilya Ehrenburg and British Marxist his ...
. She is credited with developing a "
Diagram
A diagram is a symbolic representation of information using visualization techniques. Diagrams have been used since prehistoric times on walls of caves, but became more prevalent during the Enlightenment. Sometimes, the technique uses a three- ...
and System for
Cutting
Cutting is the separation or opening of a physical object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force.
Implements commonly used for wikt:cut, cutting are the knife and saw, or in medicine and science the scal ...
Ladies' and Children's Garments".
[ ] The invention was first issued in 1864 and improved upon in 1867. It is described as being simple and accurate, easily learned, and economical.
As a child, she entered the
weaving mills of
Nashua, New Hampshire
Nashua is a city in southern New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 91,322, the second-largest in northern New England after nearby Manchester, New Hampshire, Manchester. Along with Manc ...
, saving her money from her work to educate herself. After marriage, she became well known for her dress-cutting invention, which was awarded the highest prize in the
Centennial Exposition
The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair to be held in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the ...
in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, 1876. She went on to organize the
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
Dresscutting School, with branches in other states.
[ ] She also published two books focused on garment cutting.
Early life and education
Betsey Ann Goward was born in
Cornish, New Hampshire
Cornish is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,616 at the 2020 census. Cornish has four covered bridges. Each August, it is home to the Cornish Fair.
History
The town was granted in 1763 and contained a ...
, June 29, 1830.
Her father and mother, Isaac Goward (1782–1855) and Abigail Lothrop (1787–1848), were born in
Easton, Massachusetts
Easton is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 25,058 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Greater Boston area.
Easton is governed by an elected Select Board. Open Town Meeting acts as the legislative branch ...
, and removed from there in their early married life to
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, where they engaged in farming, clearing the new lands and raising stock and wool. From the wool they grew, her mother spun, wove and made up the clothing for her family. She was the youngest of nine children, her siblings being Isaac, Francis, Sally, Ruel, Watson, Louisa, Jason, and Fidelia.
[ ]
At the age of fourteen, Goward, with an older companion, left home to earn her own living, and engaged herself as a weaver of cloth in a cotton factory in Nashua, New Hampshire. She was able to provide for herself and to put money into a
savings bank
A savings bank is a financial institution whose primary purpose is accepting savings account, savings deposits and paying interest on those deposits.
History of banking, They originated in Europe during the 18th century with the aim of providi ...
. After saving , she returned to Cornish to visit her family and to go to school. She attended the schools in
Meriden, New Hampshire
Meriden is an unincorporated community in the eastern part of the town of Plainfield in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. Meriden is home to Kimball Union Academy, a private boarding school. New Hampshire Route 120 passes through the ...
, and
Springfield, Vermont
Springfield is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,062.
History
The land currently recognized as Springfield is the traditional land of the Pennacook and Abenaki people.
One of the ...
.
Career
Goward was asked to teach a district school in
East Mansfield, Massachusetts. After two terms of work there, she decided to go back to school. Afterwards, a relative in the tailoring business made her a good proposition, and Goward learned the
tailor
A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century.
History
Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...
trade.
On June 4, 1851, she married Horatio Hammond Stearns (1818–1879), of
Acton, Massachusetts
Acton is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, approximately west-northwest of Boston along Massachusetts Route 2 west of Concord and about southwest of Lowell. The population was 24,021 in April 2020, according to the Unite ...
.
They lived in Acton until 1875, and then in
Woburn, Massachusetts
Woburn ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,876 at the 2020 census. Woburn is located north of Boston. Woburn uses Massachusetts' mayor-council form of governme ...
. The couple had three daughters,
Delia, Clara, and Flora.
Stearns recognized the need for a method by which she could cut her own and her daughters' dresses, and when opportunity arose, she learned a system, though very imperfect, that was useful, and that she could teach to others. Being an inventive sort, Stearns resolved to develop something more reliable and accurate in its proportions for public use. In 1864, her first invention was made. After the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
ended, she taught her system to many widows, which enabled them to support themselves and their families.
Stearns was also the inventor of the "Complete Guide for cutting men's and boy's shirts, comprising twenty different sizes, and convenient for families and shirt manufacturers."
[ ]
Stearns organized the Boston Dresscutting School and several other branch schools in other states.
She published ''A System for Cutting Ladies' and Children's Garments by Measure, with Stearns' Improved Folding Diagram'' in 1885,
and ''A System for Cutting Ladies' and Children's Garments by Tailor's Method with Stearns' Improved Diagram'', in 1892.
Death
Betsey Ann Stearns died in
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
, February 21, 1914.
[ ]
Awards and honors
In 1869, her invention received from the
Massachusetts Mechanical Association a silver medal and diploma. The invention also received the highest award in the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, in 1876, for its accuracy, simplicity and economy. In 1877 the American Institute,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, awarded the invention a special medal for excellence. In 1878, the Massachusetts Mechanical Association awarded a bronze medal to Stearns for her "Diagram for Cutting Garments, etc.":—
[ ]
Selected works
* ''A System for Cutting Ladies' and Children's Garments by Measure, with Stearns' Improved Folding Diagram'', 1885
* ''A System for Cutting Ladies' and Children's Garments by Tailor's Method with Stearns' Improved Diagram'', 1892
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stearns, Betsey Ann
1830 births
1914 deaths
Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century
People from Cornish, New Hampshire
19th-century American inventors
School founders
19th-century American non-fiction writers
19th-century American women writers
American tailors
People from Woburn, Massachusetts