John Souther was the founder of Globe Locomotive Works

Globe Locomotive Works

The Globe Locomotive Works was a late-19th century manufacturer of railroad steam locomotives and other machinery based in Boston, Massachusetts. During that time the firm built some one hundred steam locomotives for railroads throughout the United States...

, an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 steam locomotive

Steam locomotive

A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...

 manufacturing company. In his obituary published in the Newton, Massachusetts

Newton, Massachusetts

Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...

, Town Crier, he is credited with the invention of the steam shovel

Steam shovel

A steam shovel is a large steam-powered excavating machine designed for lifting and moving material such as rock and soil. It is the earliest type of power shovel or excavator. They played a major role in public works in the 19th and early 20th century, being key to the construction of railroads...

 and steam dredger as well as designing the pattern for the fence around Boston Common. On his death in 1911, he was survived by a son and a daughter. Souther attended the funeral on May 4, 1870 of Zerah Colburn

Zerah Colburn (locomotive designer)

Zerah Colburn was an American engineer specialising in steam locomotive design, technical journalist and publisher.- Career :Without any formal schooling, Colburn was a teenage prodigy...

, the well-known locomotive engineer and journalist, who for a time (circa 1853) was employed by Souther.