User:FairyShrimp/Catherine R. Mott

Catherine R. Mott[edit]
Catherine Rachel Mott (b. Saul, 1836-1880) was a housewife and an inventor. She recieved one patent in 1878 for an improved fire escape.

Biography[edit]
Mott was born on November 7, 1836. It is unclear where in New York she was born. She was married to Francis Roberts Mott. Francis was the son of Valentine Mott a prominent surgeon in New York City. Francis worked as a clerk in the Assay office in New York. They had one daughter, Louisa Mott. Catherine died in 1880 at the age of 44 years. She is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.

Patent[edit]
Mott's one patent was for an improved fire escape. She was concerned with the safety of women and children trying to descend a single ladder from a burning building. In this position there was the danger of their clothes, particularly women's skirts getting caught on projecting parts of the building. There was also the danger of the firemen trying to come up the ladders at the same time. Her proposal was for a cage-ladder to be attached to the wall of the building. Residents of the building were to descend on the inside of the ladder while the fire fighters would ascend the outside of the ladder.

Collections[edit]

 * Patent Model-Improvement in Fire-Escapes, April 9, 1878, Patent Number 202,115, Hagley Museum and Library, Wilmington, Delaware