Today in Wheeling History: November 9--John A. McGinnis files for a patent on a bicycle-support (1892).
John Alphus McGinnis was born on April 10, 1867, in Evansville, Preston County, West Virginia, to Dr. David James McGinnis and Martha Ann Beall McGinnis. After his father's death in 1870, the family relocated to Wheeling, where young John received his education in the city's public schools. On November 9, 1892, McGinnis filed for U.S. Patent No. 513,243 for an innovative bicycle-support, which was granted on January 23, 1894. His design featured a collapsible kickstand that attached to the rear wheel axle, swinging up when not in use and providing a wide, stable base when deployed—a practical solution for cyclists of the era.
McGinnis spent his career at Wheeling Stamping Company, joining as a youth and eventually becoming plant foreman. He worked alongside company leaders including A.W. Paull, with whom he co-invented a cap retainer for collapsible tubes in 1921. McGinnis married Anna Elizabeth "Annie" Rautabaugh around 1892, and they had four children: Archibald, Mabel, Howard, and Gladys. After a six-month illness, McGinnis passed away on July 18, 1942, at Ohio Valley General Hospital at age seventy-five. He was buried in Greenwood Cemetery.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/2mwzv8tp); Google Patents (https://tinyurl.com/2x4e92c8) (https://tinyurl.com/mr2cskwh), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/45mppjud), Wheeling Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/2pu6h8v5), Clio (https://tinyurl.com/bdf7ykny)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; U.S. Patent Office, Find a Grave, Wheeling Intelligencer, Google Maps
John Alphus McGinnis was born on April 10, 1867, in Evansville, Preston County, West Virginia, to Dr. David James McGinnis and Martha Ann Beall McGinnis. After his father's death in 1870, the family relocated to Wheeling, where young John received his education in the city's public schools. On November 9, 1892, McGinnis filed for U.S. Patent No. 513,243 for an innovative bicycle-support, which was granted on January 23, 1894. His design featured a collapsible kickstand that attached to the rear wheel axle, swinging up when not in use and providing a wide, stable base when deployed—a practical solution for cyclists of the era.
McGinnis spent his career at Wheeling Stamping Company, joining as a youth and eventually becoming plant foreman. He worked alongside company leaders including A.W. Paull, with whom he co-invented a cap retainer for collapsible tubes in 1921. McGinnis married Anna Elizabeth "Annie" Rautabaugh around 1892, and they had four children: Archibald, Mabel, Howard, and Gladys. After a six-month illness, McGinnis passed away on July 18, 1942, at Ohio Valley General Hospital at age seventy-five. He was buried in Greenwood Cemetery.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/2mwzv8tp); Google Patents (https://tinyurl.com/2x4e92c8) (https://tinyurl.com/mr2cskwh), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/45mppjud), Wheeling Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/2pu6h8v5), Clio (https://tinyurl.com/bdf7ykny)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; U.S. Patent Office, Find a Grave, Wheeling Intelligencer, Google Maps
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