Harriet Ruth Tracy was born on December 6, 1834, in Charleston, South Carolina; her parents were William Brisbane (1809-1860) and Julia Hall Lowndes (1811-1847).

[6] In 1860 she married Cadwallader Colden Tracy (1830-1921),[7] a baseball player who had been a member the New York Knickerbockers in 1854.She then moved to Staten Island, in the village of New Brighton, to live with her husband in 1860.

With regards to the pain points Tracy aimed to address, many of them surrounded issues with uban living spaces and making them more efficient.

Her life time was post-Industrial Revolution, and as such, adapting to the growing consumer needs for industrial efficiency was essential, and she was a front-liner in this effort.

The invention furnished an improved bedstead and crib that was designed in a way that when it’s not in use can present a neat and uniform appearance, giving no indication of the presence of the crib-attachment.

This innovation was so groundbreaking, for its time, that it was installed in Women’s Building at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where “it was used to transport visitors to the roof-top restaurant.”[11] It was also commercialised in New York City.

[12] The pain point that Tracy addressed with this innovation was the recurring failures occurring with elevator systems at the time.

With this innovation, she made this process easier for the every-day consumer in a time at which these inventions were making their way in to commercial and residential spaces.

Moreover, Harriet Tracy is an inspiring figure for women and girls who are looking into pursuing STEM careers, seeing as she is an example of what can happen when you step outside of the bounds that other people try to put you in.

With good reason, Tracy gained fame for her work, thereby demonstrating exemplary ingenuity during a time when many women would not be able to do so, despite every desire to.