James Edward Allen Gibbs

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James Edward Allen Gibbs (1829–1902) was a farmer, inventor, and businessman from Rockbridge County in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.{{cite book |author1=Winifred Hadsel |title=The streets of Lexington, Virginia: a guide to the origins and history of their names |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FCkTAAAAYAAJ |accessdate=November 24, 2012 |year=1985 |publisher=Rockbridge Historical Society}} On June 2, 1857, he was awarded a patent for the first twisted chain-stitch single-thread sewing machine using a rotating hook. In partnership with James Willcox, Gibbs became a principal in the Willcox & Gibbs Sewing Machine Company.{{cn|date=February 2024}}

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The Willcox & Gibbs Sewing Machine Company started in 1857 by James E. A. Gibbs and James Willcox opened its London Office in 1859 at 135 Regent Street. By around 1871 the European offices were at 150 Cheapside, London and later 20 Fore Street, London. The company hired John Emory Powers for marketing its product. Powers pioneered the use of many new marketing techniques, including full-page ads in the form of a story or play, free trial uses of a product and installment purchasing plan.{{cite web |url=http://advertisinghall.org/members/member_bio.php?memid=762 |title=John E. Powers: Former Copywriter, Lord & Taylor & John Wanamaker Company |accessdate=November 23, 2012 |publisher=Advertising Hall of Fame}} The marketing campaign created a demand for sewing machines in the Great Britain that Willcox and Gibbs could not meet.{{cite book |author=Joel Shrock |title=The Gilded Age |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l3eym0t6snYC&pg=PA48 |accessdate=November 24, 2012 |date=June 30, 2004 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-06221-6 |page=48}} The machine's circular design was so popular that it was produced well into the early 20th century, long after most machines were of the more conventional design. The machines shown employ the Gibbs rotary twisted chain stitch mechanism which was less prone to coming undone.

Following his successful invention, he named his family's farm "Raphine." The name originated from an old Greek word "raphis" which means "to sew." The community of Raphine, Virginia, was named in his honor.{{cite book |author1=Barbara Tricarico |author2=Maren Lindberg |title=Quilts of Virginia, 1607–1899: the birth of America through the eye of a needle |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e5XrAAAAMAAJ |accessdate=November 23, 2012 |date=July 30, 2006 |publisher=Schiffer Pub. |isbn=978-0-7643-2465-9 |page=95}}