• Born: 31 Aug 1844, Norton MA

  General notes:

Jeweler

  Events in his life were:

• He worked circa 1865-1895 as a jeweler in Attleboro MA

• He was issued patent number 183,354 on 17 Oct 1876
  
  LEWIS E. WHITE, OF ATTLEBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS.
  
  IMPROVEMENT IN SAFETY-PINS.
  
  Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 183,354, dated October 17, 1876; application filed August 9, 1876.
  
  To all whom it may concern :
  Be it known that I, Lewis E. White, of Attleborough, in the county of Bristol and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have in-vented a new, useful, and Improved Pin-Guard, for securing from loss bosom-pins, breast-pins, belt-pins, scarf-pins, and shawl- pins, which last named pins are especially liable to loss when the shawl which contains them is thrown back from off the chest or is being carried on the arm, or otherwise, when not in use, either by being detached therefrom by their own weight or by being caught in some other object, or taken therefrom by thieves; and I do further declare that the following is a full and exact description of my said invention, which is represented in the annexed drawings as applied to shawl-pins.
  The nature of my invention consists in attaching to or near the head of the pin in the annexed drawings marked P, which passes through the fabric marked A, a chain or some such similar guard marked G C, which chain shall reattach to the pin P, after it has passed through the fabric A, by means of a snap-hook or some such similar appliance marked S in the drawings. The guard-chain G C must be sufficiently short as compared with the length of the pin P to prevent the snap-hook S from passing over the point of said
  pin. The pin can be secured by means of this guard after it has passed through but one side of the shawl. The guard being of chain or some like pliable material, will allow the snap-hook to press the fabric of the shawl, through which it has passed, well up to the head of the pin, thus allowing the pin to be operated, either to pin or unpin the shawl without detaching the guard, and thus making it useful and convenient for those traveling or attending entertainments. Breast-pins can also be thus absolutely secured from loss by means of this guard, if from, any cause they become unclasped. The application of this guard to the other classes of pins mentioned in the first paragraph of this specification is, in general principle, substantially the same as its application to the shawl-pin, as above set forth.
  What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is—
  A safety-pin having a guard-chain shorter than the pin attached to the same near the head, and provided with a snap-hook at its free end, substantially as above described, and for the purposes set forth.
  
  LEWIS E. WHITE
  
  Witnesses:
  E. H. Lincoln
  Chas. E. Bliss

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