Judy Woodford Reed
Born	1826 Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S.
Died	1905 (aged 78–79)
Nationality	American
Occupation	Inventor
Known for	First African American woman to receive a US patent
Notable work	Dough kneader and roller

Judy Woodford Reed (c. 1826 – c. 1905)^[1] was an African-American woman alive during the 1880s, whose only records are a US patent and censuses. Reed, from Virginia, is considered the first African American woman to receive a US patent. Patent No. 305,474 for a "Dough Kneader and Roller" was granted September 23, 1884. The patent was for an improved design of existing rollers with dough mixing more evenly while being kept covered and protected.

Biography

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Little is known about Judy Woodford Reed, or Reid.^[2] She first appears in the 1870 Federal Census as a 44 year old seamstress in Fredericksville Parish near Charlottesville, Virginia, in Albemarle County, along with her husband Allen, a gardener, and their five children ^[3] Ten years later, Allen and Judy Reed were still in Virginia, this time with a grandson.^[4] Sometime between 1880 and 1885, Allen Reed died, and Judy W. Reed, calling herself "widow of Allen," moved to Washington, D. C., where she resided, with her children, at 1906 K Street, N. W.^[5]

It is unlikely that Reed was able to read, write, or even sign her name. Census enumerations refer to her and her husband as illiterate, and her patent is signed with an "X". Besides the limited records above, there are no known records of Reed. It is unknown whether any earlier African-American women received patent rights; there was no requirement to indicate race in the documents, and women often used only their initials to hide their gender.^[1] Until 1863 it was illegal for slaves to be literate, and those found reading, writing or teaching others could be punished severely or killed.^[6] The first African-American woman to fully sign a patent was Sarah E. Goode of Chicago. Her patent, 322,177 Archived 2018-08-02 at the Wayback Machine, granted on July 14, 1885, was for a cabinet-bed, "that class of sectional bedsteads adapted to be folded together when not in use, so as to occupy less space, and made generally to resemble some article of furniture when so folded."^[7]

Patent

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Reed's first patent, Patent No. 305,474, made her the first African American women who officially received a US patent, inventing the Dough Kneader and Roller and was classified as "B29B7/562 Mixing; Kneading continuous, with mechanical mixing or kneading devices with movable mixing or kneading devices with rollers or the like, e.g. calenders with co-operating rollers, e.g. with repeated action, i.e. the material leaving a set of rollers being reconducted to the same set or being conducted to a next set with means for axially moving the material on the rollers".

The application itself was granted on September 9, 1884, with the subsequent publication follow in the same day on September 9, 1884. Her witnesses included Lewis McKenzie and John Ambler Smith. Her invention was an improved design on existing dough rollers.

See also

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References

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^ ^a ^b Garner, C.W. (2017). "Reed, Judy W. (c. 1826- ? )". BlackPast.org. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
^ The death record of Mrs. Elizabeth (Reid) Smith, a married Negro housewife, who died in Oklahoma,^{[clarification needed]} DC on September 14, 1924, lists her as being a native of Charlottesville, Virginia and that her parents were Allen Reid and "Juddy" Woodford. Ancestry.com. Washington, DC, US, Select Deaths and Burials Index, 1769-1960 [database on-line]. Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: District of Columbia, Deaths and Burials, 1840-1964. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013.
^ 1870 Federal Census for Fredericksville Parish (Charlottesville P. O.), Albemarle County, Virginia, page 78, lines 4-10. Source Information: M593_1631; Page: 309B; Family History Library Film: 553130; Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Retrieved March 22, 2021
^ 1880 Federal Census for Charlottesville District, Albemarle County, Virginia; Albemarle County Enumeration District 13, page 299, Lines 40-43. Year: 1880; Census Place: Charlottesville, Albemarle, Virginia; Roll: 1352; Page: 299A; Enumeration District: 013; Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. 1880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Retrieved March 22, 2021
^ William H. Boyd, compiler: Boyd's Directory of the District of Columbia... (Washington: J. Bradley Adams and William Ballantyne & Son, 1885), 695
^ "Judy W. Reed -- USA". Istory. 2011.
^ "USPTO recognizes inventive women during Women's History Month". US Patent and Trademark Office. March 1, 2002. Archived from the original on August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.

External links

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US patent 305474 at espacenet
US patent 305474 at google patents
USPTO metadata^{[permanent dead link]} about US patent 305474