Richard Bowie Spikes (1878 - 1965)

Born 2 Oct 1878 in Dallas, Dallas, Texas, United States [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Lula Belle (Charlton) Spikes — married 18 Oct 1900 in Jefferson, Texas, United States

Died 22 Jan 1965 at age 86 in Los Angeles, California, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: US Black Heritage Project WikiTree [send private message], Carole Bannes [send private message], and Gene Ellison [send private message]

Richard Spikes is a part of US Black history. Join: US Black Heritage Project Discuss: black_heritage

Biography

Richard Spikes is Notable.

Richard B Spikes was an African American inventor with a wide range of interests. He held at least twelve United States patents as well as being a musician, a barber, and a mechanic.^[1]

Richard Spikes was born in 1878. He was the son of Monroe Spikes and Medora Kirby. In 1880, he was enumerated, age 1, in his parents' household in Dallas, Texas.^[2] Sometime between 1889 and 1900, his parents and younger siblings relocated to Los Angeles, California. Richard, however, remained behind. In 1900 he was in Beaumont, Jefferson County, Texas, age 21, single, living in a boarding house, and employed as a teacher.^[3]

In October 1900, he married Lula Charlton, a 20-year-old Beaumont native.^[4] They had one son— Richard D Spikes, born in 1902—but census information indicates that Richard and Lula separated before 1910, when she and their son were living with her family members in Beaumont. They possibly divorced in 1954, when he (or possibly his son) published a Legal Notice in The Los Angeles Times that he "would not be responsible for any debts other than [his] own."^[5]

Richard cannot be found in the 1910 Census, although his Patent Applications indicate that he was living in Bisbee, Arizona Territory, in 1907 and 1908, and in Albuquerque, Territory of New Mexico, in 1910.^[6] Arizona Voter Registrations Lists also show him as a resident and registered voter in Bisbee in 1906^[7], 1908^[8], and 1909.^[9]

By 1920, Richard (age 39, OK, white, single) was living in a boarding house in the City of Fort Bragg, California, and working as a garage mechanic.^[10] Richard continued to move around California, being found in San Francisco in April 1930, renting a house at 3105 Sacramento Street for $20/month. He was again working as a barber in his own shop. Other information on this Census indicated that he considered himself "Indian" (Native American), was age 53, born in Oklahoma to parents born in Texas, and had been first married at age 33—none of which was true except his age, so he may or may not have been the informant.^[11]

Richard may have fallen on hard times between 1930 and 1940, for the April 1940 Census lists him as a resident in an "Open Air Shed on the Waterfront on West Weber Avenue" in Stockton, California—along with over 450 other men who were from all over the world and nearly every state in the union, all marked as "T" in Column 3, indicating that they were enumerated in Temporary Housing. At this time, Richard provided the following information: he was a "Negro Male," age 62, married but living apart, and had attended 2 years of college. He was born in Oklahoma, and had lived in San Francisco , California, in 1935. He reported that he was not at work in any capacity during the week of March 24-30, 1940, nor was he seeking work in either the private or public sectors. His occupation is listed as "farm laborer," and he had worked 26 weeks in 1939, for which he received wages of $150 total. He also indicated that he was not a veteran.^[12]

NOTE: The information in Columns 21-34 are so out of sync with previous census information, that I wonder if the enumerator mixed up the information between Richard on line 18 and a gentleman named "Sherrel Paschal" (age 57, b SC) on line 19. Mr Paschal reported having worked 48 hours the previous week as a barber with his own shop, but having earned no income from wages the previous year, with another source of income. All of that fits what is known of Richard's previous life more than the information on line 18. (Kirch-132 15:33, 4 January 2022 (UTC))

Richard evidently continued to live in California for the remainder of his life. In 1955, when his brother John passed away, he was in Marysville, Yuba County,^[13] and in 1962, when his last patent was issued, he was in Los Angeles, California.^[14] Near the end of his life, Richard's eyesight began to fade.

“By the time he was creating the automatic safety brake in 1962, Spikes's eyesight began to fade due to the effects of glaucoma which [had also] affected other members of his family so in order to complete the device, he first created a drafting machine for blind designers – by the time his braking device was completed, he was deemed legally blind."^[15]

He passed away in 1965 ^[16] and his remains were placed in the family plot at Angelus Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles County, California.^{[17] [18]}

Research Notes and Inconsistencies

—Date of Birth: 12 Sep 1877 (Cemetery Records; Informant Benjamin F Spikes, Brother) ^[17] vs other sources giving 2 Oct 1878

—Place of Birth: Given variously as Texas, Oklahoma, or Indian Territory. There is no indication that his parents lived anywhere except Texas and California after their marriage. His older half-brother, Thomas (1870 Census), was possibly born in Oklahoma-Indian Territory, but Richard was very likely born in Dallas, TX.

Sources

1. ↑ Richard Spikes, African-American Inventor Wikipedia
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1880": Munroe Spikes household; ED 56 Dallas, Dallas County, Texas; 10 June 1880; Dwelling 249/Family 251; Written page 26 B, Lines 35-40 FamilySearch (Image)
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1900": R B Spikes in household of Sam Brown; ED 33 Beaumont, Jefferson County, Texas; 1 June 1900; Dwelling 20/Family 24, Line 42 FamilySearch (Image)
4. ↑ "Texas, County Marriage Index, 1837-1977": R B Spikes and L B Charlton; 18 October 1900; Jefferson County, Texas FamilySearch (Data).
5. ↑ "Legal Notice by Richard Spikes" The Los Angeles (California) Times 14 December 1954; p 49, col 1 Newspapers.com (Clip)
6. ↑ Richard B Spikes Patented Inventions: Google Patents
7. ↑ "Arizona, Cochise County, Voting Records, 1882-1932": Great Register, Book 5 (1906), p 233; R B Spikes, age 27, born Texas; Bisbee Ward 2 FamilySearch (Image 398)
8. ↑ "Arizona, Cochise County, Voting Records, 1882-1932": Great Register, Book 6 (1908), p 240; Richard B Spikes, age 29, born in Indian Territory; Bisbee Ward 2 FamilySearch (Image 652)
9. ↑ "Arizona, Cochise County, Voting Records, 1882-1932": Great Register, Book 7 (1909), p 238; Richard B Spikes, age 31, born in Oklahoma; Bisbee Ward 1 FamilySearch (Image 878)
10. ↑ "United States Census, 1920": Richard Spikes, Boarder in household of Esther Rushing; ED 122 Fort Bragg, Mendocino County, California; 17 January 1920; Sheet 10-A, Dwelling 233/Family 241, Line 10 FamilySearch (Image)
11. ↑ "United States Census, 1930": Richard B Spikes; ED 38-326 San Francisco, California; 7 April 1930; Dwelling 157/Family 233, Line 36 FamilySearch (Image)
12. ↑ "United States Census, 1940": Richard B Spikes; ED 39-47 Ward 2, Stockton, San Joaquin County, California; 8 April 1940; Sheet 85-A, Line 18 FamilySearch (Image)
13. ↑ "Obituary of John C Spikes" Pasadena (California) Independent, 30 June 1955; p 36, col 5 Newspapers.com (Shared Clip)
14. ↑ R. B. Spikes: Automatic Safety Brake System; Filed 26 October 1959, Granted 2 January 1962 Google Patents
15. ↑ Dokosi, Michael Eli. "Richard Spikes, the Blind Automobile Genius who Invented the Traffic Indicator Lights." Face2Face Africa
16. ↑ "California Death Index, 1940-1997": Richard B Spikes, d 22 January 1965 FamilySearch (Extracted Data)
17. ↑ ^{17.0 17.1} "California, Los Angeles, Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery/Crematory Records, 1884-2002": Richard Bowie Spikes; Burial 26 January 1965; Location 10-62-1NE FamilySearch (Image)
18. ↑ "Richard Bowie Spikes (1878-1965)": Find A Grave: Memorial #235551206 (Grave marker placed but not pictured; Biography; Family links)