Sylvester Baringer Papers
Date: 1907 - 1987
Level of Description: Coll./Record Group
Material Type: Manuscripts
Call Number: Unavailable
Unit ID: 42137
Biographical sketch: Sylvester Baringer was born to parents Ephraim and Esther Baringer of Marshall County, Kansas, on March 30th, 1883. He was one of six children and grew up working the family farm. At the age of 21, he married his childhood sweetheart Minnie Davisson, with whom he had two daughters. Baringer farmed in Coffey County for over forty years before retiring from farming in Emporia, Kansas, in 1959, and he also served as the representative from Coffey County in the Kansas House of Representatives from 1942 to 1950. He obtained a patent for his rungless ladder in 1963 and spent years attempting to market it to various producers before shelving the invention around 1968. Baringer passed away in Emporia on February 11th, 1970, at the age of 86.
Space Required/Quantity: 0.44 cubic feet
Title (Main title): Sylvester Baringer Papers
Titles (Other):
- Hatch, Bonnie
Scope and Content
Scope and content:
The Sylvester Baringer Papers primarily contain correspondence, descriptions, invoices, patents, newspaper clippings, trade publications, and other material related to the rungless ladder invented by Sylvester Baringer of Emporia, Kansas. The collection also includes a paper written by Baringer titled "Rural America - Its Demise", which addresses the various changes to farming, family, and politics as they pertain to rural America, and a 1964 issue of Popular Science magazine.
Locators:
| Locator | Contents |
|---|---|
| 015-07-06-01 | Correspondence, invention descriptions, patents, trade publications, directories, "Rural America - Its Demise" paper, 1964 issue of Popular Science |
Related Records or Collections
Related materials:
UID 439559, Rungless Ladder photographs (https://www.kansashistory.gov/archives/439559)
UID 509648, Photograph of Sylvester Baringer (https://www.kansashistory.gov/archives/509648)
