Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
BRT.82.68 |
Object Name |
Wheel, Spinning |
Other Name |
Wheel, Walking |
Description |
A large wooden walking wheel or great wheel spinning machine. A large spoked wheel is attached at the hub to a post that fits into a slot on the wooden bench. Three turned, splayed legs support the bench. On the opposite side of the bench is a turned head post with a spindle and pulley. |
Year Range from |
1840 |
Year Range to |
1857 |
Dimensions |
H-141 W-50 L-184 cm |
History |
According to the donor, this walking wheel originated from Dumfriesshire, Scotland and belonged to the family of William Jardine of Streetsville. William (1817-1879) and his wife Henrietta (1819 - 1906) immigrated to Ontario between 1849 and 1857. According to the 1871 census, William was a farmer. He died in 1879 and is buried at Streetsville Cemetery. According to Todd Farrell of the Walking Wheel Discovery Project, this wheel probably originated in Nova Scotia. The accelerator head is rare and he has only found it on Southwestern Ontario wheels. Todde feels it was made in Ontario and is after market, ie not made by the maker of the wheel and added on at a later date. Amos Miner patented the head design in 1810 in New York, and then others made it following the same concept. Users purchased and switched out the direct drive and bat heads with this head, as it was better for Merino wool. Spinning wheels were used by early settlers to take wool fibres and turn them into yarn used for knitting, crocheting and weaving various types of textiles such as clothing and bedding. Unlike the sit-down wheel, which is operated by a foot pedal, a walking wheel is operated by hand and the spinner is required to walk back and forth with the yarn as they spin. It was estimated that early settler women would walk up to twenty miles a day inside their cabins while spinning their yarn. Reference: By Way of the Wheel. Bittersweet. Volume 11, No. 4, Summer 1975 https://thelibrary.org/lochist/periodicals/bittersweet/su75g.htm Todd Farrell, correspondence 2024, Walking Wheel Discovery Project, https://cfha.info/2022/04/walking-wheel-discovery-project/ |
People |
Jardine, Henrietta Jardine, William |