Tracing the Career of Frank M. Underwood, GAS ENGINE PIONEER
Underwood’s Post-Lambert Patents
— Part three of an ongoing series
This is a continuation of research presented chronologically on the Ohio Motor Co. and its local predecessor, the Underwood Motor Co. If anyone can add to the information presented here, please share it publicly for the benefit of all.
Comins Mfg. Co., Upper Sandusky, Ohio
The letterhead (Figure 1) indicates to us that by February 10, 1896, F.M. Underwood was working with the Comins Mfg. Co. of Upper Sandusky, Ohio, although Underwood’s name is not mentioned. The content of the letter is a response to a request for parts for an existing engine in Cadiz, Ohio, so we know that some engines were built and sold in 1895 or before, presumably in the shops of Quast and/or Frey-Scheckler of Bucyrus, Ohio. The text of the letter tells us that “our foundry will not be ready to operate until next week.” The design of the engine portrayed continues to follow its Lambert heritage closely.
The Comins Mfg. Co., Eighth Street, Upper Sandusky, Ohio, is rather obscure, but I did find a 1902 reference to Mr. Comins building a portable steam engine and a steam-powered automobile. We can assume that Comins Mfg. Co. employed only a few people. In the book , there is a picture of an early gas-powered “ice sled” built by an un-named local, but
