Top Left Image: Sarah Boone's patent drawing for improvements to the ironing board. Mrs. Sarah Boone (Boon) born Sarah Marshall was born in 1832, near New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina. Sarah died in 1904 (aged 71–72), in New Haven, Connecticut.

Sarah Boone was an American inventor who on April 26, 1892, obtained United States patent number 473,563] for her improvements to the ironing board. To date there are no verified photos-images of her.
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Bottom right image: This is Rachel Boone, who was the mother of Blind "Willie" Boone

Image source: ID: 351- Author Melissa Fuell-Cuther., book: Blind Boone: His Early Life and His Achievements. Robins, TN: Evangel Publishing Society, 1918.
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Mrs. Sarah Boone (Boon) born Sarah Marshall was born in 1832, near New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina. Sarah died in 1904 (aged 71–72), in New Haven, Connecticut.

Sarah Boone was an American inventor who on April 26, 1892, obtained United States patent number 473,563] for her improvements to the ironing board. Boone's ironing board was designed to improve the quality of ironing sleeves and the bodies of women's garments. The board was very narrow, curved, and made of wood.

The shape and structure allowed it to fit a sleeve and it was reversible, so one could iron both sides of the sleeve. Along with Miriam Benjamin, Ellen Eglin, and Sarah Goode, Boone was one of four African American women inventors of her time who developed new technology for the home

She was born enslaved and was the daughter of Caleb Marshall and Sarah (Sally) Morgan.

On 25 Nov 1847, at the age of 15, Sarah married James Boone, (sometimes listed as Boon) in New Bern. James was a free African American brick mason and bought Sarah’s freedom. They eventually had eight children.

Just prior to the Civil War, by ways of the underground railroad, the Boone family moved to New Haven, Connecticut. Sarah’s mother, Sally Morgan Marshall who was a widower by this time went with them.. Sally appears in New Haven in the city directory of New Haven in 1861. James Boone along with his wife Sarah and family appear in 1862. Sally Morgan Marshall died in New Haven on 1 Aug 1868 and James Boone, Sarah's husband, died 18 Jan 1876.

After her husbands and mothers' deaths, Sarah Marshall Boone continued to live in New Haven and on April 26, 1892. She was one of several women in the 1890’s to submit patents for domestic machinery. Sarah was a seamstress and designed a narrow and curved ironing board that had collapsible legs and a padded cover. The first ironing board patents initially appeared in the 1860’s but these were boards that were designed to be placed on two chairs or a table.

The narrow board Sarah designed was the size and fit of a sleeve common to women’s dresses at the time and was reversible so that one could iron both sides of the sleeve. It could also be folded and put away in a closet or other place in the home. Sarah’s design was quite sophisticated and the precursor to ironing boards in modern times.

Sarah's redesign would make it easier to press sleeves without introducing unwanted creases. In her patent application, she wrote as quoted by biographydotcom that the purpose of her invention was “to produce a cheap, simple, convenient and highly effective device, particularly adapted to be used in ironing the sleeves and bodies of ladies’ garments.”

Sarah Marshall Boone died 29 Oct 1904 and she is buried along with her mother and husband in a family plot in Evergreen Cemetery, New Haven.

This is not the end of Sarah's story as there are many questions regarding Sarah Marshall Boone’s early years in New Bern. Some sources say she was born in Mississippi rather than New Bern. Her death certificate indicates her father was James Marshall, not Caleb. Where were Sarah and her parents enslaved at? When were they freed? Who were the parents of James Boone, Sarah’s husband? What became of her children?

Source: https://www.newbernmagazine.com/sarah-marshall-boone/

Source: https://spectrumlocalnews.com/.../2022/02/28/sarah-boone....

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Boone