Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1813-05-06
9Th. OLIVER Evans, IN n RI he Giro Circuit csn,.
Us. -" heJoHfH cfTc3t OF
SL.RoB1NsoS, &c. the u S. in c, for the

-. NS' for The fourth circuit of
ST.. RoaINsoS. &c the U. S. in G for the
JAMES STROUD, witness summoned on the
part OF the defendants, in consequence of the
aulournment OF the court, voluntarily testiiies
and upon his solemn affirmation soiemniy de.
ciares that he is an inla6itant Of New Castle
county,in the state of Delaware, about fftv-
ehree years OF age, and has for near thirty
years pursued the business Of a miller with on.
~ occasional interruptions, and understands
inc mechanism OF mills for grinding wheat and
other gram he says the first he ever heard of
elevators e, and hopperboys, for which the plain
t'N mas obtained patent, was to tlrs best of his
recollection, IN the year seventeen hundred and
eighty Tour or eighty FIVE that the first time he
ever heSrd of the invention OF elevators ar hon.
perboys, he understood they were invented by
the piaintft Oliver Evans and that the second
time he conversed about such an invention. ,vos
with the said Oliver Evans, who said that IL
was not only practicable raise -four &c but
ina. IL WAS then IN operation although the demo.
nent had never then seen tho Machinerv nor
had he ever heard of any other person inventnr
such machinery before the said Oliver Evans.
mat the first elevator he ever saw wa, in Mar
shaii and 3troud's mill in New Castle county.
soon after the invention was made known, pro-
eaoiy IN the year seventeen hundred and eiph-
~ hve, that this elevator was principally erect
Ell under the care and direction of the aRirmant.
VINO had discovered, as he believed. the nr;n.,
cipes of the plaintiff discovery. for which h.,
(the piaintiff) had thea no patent: that in ,he
same mn he hr.t saw a hopperboy, or ma
chlnery resembling hopperboy, soon aAer the
experiment OF the elevator aforesaid that this
hopperboy was the production of the Joint labor
and invention of William Marshall and Samuel
stroud, The owners of the said mill, ana of the
two sons of said VIM. Marshall; on experiment,
found m onc +I,o
soon afterwards, this affirmant had CONVEX.
sation with Oliver Evans about his invention of
the hoppcrboy, and one was made by this afr.
Hlant according to his tine said Oliver Evan,'1
plan; and another was put up according to the.
same plan in the mill of said Marshall and
Stroud, and were found to answer better than
anyother invention or machinery that had ever
been previously discovered, or made, according
to the best of his knowledge and belief or has
since been discovered TO the best of his know
ledge 1T beng the same now in general USE
The aitirTnant further solemnly declares that
from has own knowledge and observation and
from all he has heard from others on The sub
Ject, he verify believes Oliver Evans wa. the.
hrst inventor or both the elevator and the hop
perboy now IN common use in mills for manu-
featuring -four from wheat and that he so beu
iieved at the time h., the aiirmanL was making.
such machinery IN the year 1874, or 1885, ~
bove mentioned as the first idea or notion of
Tho same. was derived from him, the suid oil.
yer Evans. The aifirmant further saws, that
the invention of the elevator and hopperhoy.
with other improvements in making -four, for
which the aintitf has patent, in his opinion
saves one halt the labor which otherwise
would be necessary for carrying on the milling
business and also are causes of great saving.
and do the work better than could be done by
manual labor, in the msde practiced before
such inventions. That he hath known Oliver
Evans ever since his inventions aforesaid, and
was acquainted with the first trials and experi-
ments OF such inventions in said MarshalPs and
Stroud's ms, and knows a great number of
mus IN which they are used, and that his (the
said Oliver EvanS'j claim to the originality Of
SAID inventions was never disputed in the
neighborhOod where they were so first tried.
to this afirmant's knowledge, nor elsewhere
ihat this afiirmant knows of, until tho cs4s now
under trial.