Andreas received an additional 3 patents from 1892 to 1898. Two were for farm equipement and the other one was for a metallic railroad tie. Between Andreas’ last two patent submissions he moved his family from Texas to California. Why did he make that move? Why did he invent a metallic railroad tie?
Andreas Mattijetz submitted his metallic railroad tie invention on July 8, 1892 and was awarded a patent for it on December 13, 1892. Why Andreas veered away from farm equipment to invent a metallic railroad tie may never be known. As I stated in my TWHS Newsletter article, there were over 750 patents issued for railroad ties. Maybe the railroad companies were trying to find a solution to the problems caused by the expansion and contraction of the railroad tracks and offered an award. I did not find that to be true in my research, but my research was not exhaustive.
Andreas Mattijetz Railroad Tie Patent 1892
Before Andreas’ patent application for the metallic railroad tie was accepted, Andreas was already back to farm equipment design. On November 17, 1892 he submitted his application for a cultivator design. A patent was issued to Andreas on December 5, 1893. Andreas was still living in Giddings, Texas, but within three years he had moved to Los Angeles, California.
Andreas Mattijetz Cultivator Patent 1893
Could Andreas’ awarded patents have had something to do with his move to Los Angeles? Maybe, but that would be speculative on my part. No family stories have been past down as to why the family moved from Texas to Los Angeles. What I do know is that Andreas was living in Los Angeles, California in 1896. According to the Los Angeles Voter Registration of 1896, Andreas Mattijetz was five feet nine inches in height with fair complexion, brown hair and eyes, and was a woodworker. But the reason he moved to Los Angeles is a mystery. One thing I do know, Andreas applied for a patent on his feed cutter design on August 11, 1897 in Los Angeles and was awarded the patent on April 12, 1898. Andreas stayed in Los Angeles until his death in August 1923.
]]>