USA > Connecticut > Biographical encyclopaedia of Connecticut and Rhode Island of the nineteenth century > Part 20
USA > Rhode Island > Biographical encyclopaedia of Connecticut and Rhode Island of the nineteenth century > Part 20
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The real greatness of the two friends beeame most apparent in the darkest hour of calamity. Neither desponded, and both were roused to more vigorous efforts. " I think with you," wrote Miller, " that we ought to meet such events with equanimity. We have been pursuing a valuable object by honorable means; and I trust that all our measurcs have been such as reason and virtue must justify. . It shall never be said that we have lost an objeet which a little perseveranee could have attained." But, while they braced themselves to meet the storm, it burst upon them with still
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more threatening fury. Intelligence was received that the English manufacturers condemned the cotton elcaned by their machines, on the ground that the staple was greatly injured. This was a very severe blow, and all things conspired to plungc them into utter insolvency.
Through nearly the whole of 1796 Whitney purposed to sail for England, and learn the real views of the manufacturers there, but was foiled by lack of the neces- sary funds. On October 7th, 1797, he wrote: " It has required my utmost exertions to exist, without making the least progress in our business. I have labored against the strong current of disappointment, which has been threatening to carry us down the cataract, but I have labored with a shattered oar and strugg'cd in vain, unless some speedy relief is obtained." Hc wished to marry, but in the present distress did not deem it admissible "even to think of family engagements." Miller would not consent to his retaining a part of the loan obtained from Mr. John C. Nightingale, who had married a daughter of Mrs. Miller, as his private property. The cloud seemed to be without rift, or silver lining. But brighter prospects soon dawned. Respectable manufacturers certified that the cotton cleaned by Whitney's gin was preferred by their customers to any other in the market.
On the 11th of May, 1797, Miller announced to Whitney the issue of the first suit against infraetors of their vestcd rights. It was unfavorable to the patentees. No judge appeared at the session of the court in Savannah, May, 1798, when the second suit was to be tried, and in April, 1799, Miller wrote that all prospect of making anything by the gin in Georgia was at an end, because the jurymen had agreed never to render a verdict in their favor: "let the merits of the case be as they may." Few persons would buy their patent rights, and those who did gave notes, which many of them refused to pay on maturity. The dishonesty and mean- ness of the majority of Georgia planters were without parallel. South Carolina showed a better spirit. Russell Goodrich, who was educated at Yale in the same class with Mr. Miller, and who acted as agent of the firm in the South, wrote September 3d, 1801, that the planters approved of the purchase of their patent right by the Legis- lature ; and in December following, the sale was consummated. The price was $50,000-twenty thousand to be paid in hand, and the remainder in three annual payments of ten thousand dollars cach. This was " but a song in comparison with the worth of the thing," but it was securing something from the voracious jaws of universal cupidity. In December, 1802, Whitney sold the patent right to the State of North Carolina. The consideration was a tax of two shillings and sixpence upon every saw employed in ginning cotton ; the tax to continue for five years, to be collected by the sheriffs, minus the expenses of collection. Some of the gins had forty saws each, and as the officials of North Carolina honorably fulfilled the
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State obligation, the firm received a timely and welcome revenue. Tennessee also, in 1803, laid a tax of thirty-seven and a half cents on every saw, for four years, for their benefit.
Annoyance and trouble clung to every year's experience in connection with this marvellous invention, which was destined to bring wealth and power to the South, to rivet the chains more firmly on the limbs of the negroes, to enkindle civil war, and in the outcome to liberate all persons of African blood from the miseries of slavery, and to clothe them with the privileges and responsibilities of American citizens. While Whitney was negotiating with North Carolina he received tidings that South Carolina had annulled the contract made with the firm, suspended pay- ment of the balance due, and instituted suit for the recovery of what had been actually paid to them. States act on the theory that persons have no rights that States are bound to respect. Their procedure toward creditors has in many instances been shameless in the extreme; and it is greatly to be desired that some consti- tutional provision should be made whereby aggrieved individuals may obtain redress for wrongs inflicted by States in their corporate capacity. The same reasons that actuated South Carolina in this first act of repudiation, influenced Georgia to deny any grant to Miller & Whitney. A clergyman, Rev. James Hutchinson by name, declared that twelve months before their machine was brought under public notice, one Edward Lyon had a similar one in miniature. Doctor Cortes Pedro Dampierre had also informed them that a similar machine had been used in Switzerland, forty years before, for picking rags to make lint and paper. These weighty reasons induced Georgia to attempt confederation with South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennes- sec, for the purpose of abolishing the patentees' monopoly, and in case that under- taking failed, of inducing Congress to compensate them for their discovery, and thus to " release the Southern States from so burthensome a grievance" as that of paying a contemptible pittance to the men whose genius and enterprise had enriched the South almost beyond arithmetical calculation. North Carolina uprightly rejected the overture, and many high-minded men in South Carolina indignantly spurned it, but were overslaughed by the misguided majority of their fellow-citizens. Whitney presented a manly and touching remonstrance to the Legislature of the latter com- monwealth, in which he observed that "to have industriously, laboriously, and exclusively devoted many years of the prime of his life to the invention and the improvement of a machine, from which the citizens of South Carolina have already realized immense profits-which is worth to them millions, and from their posterity, to the latest generations, must continue to receive the most important benefits, and in return to be treated as a felon, a swindler, and a villain, has stung him to the very soul."
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To add to his burdens and perplexities, his partner, Mr. Miller, unexpectedly died, on the 7th of December, 1803-a sadly disappointed, but still a persistent and heroic man. Whitney's strength increased with his difficulties. He was uncon- qucrable. South Carolina made a favorable adjustment of her controversies with him. North Carolina punctually paid the gencrous avails of his contracts with her, and at length in the United States Court, held in Georgia, in December, 1807, he obtained a most important decision in a suit brought against a trespasser, named Fort. It was on that trial that Judge Johnson gave his celebrated decision in which hc recited the complainant's claims, the objections of the defendant, the utility of the discovery, and the fallacy of all asserted justifications of infringement upon Whitney's patent rights. His gencrous words of appreciation cannot be forgotten. The cotton gin, he affirmed, had presented them with lucrative cmployment from childhood to agc. " Individuals who werc depresscd with poverty and sunk in idle- ness have suddenly risen to wealth and respectability. Our debts have been paid off. Our capitals have increased, and our lands trebled themselves in value. We cannot express the weight of the obligation which the country owes to this invention. The extent of it cannot now be seen."
Whether Arkwright, Watt, Whitney, or Fulton did the most for mankind by his inventions we do not care to discuss. Each and all contributed to that amazing development of commerce. and manufacturcs in the United States to which the his- tory of the world affords no parallel. In 1784, cight bags of cotton were seized on board an American ship in Liverpool, by the Custom House officers, under the con- viction that they could not be the growth of America. Contrast that with the facts that in 1870 the cotton production of the United States reachcd 3,011,996 bales, each bale containing 400 pounds, and aggregating the enormous number of 1,204,798,400 pounds; of which 349,314,502 pounds, manufactured into fabrics valued at 177,489,739 dollars, were consumed in this country, and some idea may be formed of American and of world indebtedness to ELI WHITNEY.
The righteous decision of Judge Johnson did not terminatc infringement and litigation. The decisions werc favorable to the inventor, and cstablished the validity of Lord Mansfield's words that " A patent must be for method, detachcd from all physical existence whatever." Nothing could equal Whitney's coolness, firmness, patience, and persistence under "new trials, fresh disappointments, and accumulated wrongs," the very remembrance of which gave the headache to the Hon. S. M. Hop- kins, after a lapse of thirty years.
Impressed by the uncertainty of all hopes founded on the cotton gin, Whitney, in 1798, decided to seek competency in the manufacture of arms for the United States, and through the influence of Oliver Wolcott, Secretary of the Treasury,
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obtained a contract for ten thousand stand of arms, at the price of $1 34,000. The undertaking was vast for one of his pecuniary resources, and indecd was never fulfilled in accordance with the terms of agreement. Money was hard to obtain, and skilled workmen were scarcer than money. But his energy surmounted all obstacles. His works were erected at the foot of the celebrated and precipitous East Rock, within two miles of New Haven, the requisite machinery constructed, raw hands instructed, and in January, 1809, the contract was finally completed. In 1812 he contracted with the United States to furnish an additional fifteen thousand stand of arms, and in the mean time executed a similar engagement for the State of New York. His system of manufacture was distinguished by division of labor, and produced the different parts of the same arm in indefinite quantities, but with such precision that they invariably fitted together with perfect nicety, and formed weapons inferior to none in use at that time, and indeed superior to all that could be pur- chased in quantities.
In 1812 he applied for a renewal of his patent on the cotton gin. "Estimating the value of the labor of one man at twenty cents per day, the whole amount which had been received by him for his invention was not equal to the value of the labor saved in one hour by his machines then in use in the United States." The annual emolument to the South was at least three millions of dollars, and before his death became incomparably greater. Never was claim for extension of patent more reasonable and just. Enlightened and liberal men from the cotton districts favored his application. The majority, in the true spirit of slaveholders, warmly opposed it, and his application was rejected by Congress. One memorable illustration of his wondrous genius in connection with the cotton gin is worthy of frequent relation. " In one of his trials Mr. Whitney adopted the following plan, in order to show how nugatory were the methods of evasion practised by his adversaries. They were endeavoring to have his claim to the invention set aside, on the ground that the teeth in his machine were made of wire inserted into the cylinder of wood, while in the machine of Holmes, the teeth were cut in plates, or iron surrounding the cylinder, forming a circular saw. Mr. Whitney, by an ingenious device (consisting chiefly of sinking the plate below the surface of the cylinder, and suffering the teeth to project), contrived to give to the saw teeth the appearance of wires, while he prepared another cylinder in which the wire teeth were made to look like saw tecth. The two cylinders were produced in court, and the witnesses were called on to testify which was the invention of Whitney, and which that of Holmes. They accordingly swore the saw teeth upon Whitney, and the wire teeth upon Holmes, upon which the judge declared that it was unnecessary to proceed any further, the principle of both being manifestly the same."
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Inventing new kinds of machinery, and improving and perfecting old ones, Mr. Whitney spent the following years, until January, 1817, when he married Henrietta F., youngest daughter of the Hon. Pierrepont Edwards, late Judge of the District Court for the State of Connecticut. The marriage proved to be both happy and fruitful. A son and three daughters were added to the family circle, and diffused joy and pride through the hearts of the parents. Five years of almost cloudless sun- shine came with them, and in turn were followed by cxcruciating sufferings from physical disease, superinduced by fatigue and cxposure in his repeated journeys to the South. In September, 1822, his life was threatened by an enlargement of the prostate gland, and for three weeks the paroxysms of pain endurcd were agonizing beyond description. Partial relief was obtained, but in January, 1823, another attack came on, and with alternations of awful suffering and partial repose, the time passed until the 12th of November, 1824, at which time his sufferings became almost inces- sant, until January 8th, 1825, when the indomitable, noble, and patriotic genius entered into the spirit world.
New Haven poured out all its contents of respect and gratitude at his burial. The Rev. President Day pronounced his eulogy, and stated that his language was : " I am a sinner. But God is merciful. The only ground of acceptance before him is through the great Mediator." Of more than ordinary stature, dignified in carriage, manly and pleasant of countenance, conciliatory in manner, with high sense of honor, possessed of strong feelings, capable of great coolness under provocation, and pcr- sistent beyond competition, he was also remarkable for the singular balance and symmetry of his endowments. His powers were under perfect control. Whatever he undertook he finished, and finished it well-nigh unimprovably. It was a maxim with him that there is nothing worth doing that is not worth doing well. In his last illness he studied his own, and all related cases, with critical accuracy. Not until he had hit upon the best conception of a thing, and of the best means of doing it, did he disclose his plans to his friends. Mental disciplinc with him was complete. " His views of men and things were on the most enlarged scale. The interests of mankind, and cspecially of his native country, as connected with government, liberty, order, science, arts, literature, morals, and religion, were familiar to his mind," and were frequent topics of conversation.
Amasskal
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REAT, AMOS SHERMAN, lawyer, of Bridgeport, Conn. Born in New Milford, Litchfield Co., Conn., in that part of the town now called Bridge- water, February 5th, 1816. His father, Danicl Allen Treat, was a farmer, and a native of the same town. Gidcon Treat, his grandfather, was also a armer, and a native of Milford, New Haven County. The father of Gideon was Joseph Treat, 2d; his grandfather was Joseph Treat, Ist, and his great-grandfather was Robert Treat, the son of Richard Treat, who emigrated from England, after his marriage to Joan or Joanna -, became one of the first settlers in Wethersfield, and died in 1669.
The family patronymic indicates descent from a sturdy Saxon source, and the researches of genealogists discover the historical fact that its bearers were men of high social consideration and political conspicuity. Richard Treat was one of the patentecs under the Royal Chuter of April 23d, 1662 ; and Robert Treat, his son, who was born in 1621 or 1622, and who settled at Milford in 1639, was chosen Governor of the colony in 1683. He died July 12th, 1710. The ancestral virtues have been transmitted, with more or less prominence, and with unimpaired vitality, through seven successive generations; and-judging the future by the past-will be bequeathed with augmented force and symmetry to the generations yet to come.
On the mother's side, Mr. Treat is descended from Samuel Sherman, one of the first settlers of Connecticut, and the progenitor of men who have made their power felt in the progress of the State, and of the nation. He emigrated to this country in 1634, from Dedham, in the county of Essex, England, accompanied by his brother John, and by a cousin bearing the same name as his brother-namely, John Sherman. Samuel Sherman settled in Stratford, Conn., and there married Sarah Mitchell, who crossed the ocean from England at the same time as himself. The two John Shermans settled in Watertown, Mass. Mr. Treat is a descendant from Samucl Sherman, of the seventh generation, and through the following ancestors : I. Samuel Sherman ; 2. Benjamin; 3. Job ; 4. Ephraim ; 5. Amos ; 6. Almira, daughter of Amos, and the mother of five children, of whom Amos Sherman Trcat is the third.
His early education was received in the public schools of his native village. On the death of his father, which occurred when he was twelve years of age, hc was invited by his uncle to visit him at his home in Hudson, Ohio. The invitation was accepted; and, while resident in that place, he prepared for matriculation at Yale College, which he entered in 1834, and from which he graduated in 1838, with the diploma of A.B. After his graduation he taught school in South Carolina, and still later in Hackettstown, N. J., and at the same time prosecuted the study of law. In 1840, he entered the law office of Calvin R. Butler, of Plymouth, Conn. ; and, on the completion of his preparatory training, was admitted to the bar in Litchfield
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County, in the fall of 1843. Then, entering upon the practice of his profession at Newtown, in the same county, he carried it on, independently, until 1854. During this period, he filled, for two years, the office of Judge of Probate; and was also beneficently identified with the school interests of the town, which he served as one of the School Committee, for several years.
On leaving Newtown, Judge Treat established himself at Bridgeport. His legal reputation, at that epoch, stood so high that he was immediately appointed clerk of the Supreme and Superior courts, by the judges of both benches. This position he held for the space of five years, and also discharged the duties pertaining to a growing and remunerative practice. He thoroughly illustrated that element of genius, commonly called "hard work," and thereby laid in a large store of multifarious knowledge which proved to be eminently advantageous in subsequent years. From 1857 to 1869 he was associated in legal partnership with Henry T. Blake, now clerk of the courts; after that with Israel M. Bullock; next-following the decease of that gentleman-with W. E. Norton, and then with Charles Sherwood, his present professional associate.
In politics, Mr. Treat was identified with the Whig party, was an ardent supporter of its principles, and took an active part in all its local procedures, until its dissolu- tion. His natural bent, and the clearly defined opinions in the science of political philosophy he had carefully elaborated, then led him into the ranks of Republicanism, among whom he has been an ardent and efficient worker since their organization as a distinct party. In 1857 he was nominated for the representation of Bridgeport in the lower house of the State Legislature, but was defeated at the polls by his Democratic competitor. The small majority of the latter-only nineteen votes-emboldened him to accept a similar nomination in the ensuing year, and at the election following, he found himself triumphant by a majority of about four hundred votes. In the legislative session next succeeding, he rendered excellent service as a member of the Judiciary Committee, and as chairman of the Committees on Contested Elections, Incorporations, and Fisheries.
The legislative experience acquired by Mr. Treat in the councils of his own State prepared him to act with discreet patriotism in the Conference Convention of the States that had not passed ordinances of secession, held at Washington, in the interests of national peace and unity, during the month of February, 1861. Twenty- one States were represented in that convocation. Amos S. Treat, Robins Battell, James T. Pratt, Charles J. McCurdy, Chauncey F. Cleveland, and Roger S. Baldwin, were the delegates appointed by Governor Buckingham to represent the State of Connecticut. The convention assembled at Willard's Concert Hall, Washington, February 4th, in consequence of a preamble and resolutions adopted by the General
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Assembly of Virginia, January 19th, 1861. The preamble recited the delibciatc opin- ion of that body "that unless the unhappy controversy" then dividing "the States of this Confederacy, shall be satisfactorily adjusted, a permanent dissolution of the Union is inevitable." Therefore, on behalf of the commonwealth of Virginia, an invitation was extended to all such States, whether slaveholding or non-slavcholding, as were willing to unite with her in an carnest effort to adjust all existing differences, "in the spirit in which the Constitution was orginally framed, and con- sistently with its principles, so as to afford to the people of the slaveholding States adequate guarantees for the security of their rights."
Ex-President John Tyler, William C. Rives, John W. Brockenbrough, George W. Summers, and James A. Seddon were the commissioners appointed by the General Assembly of Virginia to the convention. The instructions under which they were expected to act were virtually embodied in a resolution adopted at the same time with the one investing them with delegated authority, and presents the de- mands that Mr. Treat and his colleagues were called upon to consider. It reads as follows :
" That in the opinion of the General Assembly of Virginia, the propositions embraced in the resolutions presented to the Senate of the United States by the Hon. John J. Crittenden, so modified as that the first article proposcd as an amend- ment to the Constitution of the United States shall apply to all the territory of the United States now held or hereafter acquired south of latitude thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes, and provide that slavery of the African racc shall be effectually protected as property therein during the continuance of the territorial government, and the fourth article shall sccure to the owners of slaves the right of transit with their slaves between and through the non-slaveholding Statcs and Territorics, con- stitute the basis of such an adjustment of the unhappy controversy which now divides the States of this Confederacy, as would be accepted by the people of this commonwealth."
The resolution itself is tinctured with the spirit of disunion and seccssion, subsequently so markedly manifest in the amendments to the National Constitution proposed by James A. Seddon of Virginia-onc of which contains this significant clausc : "The connection of every State with the Union is recognized as depending on the continuing assent of its people, and compulsion shall in no case, nor under any form, be attempted by the Government of the Union against a State acting in its collective or organic capacity."
The dangers threatening the life of the Republic were subtle, terrible, imminent. But Connecticut, in her representatives, was ready to grapple with them. Not without reason had John Tyler, on taking his seat as president of the convention,
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rhetorically and eloquently said: "Connecticut is here; and she comes, I doubt not, in the spirit of Roger Sherman, whose name with our very children has become a household word, and who was in life the embodiment of that sound practical sense which befits the great law giver and constructor of governments." Onc in whose veins ran the blood of the Shermans was there, to meet every overture consistent with the fundamental principles of the American Republic, in the spirit of just fraternity and perpetual nationality, and was no less worthily seconded by his colleagues. Whatever any strict construction of the organic national law war- ranted they were prepared to concede, but in deference to the eternal laws of the Almighty were not willing to concede more. The convention came to a close, but pacific measures of any kind, short of complete surrender to the slave power, however worded, had no more effect than the pontifical bull against the comet. The storm of war burst upon the land, and before its raging ceased, the accursed institution of human slavery was washed away from its soil forever.
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