King Cotton

[Michael]

Here is an interesting article on the rise of the cotton industry in the deep south before the Civil War. Lots of little tidbits of information there for the history buff or local types.

Article: King Cotton (http://www.historynet.com/why-cotton-got-to-be-king.htm)

[Lily]

My grandfather and his father worked for the cotton gins of Columbus, Ga. I think I knew who Eli Whitney was before I could read. The Lummus Cotton Gin (under a different name) was established in 1847, and Lummus became the largest independent company of its kind.

Some of my relatives owned cotton plantations, and most of those plantations had slaves. When I was about 15, we visited my Aunt Sarah just over the border in Alabama. Some of the slave quarters were still standing. I'll never forget that experience. Oddly enough, although her family money had originally come from cotton, she invested early in a beverage and that's where she really made the money. The beverage? Coca Cola. My grandmother, given the same opportunity, famously said, "I'm not putting my money in any soda pop."

Thanks, grandma.

[Michael]

My grandfather and his father worked for the cotton gins of Columbus, Ga. I think I knew who Eli Whitney was before I could read. The Lummus Cotton Gin (under a different name) was established in 1847, and Lummus became the largest independent company of its kind.

Some of my relatives owned cotton plantations, and most of those plantations had slaves. When I was about 15, we visited my Aunt Sarah just over the border in Alabama. Some of the slave quarters were still standing. I'll never forget that experience. Oddly enough, although her family money had originally come from cotton, she invested early in a beverage and that's where she really made the money. The beverage? Coca Cola. My grandmother, given the same opportunity, famously said, "I'm not putting my money in any soda pop."

Thanks, grandma.
My family's money in the present generation comes from a timely investment in Harlequin Romances back in the early 1970s! :D

Historically, our family money comes from a family owned furniture company in northern England (West Riding/Lancashire) that dates back to the mid-19th century.

[Americano]

My grandfather and his father worked for the cotton gins of Columbus, Ga. I think I knew who Eli Whitney was before I could read. The Lummus Cotton Gin (under a different name) was established in 1847, and Lummus became the largest independent company of its kind.

Some of my relatives owned cotton plantations, and most of those plantations had slaves. When I was about 15, we visited my Aunt Sarah just over the border in Alabama. Some of the slave quarters were still standing. I'll never forget that experience. Oddly enough, although her family money had originally come from cotton, she invested early in a beverage and that's where she really made the money. The beverage? Coca Cola. My grandmother, given the same opportunity, famously said, "I'm not putting my money in any soda pop."

Thanks, grandma.

I lived in Georgia and spent some time in Alabama. I was with a Georgia girl at the time and y'all seem to have a lot of relatives spread all over a couple of states. The number of plantations, an all-encompassing word, still standing amazed me. Though uninhabited in most instances (heating/cooling costs seemed to be the universal reasoning) a majority were still maintained by remaining family members (very elderly women in almost every instance) and unaffected by vandalism.

Most plantations did the cooking in a detached building behind the main house due to summer heat and the ones I visited, 25?, had slave quarters or spaces for them immediately behind the cooking area. About half I saw still had remains of those quarters in varying degrees of decay.

Those big old drafty houses with no insulation, always two stories, didn't look like much fun to live in during winters without cheap labor. Almost every room had a fireplace and I remember seeing two fireplaces in the grand rooms of many. The amount of firewood necessary for a winter had to be staggering.