Thomas Jefferson Papers
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https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-08-02-0319

William Thornton to Thomas Jefferson, 4 April 1815

From William Thornton

City of Washington 4th April 1815.

W: Thornton’s respects to the Honble Thomas Jefferson, and, according to promise, sends a Copy of the List of Patents for the last Year: he has also the honor of presenting a Copy of the Piece he wrote some years ago, and incloses one for the Hon: Colonel Randolph.—

W.T. has this Day seen a model of a machine which prepares Cotton for spinning without Carding. It is a very simple machine, and the inclosed was spun from Cotton thus prepared.—

RC (MHi); dateline at foot of text; endorsed by TJ as received 8 Apr. 1815 and so recorded in SJL. Enclosure: Letter from the Secretary of State, transmitting A List of Persons who Have Made Any New and Useful Invention, and for which Patents Have Been Obtained, from thirty-first December, 1813, to the first January, 1815 (Washington, 1815; Poor, Jefferson’s Library description begins Nathaniel P. Poor, Catalogue. President Jefferson’s Library, 1829 description ends , 6 [no. 224]). Other enclosure not found.

Index Entries

  • cotton; gin search
  • inventions; cotton gin search
  • Jefferson, Thomas; Books & Library; works sent to search
  • Letter from the Secretary of State, transmitting A List of Persons who Have Made Any New and Useful Invention, and for which Patents Have Been Obtained, from thirty-first December, 1813, to the first January, 1815 search
  • patents; lists of search
  • Randolph, Thomas Mann (1768–1828) (TJ’s son-in-law; Martha Jefferson Randolph’s husband); publications sent to search
  • State Department, U.S.; and patents search
  • textiles; cotton search
  • Thornton, William; as patent office superintendent search
  • Thornton, William; letters from search
  • Thornton, William; sends cotton cloth to TJ search
  • Thornton, William; sends publications to T. M. Randolph search
  • Thornton, William; sends publications to TJ search