• Born: 30 Jun 1824, Attleboro MA
• Marriage (1): Emma W. Gordon
• Died: 1888, Attleboro MA

  General notes:

Jeweler

  Events in his life were:

• He worked in 1850-1895 as a jeweler in Attleboro MA specializing is silver-mounted jet jewelry.

• He appeared on the 1850 census taken at Attleboro MA, listed as a jeweler.

• He appeared on the 1855 census taken at Attleboro MA, listed as a jeweler.

• He appeared on the 1870 census taken at Attleboro MA, listed as a jewelry manufacturer.

• He was issued patent number 209,324 on 29 Oct 1878
  
  VIRGIL H. BLACKINTON, OF ATTLEBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS.
  
  IMPROVEMENT IN SAFETY-PINS.
  
  Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 209,324, dated October 29, 1878; application filed April 4, 1878.
  
  To all whom it may concern:
  Be it known that I, Virgil H. Blackinton, of Attleborough,in the State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improved Safety-Pin, of which the following is a specification:
  The nature of my invention, consists in an improved method of securing the separately-formed spring of a safety-pin to the back of the front plate, and in an improved construction of the hook and shield which serves to cover the point of the pin.
  Figure 1 is a perspective view of the invention.
  In the drawing, A is the front plate, having an eye, F, turned up at one of its ends, in order to receive the shank G of the bent spring-pin B, which is to be soldered firmly to the back of the front plate. The eye F, formed from the same piece of metal with the front plate, serves to hold the shank G firmly, and to prevent it from being loosened from the plate by constant use, which would be very probable if dependence were placed upon solder alone, as in similar articles heretofore constructed. The front plate, A, is made to swell gradually from each end toward the middle,
  and is furnished with an ornamental edge, E; and, in order to produce the desired effect, I make the hook C quite narrow, so as to correspond to the width of the eye F at the opposite end of the plate. By this means I am able to bend the hook readily, and am not obliged to give it a concave cross-section, which would increase in some degree the trouble of bending; and in order to be able to use the narrow hook, and at the same time properly shield the point of the pin B, I form the two opposite ears D D upon the end of the hook C, which serve, when bent as shown, to steady the point of the pin and to hold it firmly and securely in the proper line.
  I claim as my invention—
  The combination of the front plate, A, soldered shank G, strengthening-eye F, spring-pin. B, and the hook C, terminating in the opposite expanding ears D D, substantially as described.
  
  Virgil H. Blackinton
  
  Witnesses:
  Socrates Scholfield
  Alonzo T. Cross

• He appeared on the 1880 census taken at Attleboro MA, listed as a jewelry manufacturer.

Virgil married Emma W. Gordon. (Emma W. Gordon was born on 15 Apr 1838 in New Hampton NH and died on 7 Dec 1922 in Attleboro MA.)