I have an 8" pewter ring clamshell brace with only part of the lettering legible.  No surprise there.
I can read SPOFFORD followed by garbled.  Seems to have a Mar patent date.  Can anyone fill in more of the info on this brace?

Fray - J.S., John, etc. - seems to have been the maker of the Spofford pattern brace with the wood crank handle and pewter rings.  "Spofford" refers to the design of the chuck: a split cast iron arrangement, clamped shut by a wing screw.  Stone simple and very effective.

It's possible that Fray was yet another company swallowed up by Stanley, the Microsoft of the late 19th/early 20th century.

Some info: http://www.sydnassloot.com/Brace/Fray.htm

Thanks, Bill.
I have quite a few Spofford type braces and have been through the site you noted, but haven't seen any info on a March patent that would give me more info. 
I'll keep my eyes open.

Check DATAMP, use various search methods.

No help from DATAMP, but I learned a lot about corn shellers patented in March in the 1860's!

March 23, 1880, patent 225768

http://datamp.org/patents/advance.php?pn=225768&id=5821&set=9

You guys are really something.
I found it with your help and was preparing to add a link--and find that I have been bested by a few hours!  It seems that the Spofford patent was an improvement on the chuck that had been in production for just over two decades. 
The first Spofford patent was Nov 1, 1859, a month and a day before John Brown was hanged--just to give it some historical context.  A long time ago.
Thanks again for all the help.

I came to this thread late.  If anyone else ever needs help finding a brace patent, I have a copy of Ron Pearson's American Patented Braces book.  It is very useful for finding brace patents.