William Sheldon’s Electric Machine? A Collections Mystery

Among the many fascinating items in the Longmeadow Historical Society’s Cabinet of Curiosities, one stands out as being particularly intriguing – a Nairne Cylinder Type Electrostatic Machine. It is a type of frictional electrostatic machine that generates static electricity through the process of rubbing materials together.

As with many puzzling items in our collection, learning answers to three key questions helps us to learn more about the item: What is it? Who owned it? Why is it in our collection at the Storrs House Museum?  

Part 1: What is it?

With our modern technology it was easy to quickly identify our device as a Nairne-Type Electrostatic Generator. In the late 18th century, Edward Nairne, an English optician and scientific instrument maker invented the device.

Here's a brief overview of how it works:

·      Glass Cylinder: The machine features a glass cylinder that is rotated by a hand crank.

·      Rubbing Pad: A leather pad, often covered with silk or horsehair, is rubbed against the glass cylinder to generate static electricity.

·      Charge Transfer: The generated charge is transferred to a conductor, which can then be stored or used for experiments.

Nairne's design improved upon earlier electrostatic machines by increasing the surface area of the glass in contact with the rubbing pad, making the generator more efficient.  More importantly, it has a distinctive design that is easy to identify among the dozens of generators invented and manufactured in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Almost a century ago, the Longmeadow Historical Society inventoried the contents of its collection. The accession record identified the device as a "Shaker Electrostatic Machine" and attached a photograph to the worksheet. They permanently assigned it number 19XX-669 and promptly moved it storage in the basement of the Storrs House.

Strangely, a closer look at the attached picture revealed what appeared to be another Storrs House “Frankenstein” - a piece that seems to be comprised of various parts from various places. The wooden stand that the electric machine sat in seems to actually be a dough box with turned legs. There are many examples in collections and online but none in the Longmeadow Historical Society collection. The machine in the picture is significantly different from the one in the collection. Since the inventory sheet was created in 1930, it might be that the society chose to add the picture of a similar device from another collection as a sample.

William Sheldon was a notable figure in Longmeadow, MA, known for his eccentric personality and various scientific interests. He was variously described as a gentleman, author, and retired farmer. Other sources referred to him as a Prophet and a Hermit. We know a great deal about him from his own writings, published books and various narratives written during his lifetime and later after his death.

Over the course of his life, William Sheldon pursued numerous scientific, philosophical and religious interests. He read many of the scientific journals of the day, especially those from Europe. He studied Franz Mesmer and was very familiar with the evolution of electricity during his lifetime. He was particularly drawn to Baron Carl Von Reichenbach and the Concept of Odic Force. The name was coined by von Reichenbach in 1845 in reference to the Germanic god Odin. It was a hypothetical vital energy or life force that he conceived as allied with electricity, magnetism, and heat.

Sheldon tells us in his writings, “For a number of years, commencing early in 1852, I was engaged in a series of experiments on the recently discovered imponderable element, od-force or odyle. These experiments led to interesting results. A number of important discoveries, concerning the nature and properties of the new element, were achieved.”

His obituary gives an intriguing insight. In a section titled “His “Odic” Experiment” we find the following: “Squarely pointed wands were a part of the apparatus by which he conducted his odic experiments …”  Does this refer to the electric machine?

With an eye towards historic preservation, the Storrs family and residents of the Storrs house collected and saved hundreds, perhaps thousands of items. When the house was moved to its current location, the ell in the rear was removed, it contained many of the items in the current Longnmeadow Historical Society collection.

William Sheldon is thought to have been the longest resident of the Storrs house in its 240-year history. After the death of father in 1818, his mother Eunice Williams, a granddaughter of Reverend Stephen Williams, moved into the Storrs house with her widowed sister, Sarah Williams Storrs. Sheldon joined them and resided in the house after his mother and aunt’s deaths. Sometime between 1858 and 1860 his uncle, Eleazar Storrs, moved back to the Storrs home from Springfield. Sheldon built a house in the North End of Longmeadow near what is now Forest Park where he lived the remainder of his life.

Did William Sheldon leave the Electric Machine when he moved? Unfortunately, while there are several death inventories and wills, none to date is a specific itemized list of every item. Maybe someday we will have the answer.

Come visit the Storrs House Museum and see what may have been William Sheldon’s Electric Machine.

Sources:

Benton, J. (2025). The Shakers in Enfield. Retrieved from Enfield Historical Society: https://enfieldhistoricalsociety.org/old-town-hall/visit-to-the-enfield-shakers/

Early Nineteenth Century Nairne Pattern Electrostatic Friction Machine. (2025). Retrieved from sellingantigues.com

Electrostatic therapy and its use by the Shakers. (2019, October 19). Retrieved from Shaker Museum : https://www.shakermuseum.us/electrostatic-therapy-and-its-use-by-the-shakers?nocache=1

Gencarella, S. (2018). Wicked Weird & Wily Yankees: A Celebration of New England's Eccentrics and Misfits. Essex, CT: Globe Pequot Press.

Longmeadow Historical Society. (n.d.). Longmeadow, MA.

Sheldon, W. (1833). Millienial Institutions Being A Comment Of The Forthieth Chapter of Ezekiel. New York: self.

Sheldon, W. (1862). The Millienum: The Good Time Coming With A History of Experiements on Odic Force. Springfield, MA: Samuel Bowles & Company.

William Sheldon, the Recluse. (ND). Springfield Republican.