But Howe knew nothing of any of these inventors.

There is no evidence that he had ever seen the work of another.
The idea obsessed him to such an extent that he could do no other work, and yet he must live.

By this time he was married and had children, and his wages were only nine dollars a week.

Just then an old schoolmate, George Fisher, agreed to support his family and furnish him with five hundred dollars for materials and tools.

The attic in Fisher's house in Cambridge was Howe's workroom.