One major innovation came from Brother Theodore Bates (1762-1846) from the Watervliet Shaker community outside Albany, New York. By 1800, he had invented a vise to hold the broomcorn bristles flat so they could be stitched together with twine. The Shakers invented or updated other broom-making apparatuses, some of which were patented, says Jerry Grant, director of library and collections at the Shaker Museum in Chatham, New York.