Prof. Adolphe A. Chaillet

In the latter part of July, 1896 John Cooper Whiteside mentioned to John Chamberlin Fish, a resident of Shelby, Ohio, the claims Adolphe A. Chaillet made about his idea for an improved incandescent lamp. This aroused the interest of Mr. Fish as it sounded like it would be a good business venture to manufacture such a lamp. John C. Fish was an enthusiastic individual who was always looking for a new outlet for his energy. John Whiteside had been the superintendent at the Cooper Engine Works in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. On 7 August 1896 a newspaper article announced¹ that a contract had been negotiated with Chaillet (of Columbus, Ohio) and Whiteside and some Shelby venture capitalists. These individuals were: W. W. Skiles, G. M. Skiles, M. H. Davis, Jonas Feighner and John Fish. Chaillet and Whiteside were hired as permanent employees of the new firm, The Shelby Electric Company.

"A. A. Chaillet, the technical manager of the company, and upon whom it chiefly depends for its advice regarding all points pertaining to the manufacturing of its product, was engaged in the factory operated by his father near Paris, France, when the incandescent lamp was made by them in Europe. The professor has been engaged as a manufacturer of incandescent lamps since 1878, having had charge of the laboratory of the largest factory in Germany. Mr. Chaillet came to this country in 1892 to manufacture lamps at Marlboro, Mass. He had been engaged in Germany by the Schaefer company to assist it in making filaments and remodeling its plant. This factory was closed by the Edison company shortly after Professor Chaillet had completed his work of remodeling. The professor was then engaged in the designing department of the General Electric company at Lynn, Mass., and has recently completed the design of an electric locomotive for the Jeffreys Manufacturing company of Columbus, Ohio. Professor Chaillet is not only an electrician of extensive experience and knowledge, but is a thorough chemist and mineralogist."

Of special interest, as it regards lamps manufactured by The Shelby Electric Company, is A. A. Chaillet. It appears little has been written about him and what has appeared should be put in proper perspective. The reason why Chaillet was brought to Shelby was mentioned above¹. In the following some additional information is presented.

A. A. Chaillet was living in Shelby in the year 1900 when the U. S. Census was taken. It follows, therefore, that some new information could be obtained by looking at those records. That was done. The census information regarding Chaillet was taken on 18 June 1900²². It is stated that Adolphe Chaillet was 32 years of age at that time, having been born in France in November of 1867. In 1900 he lived on Grand Boulevard, Shelby, Sharon Township, Richland County. The place of birth of Adolphe's mother was in Russia and his father's place of birth was in Sweden. It is stated that he had been married for five years.

The wife of Adolphe was listed as Maud L., who, at that time, was 23 years of age, having been born in April of 1877. Her birthplace was in Massachusetts. Maud's mother and father also were born in Massachusetts. The Chaillet's three children were: Alexander B., born in November of 1896; Arnold, born in August of 1898; and, Catherine, five months old and born in January of 1899. The three children were born in Ohio. In actuality a check at the Richland County Vital Records Office in Mansfield, Ohio indicated that Catharine M. was born on 28 December 1899^20,21; her mother's maiden name was given as Maud Bickmore.

If one refers to the article in Western Electrician¹³ it can be seen that Chaillet's early lamp experience in Europe is in some doubt. For example, it's difficult to conclude that Adolphe Chaillet was involved in lamp manufacture in the year 1878 when he was only eleven years of age.

It is of interest to note that Adolphe Chaillet was granted only two U. S. Patents during the time period from 1896 through 1922; both^19,26 were applied for while he was associated with Shelby Electric.

The activities of A. A. Chaillet after about 1902 are not known to this writer. A look was taken at "The American Family Immigration History Center" website⁵⁰ and the name of Chaillet did appear. If one simply inserts the surname "Chaillet" without a first name initial, nineteen matches appear. One can then determine that Maud Chaillet and her daughter, Catharine, arrived at Ellis Island on 15 July 1904 aboard the ship "Monterey", the port of departure being Veracruz Llave, Veracruz, Mexico. On that same list one finds that A. A. Chaillet arrived at Ellis Island on 5 July 1914 on the ship "Antonio Lopez", the port of departure being Puerto Mexico, Veracruz, Mexico. It was stated that A. A. Chaillet's place of residence was Mexico City. It might be tentatively assumed, therefore, that Chaillet worked in Mexico City from about 1904 to 1914. Corroboration of that conclusion follows from the text card that accompanies one of William J. Hammer's lamps that is now stored in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Lamp No. 1905-798 is a Chaillet lamp that was manufactured in Mexico⁵³

This writer finds some mystery in Chaillet's actual role at Shelby Electric. The Company was started based on ideas Chaillet had regarding an improved incandescent lamp. The details of Chaillet's new lamp were never completely revealed however, apparently being considered proprietary in nature. The Chaillet lamp, with a new filament, was tested with others in January of 1897^5,6. Manufacturing of the lamp started about 1 February 1897. The lamp was put on the market in March of 1897.

Adolphe Chaillet was named technical Manager of the Company and was also on the Board of Directors until their annual meeting on 29 August 1902 when he was not re-elected²⁸.