Bliss, Ephraim

Born: 1806-XX-XX Massachusetts

Died: 1858-12-01 Alton, Illinois

Ephraim Bliss was a seller of patent rights and hotelier in Springfield and Alton, Illinois. Bliss entered into a partnership with Rufus H. Lesure, and in April 1840, the firm of Lesure & Bliss acquired the American House in Springfield. Lesure & Bliss later entered into the patent rights business, and in August 1849, they purchased the rights to manufacture J. W. Gordon's corn sheller for Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa. In September 1850, Bliss became proprietor of the Franklin House in Alton. He continued to operate the Franklin House until his retirement in September 1854.

Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 17 April 1840, 3:1; Illinois Journal (Springfield), 22 August 1849, 3:1; Illinois Daily Journal (Springfield), 28 September 1850, 3:1; 15 September 1854, 3:1; Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 6 December 1858, 2:4; Edmund Burke, List of Patents for Inventions and Designs, Issued by the United States, From 1790 to 1847 (Washington, DC: J. & G. S. Gideon, 1847), 10; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Springfield, Sangamon County, IL, 98.