I think the word "gin" (short for engine) in English usage going back
to the middle ages meant any machine or mechanical contrivance. In
this case it may have referred to the small, hand-operated tools that
separated the cotton from its seed that pre-dated Eli Whitney's
invention.
Tom Costa

> Hi List,
>
> A few colleagues of mine are working on a website that puts early
> Virginia probate inventory information online. Someone noticed that
> in the inventory of Moore Fauntleroy, from Richmond county, VA, that
> has a "cotton gin" listed in 1791, a year or two before Eli Whitney
> invented the cotton gin (1793) and was granted a patent for the gin
> in 1794. Assuming that Fauntleroy's probate inventory was taken
> within a year of his death, his cotton gin predates Whitney's gin at
> least 2-3 years, perhaps more if Fauntleroy in fact owned the cotton
> gin earlier.
>
> So, our questions:
>
> 1. Was the cotton gin invented earlier that we think? Do we have
> Whitney's invention date wrong?
> 2. Were there other devices, not necessarily associated with
> Whitney, that were called "cotton gins", and if so, did they differ
> significantly from Whitney's invention?
> 3. How often was the term "cotton gin" used before Whitney's
> invention? And how far back? Does anyone know of any other
> references to a cotton gin that predate Whitney?
>
> Any help is much appreciated. Thanks in advance!
>
> Jeremy
>
> --
> Jeremy Boggs
> Web/Multimedia Associate
> Center for History and New Media
> George Mason University
> 4400 University Drive, MSN 3G1
> Fairfax, VA 22030
>
> [log in to unmask]
> 703.993.3956
> http://chnm.gmu.edu
> --
>
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--
Tom Costa
Dept. of History
UVA-Wise
Wise, VA 24293
276-376-4573

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