James Hartness

James Hartness (September 3, 1861 – February 2, 1934) was an American business executive, inventor, mechanical engineer, entrepreneur, amateur astronomer, and politician who served as the 58th governor of Vermont from 1921 to 1923.

Early life and education

Hartness was born in Schenectady, New York, one of three sons of John William Hartness and Ursilla (Jackson) Hartness. His family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1863, where his father worked as a foreman in the city's machine shops. Hartness was educated in the public schools of Cleveland until he was 16, when he became an apprentice machinist.

Career

Hartness worked up through the ranks in machine shops in Connecticut before moving to Springfield, Vermont. He became one of the nation's first aviators and became a one-term governor of the state of Vermont. In 1885, he married Lena Pond in Winsted, Connecticut. They were the parents of two daughters, Anna and Helen. (Helen Hartness Flanders), was a noted folk song collector who married Ralph Flanders, a U.S. Senator from Vermont

He built his Springfield home in 1904, which is an example of shingle style architecture. An inn and restaurant since 1954, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its connection to him.

Engineering and entrepreneurship

At age 16, Hartness began his career in machine shops. At age 21 he became a foreman at the Winsted-Norway Bolt Company in Winsted, Connecticut. He moved in 1886 to Torrington, Connecticut, to work as a tool-maker and foreman at the Union Hardware Company. His lifetime achievement of more than 100 patents began here with patents of locks, roller skates, and bicycle pedal mechanisms.