Quilt History: Layer by Layer

The Slater cloth and the Victoria Patent are on display at the Windham Textile & History Museum.



The Ohio Repository

Canton, Ohio

April 19, 1838

Page 2

We find the following interesting chrono

logy of Cotton in the February number of the A

merican Quarterly Register published  at Boston

Mass.

1730    Mr Watt spins the first cotton

             yarn in England by machinery

1735    The Dutch first exported cotton

              from Surinam

1742    First mill for spinning cotton e-

              rected at Burmingham, moved

              by mules or horses, but not suc-

              cessful in its operations.

1749     The fly shuttle generally used

              in England.

1756     Cotton velvets & quilting made

              in England for the first time.

1761     Arkwright obtained the first pa-

              tent for the spinning frame, which

              he further improved.

1768     The stocking frame applied by

              Hammond to making lace.

1773     A bill passed to prevent the ex-

              port of machinery used for cot-

              ton factories.

1779     Mule spinning invented by

              Hargrage.

1782     First import of raw cotton from

              Brazil to England.

1782     Watt took out his patent for the

              steam engine.

1783     A bounty granted in England on

              the export of certain cotton

              goods.

1785     Power-looms invented by Dr.

              Cartwright. Steam engines u-

              sed in Cotton factories.

1786     Blanching first performed by the

              agency of the oxymuriatic acid.

1787     First machinery to spin cotton

              put in operation in France.

1789     Sea Island cotton first planted

              in the U States, and upland

              cotton first cultivated for use &

              exported about this time.

1790     Slater, an Englishman, builds

              the first American cotton facto-

              ry, at Pawtucket, R I.

1803     Eli Whitney, an American, in

              vents the cotton gin, which he

              patents.

1805     Power-looms successfully and

              widely introduced into England.

1807    The revolution in Spanish A-

              merica begins to furnish new

              markets for cotton manufactures.

1810     Digest of cotton manufactures in

              the U States, by Mr. Gallatin,

              and another by Tench Coxe,

              Esq. of Philadelphia.

1811     Machinery to make bobbin lace

              patented by John Burn.

1813     The Indian trade more free & more

              British manufactures sent there.

1815     The power loom introduced into

              the United States, first at Wal-

              tham.

1818     Average price of cotton, 24

              cents, higher than since 1810.—

              New method of preparing sow-

              ing cotton, by Mr. Holt.

1820     Steam power first applied with

             success extensively to lace man-

             ufactures.

1822    First cotton factory in Lowell

             erected.

1823    First export of raw cotton from

             Egypt into Great Britain.

1825    In New Orleans, cotton at from

             23 to 25 cents per pound.

1826    Self-acting mule spinner, paten-

             ted in England, by Roberts.

1827    American cotton manufactures

             first exported in any considera-

             ble extent.

1829    Highest duty in the U. States on

             foreign cotton manufactures.

1830    About this time, Mr. Byer in-

             troduced a machine from the

             United States into England, for

             the purpose of making cards.

1833    Duty on cotton goods imported

             into the United States reduced;

             and in England it is forbidden

             to employ minors in cotton mills

             for more than 9 hours on a Sat-

             urday in consequence, they

             work at something else.

1834    Cotton 17 cents.

1835    Extensive purchases made of

             cotton lands by speculators and

             others.

1836    The season began at 15 cents,

              and the year ended at 20 cents.

1837     Cotton reached 22 cents.