Wheeler &amp; Wilson number 9 machine - Wheeler &amp; Wilson manufactured some of the most successful sewing machine designs of the 19th century. Allen B. Wilson started in 1850 with several inventions that could make a lockstitch in cloth. In 1853 he attracted the interest of Nathaniel Wheeler who had the capital to  start a manufacturing plant. Together they made machines for all kinds of sewing operations and at one time had factories in Bridgeport employing thousands of workers. In 1907 the company was taken over by the Singer Corporation but the factories continued to make machines until after WWI.