Page 6 - Edmonton Antique Car Club

Alexander Winton

The Scotsman Who Popularized America’s Horseless Carriage
By Steve Bemount
Among the earliest him an excellent grounding in the design of bevel gear transmis-
automobile developers, there sions.
is one who perhaps deserves
the most credit for populariz- Sometime around 1895, Alex built a motor cycle using a
ing the motor car and making proprietary engine. It ran, but its performance was so poor that
it acceptable to the public. Alex determined to build his own engine and install it in a car-
Some historians suggest he riage. His first motorized carriage was completed in September
can claim the title as founder 1896 with seats for four, two facing forward and two facing to the
of the American automobile rear. It was driven by a single-cylinder horizontal engine with
industry. Others describe him shaft drive. The shaft drive thus eliminated the tortuous progress
as flamboyant or that short via belts or chain drive that bedevilled so many early motorized
tempered Scotsman. carriage makers, although Alex would revert to chain drive in the
1900 to 1904 period. Another advanced feature gleaned from
Alexander Winton Alex's experience as a cycle manufacturer was the use of tangent-
was born on June 20, 1860, in spoked wire wheels, having interlaced thin steel spokes that attach
Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scot- to the flange of the hub and carrying pneumatic rubber tires made
land. He was the sixth child by the B. F. Goodrich Company. Alex would convince B. F.
and eldest son of thirteen chil- Goodrich to develop tires for horseless carriages that were strong
dren born to Alexander Win- enough to handle higher speeds and heavier loads. The vehicle's
ton (1827-1874) and Helen first outing was a five mile run for the benefit of Cleveland news-
Fea (1831-1912). The senior papermen from Alex's shop to the main square in Cleveland and
Alexander Winton Alexander was a blacksmith back again. This was followed by several subsequent outings in
and marine engineer and the all kinds of weather and over all sorts of roads. In a November
young Alexander would follow in his father's profession. Young 1896 article in The Horseless Age, Alex detailed that the car
Alex went to school within earshot of the Clydeside shipyards. weighed less that 400 pounds, had wooden rims, pneumatic tires,
He learned the rudiments of mechanics from his father, who died a five-gallon tank, an engine with all working parts immersed in
when Alex was 14. Being the eldest son, Alex then went to work oil, and could achieve a speed of 30 miles per hour.
in those shipyards where he perfected his knowledge, becoming a
ship's engineer. Alex's prototype was so successful that on March 15,
1897, the Winton Motor Carriage Company was incorporated with
In the spring of 1880, when Alex was 19, he immigrated Alex as president and two partners: brother-in-law Thomas Hen-
to the United States with his eldest sibling, sister Catherine W. derson vice-president and George H. Brown secretary-treasurer.
Winton (1849-1923), her husband Thomas W. Henderson (1849- The company was capitalized at $200,000 comprised of 2,000
?), and the first four of what would become their family of eight shares selling for $100 each. By May, Alex had built a second
surviving children. They arrived on Ellis Island and took up resi- motor carriage with a 10 horsepower two-cylinder horizontal en-
dence in Manhattan, New York City. Alex boarded with his sister gine seating six, three facing forward and three facing to the rear.
and brother-in-law; Thomas Henderson worked as a blacksmith. This version achieved the astonishing speed of 33.64 miles per
For the first two years, Alex worked as a machinist at Delameter hour on a test around a Cleveland horse track. In a follow-up
Iron Works. In 1882, the Hendersons relocated to Cleveland, piece in the May edition of The Horseless Age, Alex wrote about
Ohio, and Alex signed on for two years as an assistant engineer his second, new and improved vehicle. There were smaller 30
with a steamship line. Midway through that stint, on January 18,
1883, in New York City, Alex married a fellow Scottish immi-
grant, Jeanette Muir McGlashan (1861-1903). Alex was 22 and
Jeanette was 21. Alex and Jeanette would have a family of six
children: Ellen Winton (1885-1973), James McGlashan Winton
(1889-1932), Agnes Muir Winton (1891-1969), Jean Winton
(1895-1974), Catherine Winton (1899-1995), and Alexander Win-
ton (1901-1979).

When Alex returned to dry land, he and Jeanette fol-
lowed the Hendersons to Cleveland in 1884 where he found work
as a superintendent for the Phoenix Iron Works. Alex and sister
Catherine's widowed mother Helen immigrated to America in
1885 where she would live with Catherine and her son-in-law in
Cleveland.

In 1891, Alex decided to become part of the new bicycle
craze that was sweeping the country and, with some help from his
brother-in-law, Thomas Henderson, struck out on his own and
founded the Winton Bicycle Company. The business quickly took
off. Alex manufactured bicycles of a design he had patented that
same year. Among his products was a shaft driven cycle that gave The second Winton motor carriage built, 1897
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