When I found out that William R. Twiggs had come from Sandusky, Ohio, I decided to write to the historical society in that town and see what they could tell me about their resident. Twiggs was listed in the 1905 phone directory and was a postal carrier. (In those days, a subscriber's profession was often listed with the phone number.) He is buried in Oakland Cemetery in Sandusky but died July 19, 1938 in Cleveland. Further research here in Cleveland may add more information in a future article.

In 1905 it was not necessary to have a prototype when filing for a patent. This may explain why the drawing is a little different from the actual insulator. Careful attention was given to making exacting drawings of that portion of the insulator (in this case the no-tie slot and glass marbles) for which an new application was being filed. The quality of the glass is also quite different from your standard, run-of-the-mill clear unit. Since Sandusky is about an hour away from Toledo, Tiffin and Findlay (all noted for glass houses that produced beautiful glass and stemware), one might surmise that this piece could have been run in such a high quality factory. It may have been a test unit in the mould, for there is a small underfill on the base and it looks like the excess overfill on the base was rough ground to smooth out the base.

Obviously this style never caught on, for this is the only specimen that has been found to date. The idea may have been to save time for the line crews by avoiding the use of a tie wire during installation. However, I think that the large spools of tie wire would be easier to tote by wagon than burlap bags filled with tiny glass marbles (which were to slip into the insulator's channel to secure the line wire) would have been.

The morale: Those who "put all of their marbles" into designing insulators are considered by many to have "lost their marbles!"

Medium Image (73 Kb)
Large Image (127 Kb)

A view from the solid side of the upper disk shows the rectangular opening in the center of the top where two glass marbles may be placed on top of the line wire. The slot narrows as it approaches the outer diameter of the top. This allows the glass balls to be slid towards the outside, securing the tie wire in place. Notice the small underfill on the base of the insulator.

CD 141.7 W.R. TWIGGS PATENT The insulator fits a standard threaded pin. The line wire was to rest in the slot which runs through the diameter of the upper disk.

This picture is taken slightly above the insulator and shows the slot and rectangular opening.

Looking straight down on the insulator, the embossing can be seen. W.P. TWIGGS --- PAT AUG 29 1905