The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1911-01-12
KINCAID REAL INVENTOR
OF Cotton Gin-Story Of Whitney
Stealing the Honor Recalled.


Stealing the Honor Recalled.
December 8, 1910 was the 145th
birthday of Eli Whitney who enjoys
the distinction of having been the
inventor Of the cotton gin. Through
the press association of the North
this fact has been greatly empha-
sized within the past few weeks
However, there is another side to
the story Of the invention of the cot
ton gin, one that gives this great in
vention to a citizen of Fairfield rath-
er than to Whitney. Mr.. Oscar
Chappell, of Richland, in recent is
sue of The Columbia Record has re-
called Mr.. Kincaid's part in this great
invention and this is reproduced
here.
Il see in the papers that whole
days are taken to teach the children
about Eli Whitney, the foremost in
ventor of the age, but nothing is
said about how he pilfered the inven-
ton from South Carolinian. l was
born and raised in the same neigh
borhood, and my father was, too,
with this South Carolinian. The his
tory that I am writing is true; l
heard my father tell it over often,
and other old men in the neighbor-
hood.
''Eli Whitney came from Westboro,
Mass, the last of the eighteenth
century; put up cabinet shop near
Augusta, Ca He damned up a
branch and turned his lathes by
water; he was a mechanic himself
and employed others TO turn bed
posts and table legs for his furni-
ture.
'This South Carolinian that made
the first gin was named Kincaid, al
so a mechanic. Mr.. Kincaid owned.
a large tract of land on Little River
in the southwestern part of Fair
field county, with Mill creek run
ming through it. On this creek he
built mill, in fact he put up the
only grist mill that was then in the
county. He was fine wheelwright.
Back in that time, before rail-
roads, the farmers in that neighbor-
hood would go at least once a year
to Augusta and Hamburg in wagons
for sugar, coffee, salt and iron. On
one of Mr.. Kincaid's trips he met on
the streets of Augusta Scotchman,
fellow-countryman, and asked him
to come home with him in the wa
gon; which he did, and worked for
Mr.. Kincaid for several years. This
Scotchman I have forgotten his
name) was one Of Eli Whitney's
workmen in his shop on the branch.
This man helped Kincaid in all his
mechanical work in his mill on the
plantation, and mill work in the
country. Mr.. Kincaid had hundreds
of sheep. His pasture was infested
with cockleburrs; when he would
shear his sheep the wool would be
mat of cockleburrs. To fingerpick
this quantity of wool, or even for
home use was big job. So Mr..
Kincaid, with the aid of this Whit
ney man, made him a gin to get burs
out of the wool-ran it by water in
his mill house. He made improve
ments on it for two or three years;
finally it cleaned the wool from the
cockleburrs satisfactorily. All the
neighbors far and near brought their
wool to Mr.. Kincaid's mill to be
cleaned on shares.
''In those days every farmer had
a flock of sheep. Mr.. Kincaid had
run cotton through his gin enough
for his own use and some for his
neighbors.
"In the meantime Mr.. Kincaid
made trips to Augusta and this
workman would 60 with him to visit
his friends and kinsmen at Whit
ney's shop. Not thinking what
harm he was doing Mr.. Kincaid, he
told it in Whitney's shop what he
and Mr.. Kincaid had done ginning
burrs out of wool. Eli Whitney,
smart kee-like-heard of it by
these visits. One morning nice
looking man, riding a splendid
horse, rode up to Mr.. Kincaid's
house. Kincaid was not at home.
This man asked Mrs. Kincaid If he
could look at the wool machine. She
said yes; that she would get him the
mill key. Mrs. Kincaid said he was
in the mill about three or four
hours. Nobody knew who this man
was at the time.