This is said to have been the
first piece of iron-toothed gearing ever used in mill work. When
I last saw it, the pinton was placed on the lawn in front of
William Murdock's villa at Handsworth.
The young man helped his father in many ways. He worked in the
mill, worked on the farm, and assisted in the preparation of mill
machinery. In this way he obtained a considerable amount of
general technical knowledge. He even designed and constructed
bridges. He was employed to build a bridge over the river Nith,
near Dumfries, and it stands there to this day, a solid and
handsome structure. But he had an ambition to be something more
than a country mason. He had heard a great deal about the
inventions of James Watt; and he determined to try whether he
could not get "a job" at the famous manufactory at Soho. He
accordingly left his native place in the year 1777, in the
twenty-third year of his age; and migrated southward. He left
plenty of Murdocks behind him. There was a famous staff in the
family, originally owned by William Murdock's grandfather, which
bore the following inscription: "This staff I leave in pedigree
to the oldest Murdock after me, in the parish of Auchenleck,
1745." This staff was lately held by Jean Murdock, daughter of
the late William Murdock, joiner, cousin of the subject of this
biography.
When William arrived at Soho in 1777 he called at the works to
ask for employment.
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