The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1876-04-26
Who Invented tho Cotton Gin.

III liVouIcl tilo SoCOoH tIn.
The Augusta CouStitutionuiist ot
Wednesday contains sOmo interest.
ing statements concerning the ti:st
invention of the cotton gin, fortified
by Il letter from Col James II. Aiken
of Winnsboro, in this state Whit
ney has tho credit of the invention
and the citizens of New Haven
Connecticut, his native place, have
long since erected u monument to
his memory. He was II school
teacher in the cishborhood Of Au,
.gusta, and of evenings, while board
ing around among his scholars, no
ticed tho slow process Of separating
the lint from the seeds by the mem
bers of the families where he chanced
to be. It was the custom in those
days to pick the cotton seed out with
the fingers, and each person had his
little pile warming before the fire,
to make it easier to pick. Whit
ncy undertook some experiments to
quicken this work and do it by ma
chinery, which are thus described in
our Augusta contemporary
His first effort WAS to perforatc
the bottom Of all old tin coffee pot
with a nail, and twirlinS it around,
discovered that the ragged edges"
seized hold and pulled the lint from
the seeds, and right here the princi
pie was developed which has worked
SUCH II powerful influence in the
history OF civilization Of the present
century. After fnrthcrcxpcriments,
he made Il gin, which consisted of
Il cylinder ST wood, III which were
driven II number Of spikes filed to
APPOINT and slightly crooked at the
cnd-and after boxing, it was
worked by crank or hand power.
Seeing thnt is was II success, he made
still further improvements, and put
alp the first gin III 1893, at what is
known Phinizy's Pond, about one
mile below this city.
Col Aiken noticing that Mr.. W.
Herring, OF Augusta, had advertised
for mn original whitney cotton
gin" in order to exhibit il at tho
Centennial, sent him the curions.. ..let~
ter which We copy below. With it
was enclosed an ancient document
signed by George Washington, Pres
itent of the United States Timothy
Pickering, Secretary Of State, and
Charles Lee, Attorney General,
granting to Hog;len Holmes, citi-
zen of Augusta, letters patent for
Il "machine for ginning cotton" for
fourteen Years from the 18th April
l79G, printed on parchment and
dated 18th May, 1796, Mr.. Aiken
gives the history of that paper as
follows :
Hogdcn Holmes, native ofScot-
land, but a citizen Of your own city
in 1775, was the original inventor,
and his machine was locked up in
Hamburg, 5. G., when Whitney,
through the influence of q negro, got
n diagram of it. 1t was then known
as Il patent for taking burrs out of
wool On this infringement Whit
ney got IL patent, and called it a
machine "for ginning cotton" This
~
the meantime Holmes expended some
$4,000 and died insoivcnt. His suit
WAS continued to the United States
Court, and Whitney sold his claim
to the State of South Carolina for
100000.
Holmes left but one heir and tho
case was abandoned. That heir was
my wifc's mother, (the wife of DR.
WIN. c. Cloud, of Edgoiield G. H.
No one being left to prosecute the
case and no one able to contend
against state, q patent was taken
4 in 1876, and Col VIM McCreight, O
Winnsboro, bought the exclusive
right for twenty years, and did make
! and sell all the cotton gins furnished
for the entire Southern States up tt
4 tho year 1918. I married the oldes
8 daughter Of DR.. Cloud in 1887, an,
d among the final effects of Hogdcl
S ,Holmcs, which had not been dis
N turbcd for forty-two years, I fount
81 the parchment (the letters patent
with u spread-cagle seal Of becswa:
u @ on it, about four inches in diameter
has long since crumbled int,
s3idust.
8 I might also add it is genuine il
8&S.every particular as compared wit
sthe Congressional Record in th
E United States Patent Office iii
1844) by myself.
5 There is book published giving
3Tsta full historical record of the inven
tion and tho Inv suit, (not vcr
5creditable to Whitney, but the It'll
St8Sgof which I now forget. 1t is thirt
years since I saw it in tho library G
# the South Carolina College.
@& Yours truly,
& JAMES r. AIKEN.
# p. S.-Holmes died about 179|
81 but received the patent before h
death. Aftor Holmes death, onl
i few gins were manufactured ft
8 sale in Augusta. j. r.. A.
1t would be interesting to kno
how much Whitney was indebted
# Holmes, and to discover which WI
1854 the first to conceive and carry OF