Abel Buell, born in Killingworth, Connecticut, was a goldsmith, silversmith, jewelry designer, engraver, surveyor, printer, type manufacturer, mint master, textile miller, and counterfeiter in the American colonies.
12 Facts About Abel Buell
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In 1784, Buell published A New and Correct Map of the United States of North America Layd down from the latest Observations and best Authorities agreeable to the Peace of 1783; it was the first map of the new United States created by an American.
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Abel Buell invented a lapidary machine to cut and polish gems, a minting machine that could product 120 coins per minute, and machines for planting onions and corn.
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Abel Buell was the first man to design and cast type in the United States.
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In 1755, Abel Buell was apprenticed in Madison, Connecticut, to master silversmith and his future brother-in-law, Ebenezer Chittenden.
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Abel Buell gained notoriety at an early age as a counterfeiter by altering five-pound note engraving plates into larger denomination plates.
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Abel Buell's sentence was to be branded above the forehead under the scalp, loss of a portion of his right ear, and life in prison, plus forfeiture of all his lands and estates.
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In 1765, Abel Buell received a patent for a lapidary machine, making him the first Connecticut resident to receive a patent.
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In 1770, Abel Buell moved to New Haven, Connecticut, and went to work for cartographer Bernard Romans.
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Abel Buell engraved the dies for the Connecticut copper coinage as well as the dies for the Fugio cents - America's first coinage.
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In 1789, Abel Buell went to England on behalf of a group of investors to steal the secrets of cotton manufacturing from the British and bring that knowledge back to America.
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In later life, Abel Buell joined with David Greenleaf to fashion some of the first steel swords manufactures specifically for the US government.