Tobias Witmer (October 8, 1816 – August 14, 1897) was an American inventor, spelling reformer, civil engineer, and a notable poet in the Pennsylvania Dutch language. He was also one of the most well known surveyors of the Niagara County, New York region. His inventions included a bicycle wheel made from the wires of an old hoop skirt; a corn sheller; and an automatic railroad switch. For a time, he was a schoolteacher and was one of the founders of the Williamsville Classical Institute, later known as the Williamsville Academy.
Witmer's Pennsylvania German poetry was anthologized by Abraham R. Horne and Edward H. Rauch.
He and his twin brother were born in Niagara Falls, New York to a family from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He died in Williamsville, New York.
Bibliography
- T. Witmer's patent musical scale, shewing the transpositions of the scale by sharps and flats for the use of singing school teachers (1857)
- A system of phonetic spelling adapted to English and German
- Witmer's phonetic orthography (1880)
- Witmer'z fonografik charts (1881)
References
- ^ "Who Was Tobias Witmer?". The Morning Call. July 3, 1948. Retrieved September 18, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "NIAGARA DISCOVERIES: Twin Witmer brothers led different but distinguished lives". Niagara Gazette. December 8, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
Further reading
External links
- Map of the Inner Lots in Buffalo Village Compiled & Drawn from the original Deed Books of the Holland Land Co. by Tobias Witmer Surveyor Civil Engineer, 1858.
- Map of the Village of Tonawanda in the Counties of Erie and Niagara. Map #468 Tobis Witmer, surveyor
- Grave in Williamsville, New York