| Gail Borden | |
|---|---|
Gail Borden (1801-1874) |
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| Born | November 9, 1801 Norwich, New York |
| Died | January 11, 1874 (aged 72) Borden, Colorado County, Texas |
| Nationality | United States |
| Work | |
| Significant projects | condensed milk |
Gail Borden, Jr. (November 9, 1801 – January 11, 1874) was a 19th century U.S. inventor, surveyor, and publisher, and was the inventor of condensed milk in 1853.
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Gail Borden, Jr. was born in Norwich, New York on 9 November 1801 to Gail Borden, a pioneer and landowner, and Philadelphia Wheeler. The details of his childhood are unclear but he did move twice with his family while growing up, first to Kennedy’s Ferry, Kentucky, which became Covington in 1814, and then, in 1816, to New London, Indiana. It was in Indiana where Borden received his only formal schooling, attending school during 1816 and 1817 learning the art of surveying. In 1822 Borden set out with his brother, Thomas. They originally intended to move to New Orleans but instead, somehow ended up in Amite County, Mississippi. Borden stayed in Mississippi for seven years, working as the county surveyor and as a schoolteacher in Bates and Zion Hill. He was well known around town for running rather than walking to school every morning. While living in Mississippi, Borden met his first wife, Penelope Mercer, whom he married in 1828. The couple had five children during their sixteen-year marriage. Borden left Mississippi in 1829 and moved to Texas after his brother and father. As a surveyor, he plotted the towns of Houston and Galveston, and was also involved with creating the first topographical map of Texas in 1835.
In February 1835, Gail and his brother John entered into partnership with Joseph Baker to publish a newspaper. Although none of the three had any previous printing experience,[1] Baker was considered "one of the best informed men in the colony on the Texas-Mexican situation".[2] The men located their newspaper in San Felipe de Austin, which was centrally located among the colonies in eastern Texas.[3] The first issue of the Telegraph and Texas Register appeared on October 10, 1835, days after the Texas Revolution began.[1] As editor, Gail Borden strived to be somewhat objective, avoiding blatantly biased or partisan opinions unless a counterpart was also provided.[1][4]
Soon after the newspaper began publishing, John Borden left to join the Texian Army and his brother Thomas took his place as Gail's partner.[5] Historian Eugene C. Barker describes the paper as "an invaluable repository of public documents during this critical period of the state's history".[5]
As the Mexican army moved east into the colonies, the Telegraph was soon the only newspaper in Texas still in operation. Their twenty-first issue was published on March 24.[5] This contained the first list of names of Texans who died at the Battle of the Alamo.[6] On March 27, the Texas Army reached San Felipe with word that the Mexican advance guard was approaching. According to a later editorial in the Telegraph, the publishers were "the last to consent to move".[7] The printing press was dismantled, and the Bordens brought it with them as they evacuated with the rear guard on March 30.[8][9] The Bordens retreated to Harrisburg. On April 14, as they were in the process of printing a new issue, Mexican soldiers arrived in Harrisburg and seized the press. The soldiers threw the type and press into Buffalo Bayou and arrested the Bordens. The Texas Revolution ended days later.[8][10]
Lacking funds to replace his equipment, Borden mortgaged his land to buy a new printing press in Cincinnati.[11] The twenty-third issue of the Telegraph was published in Columbia on August 2, 1836.[11] Although many had expected Columbia to be the new capital, the 1st Texas Congress instead chose a brand-new city, Houston.[10] Borden relocated to Houston, with the first Houston issue appearing May 2, 1837.[11]
The newspaper was in financial difficulty, as bills were rarely paid. In March 1837, Thomas Borden sold his interest in the enterprise to Francis W. Moore, Jr., who took over as chief editor. Three months later, Gail Borden transferred his shares to Jacob W. Cruger.[12]
In Texas, Borden found a new calling, politics. He was a delegate at the Convention of 1833 where he assisted in writing early drafts of a Texas constitution. He also shared administrative duties with Samuel M. Williams during 1833 and 1834 when Stephen F. Austin was away in Mexico.
Sam Houston appointed Borden as Collector of Customs at Galveston in June 1837. He was very well liked and performed his job well, raising half of the government income during this period through his collection on importations. Houston's successor to the presidency, Mirabeau B. Lamar, removed Borden from office in December 1838 and replaced Borden with a lifelong friend from Mobile, Alabama, the honorable Dr. Willis Roberts, a new arrival to the Republic. Roberts' son later was appointed Secretary of State of the Republic. Lamar was said to have known Roberts for 25 years. However, Borden had been so well liked that the newcomer was resented. The Galveston News frequently criticized the new regime about malfeasance.
When a shortage of funds came to light, Roberts offered to put up several personal houses and nine slaves as collateral until the matter could be settled. It was later determined that two resentful desk clerks had been embezzling funds, but this came too late for the hapless doctor, who lasted in the job only until December 1839. Any hopes Borden had of reinstatement were dashed when Lamar appointed someone else. Houston later re-appointed Borden to the post and he served December 1841 to April 1843, resigning over a dispute with President Houston. Borden had since turned his attention to real estate matters.
It was during his time as an employee of the Galveston City Company that Borden first began to experiment. After the death of his first wife, Penelope, on September 5, 1844 from yellow fever, Borden began experimenting with finding a cure to the disease via refrigeration. He also developed an unsuccessful prototype for a terraqueous machine, which he completed in 1848. By 1849, however, Borden has lost interest in his other endeavors and was focused on a condensed beef-broth and flour mixture that he had created. Borden believed strongly in this product, which he marketed as a beef biscuit pemmican, and it would come to be his sole focus. It was also during this time of early experimentation that Borden met and married his second wife A.F. Stearns.
Borden immediately got to work marketing his new beef biscuit and in 1850, it was endorsed by the U.S. Army. He was also able to sell them to Dr. Elisha Kane for use on his Arctic expeditions in the 1850s. In 1851, Borden travelled to London, England to attend the Great Council Exhibition, where his beef biscuit won a gold medal. These early successes inspired Borden to leave Texas for New York City in hopes of successfully marketing the beef biscuit to a wide audience. His efforts, however, proved unsuccessful and left him almost completely broke. Luckily for Borden, while marketing the beef biscuit he had also been working on a process for condensing milk through a vacuum producing pure, long lasting condensed milk.
About 1849 his attention was drawn to the need of more suitable supplies for emigrants crossing the plains, and after some experimenting he produced the "pemmican", which Elisha Kane carried with him on the Second Grinnell Expedition. The "meat biscuit", a simple, economical, and efficient form of portable concentrated food, was invented by Borden. This article gained for him the Great Council Medal at the 1852 London World's Fair, and he was elected an honorary member of the London Society of Arts. Meeting with opposition from the army contractors, he was unsuccessful in the manufacture of his biscuit, and lost his entire means.[13] '
In 1856, after three years of applying and refining his model, Borden received the patent for his process of condensing milk by vacuum. At that time he, again, completely abandoned his previous pursuit, the meat biscuit, to focus on his new product. Having lost so much money in his beef biscuit endeavors, Borden was forced to seek out partners in order to begin production and marketing of this new product. He offered Thomas Green 3/8 of his patent rights and gave James Bridge 1/4 interest on his investment and together the three men built a condensery in Wolcottville, Connecticut, that opened in 1856. Green and Bridge were eager for profits and when the factory was not immediately successful they withdrew their support and it was closed down in less than a year. However, Borden was so confident in his product that he was able to convince them, along with a third investor, Reuel Williams, to build a new factory, this time in Burrville, Connecticut, which opened in 1857. However, like many corporations that year, this second factory was hurt by the Panic of 1857 and had trouble turning a profit. The following year Borden’s fortunes began to change, however, when he met Jeremiah Milbank, a financier from New York, on a train. Milbank was impressed by Borden’s enthusiasm for and confidence in condensed milk and the two became 50/50 partners. Together they founded the New York Condensed Milk Company.
Following the founding of the New York Condensed Milk Company, sales of Borden’s condensed milk began to improve, and the outbreak of the Civil War, soon after, created a large demand for condensed milk from the Union Army. In 1861, Borden closed the factory in Burrville, Connecticut, and opened the first of what would come to be many condensed milk factories in New York and Illinois. Around this same time, Borden married his third wife Emeline Eunice Eno Church.
As the Civil War continued the New York Condensed Milk Company was forced to expand quickly to meet the growing demand. Many new factories were built and licenses were granted to individuals to begin producing condensed milk in their own factories using Borden’s Patent. Despite the quick growth of the company, Borden put a high value on sanitation and created cleanliness practices that continue to be used in the production of condensed milk to this day. While all of this rapid growth was occurring, Borden continued to experiment with the condensing of meat, tea, coffee, and cocoa, and in 1862, he patented the condensing of juice from fruits like apples and grapes. Borden attempted to incorporate these other products into the New York Condensed Milk Company but the greatest demand was always remained for the milk and so it remained the company’s major product.
Borden died in 1874 in Borden in Colorado County, Texas. His body was shipped by private car to New York City to be buried in Woodlawn Cemetery.
Borden County, in which he never set foot, was named for him posthumously, as was its county seat, Gail. The New York Condensed Milk Company also changed its name, in 1899, to honor Borden. A version of company continues even today. Now called Eagle Brand, the company’s website cites its origins in 1856 with the opening of Borden’s first factory.
In 1892 Samuel and Alfred Church, stepsons of Borden and residents of Elgin, Illinois, purchased and donated the Scofield Mansion at 50 N. Spring Street to house a new library for the residents of Elgin. Samuel and Alfred’s only request was that the library be forever and always known and called the Gail Borden Public Library.
Borden was distantly related to Robert Borden (1854–1937), Canada's Prime Minister during World War I.
U.S. Patent RE2,103; November 14, 1865; Improvements in Condensing Milk