Edison Depot Museum - Telegraphy

Telegraphy

In 1862, Edison began work as a telegraph operator in Port Huron. The telegraph - which Edison did not invent - for the first time allowed messages to move faster than the messengers. It used a series of dots and dashes called Morse Code. Railroads first used telegraphs to avoid crashes. Soon, the wires carried Civil War and other news, and eventually private messages.

Edison's experiences as an itinerant telegrapher are chronicled in the following timeline.

1863	Port Huron Michigan	Tom's first telegraphy job was at Walker's Jewelry Store in Port Huron. Between sending and receiving messages, he found time to read technical and scientific magazines. He also experimented with electricity - until he blew himself out of a job.

	Stratford Ontario Canada	Tom's job was to stay awake and signal when it was safe for the two lone trains to proceed as they passed each other in the night. One night, Edison almost caused a crash. He skipped out, scampering across the frozen St. Clair River before he could be fired.

1864	Adrian Michigan	Tom's boss had told him to cut in on the telegraph line to deliver an important message. But, he got in trouble when he cut in on his boss' boss. "Their families were socially close and I became a wander, " Tom wrote. "My faith in human nature got a slight jar."

	Toledo Ohio	The Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad hired Tom for a job in Fort Wayne. Two months later, a friend lured Edison away with talk of a better job working day shifts, instead of nights, as a "plug" or novice operator.

	Indianapolis Indiana	Edison worked for Western Union on the "way wire" linking small towns. Always puttering, he connected two old Morse Code recorders and a clock mechanism; that led him play back messages slowly, so he could transcribe them more accurately. His experiments made him unpopular, and he moved on when he heard of a job in Cincinnati.

1865	Cincinnati Ohio	When a first-class operator failed to shows up for work, second-class operator Tom Edison sat in. Soon, he had the higher rating and a fine salary of $125 per month - lots more to spend on experiments. But, the other operators resented him, and he moved on again.

	Memphis Tennessee	In a town recovering from the Civil War, Tom went to work in a military telegraph office. He later said that he helped restore the telegraph link between Memphis and New York City.

	Louisville Kentucky	How did Edison get at job with the Associated Press here? One night, the schedule operator had fallen of his horse, another had been stabbed and a third was off to watch a hanging. No one was left - so, Tom got the job. His experiments and practical jokes kept the office in chaos; soon he moved on again.

1866	Louisville Kentucky	Tom and two of his friends planned to go to work in Brazil, but riots in New Orleans delayed them. So, Tom returned briefly to Port Huron. He borrowed $10 and headed for Louisville's Western Union office. He guessed wrong while filling in gaps in a news story. He accidentally spilled acid which dripped into his boss's office below. Again, Edison was fired.

1867	Boston Massachusetts	Edison's friend Sam Ropes lured him to Boston, where businessmen had put up money to develop a telegraphic printer. Edison received $250 and, two years later, the patent for his invention.

	Cincinnati Ohio	Working for Western Union, Tom spent many hours at libraries tracing the work of scientists and inventors, and planning experiments of his own. Practical jokes - such as wiring a wash basin to shock those washing their hands - shortened his stay.

	Port Huron Michigan	Tom's mother was ill and disappointed in her beloved "Al." His father's businesses were in trouble. The family had been forced to move into a more modest house. Tom was tired and ill. When a friend wrote Tom of a telegraph job in Boston, he set out at once.

1868	Boston Massachusetts	A discouraged Tom Edison heard from a friend that a job was available with Western Union in Boston. Like other telegraphers there, he was soon inventing equipment. An improved model of his duplex apparatus drew attention, and soon he was tinkering with a stock ticker.

To hear the way Morse Code sounds enter or copy and paste words in the white box below and press the send button.

The above Morse Code Practice applet was developed and provided by Tekla Inc. Software Development Services, Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.