Eli was a businessman as early as age 14

One of the most interesting facts about Eli Whitney is that he was a businessman as early as age 14. Whitney was born on December 8, 1765, in Westborough, Massachusetts, the oldest child of wealthy farmer Eli Whitney Sr. and his wife Elizabeth Fay, who was also from Westborough. When Whitney was 11 years old, his mother, Elizabeth Fay, passed away. During the Revolutionary War, he ran a successful nail production business at his father's workshop at the age of 14.

Whitney struggled to make ends meet as a result of his stepmother's opposition to his desire to attend college by working as a farmhand and a teacher. Under the instruction of Rev. Elizur Goodrich of Durham, Connecticut, he prepared for Yale at Leicester Academy (now Becker College), where he entered in the fall of 1789 and graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1792. Whitney intended to study law, but when he ran out of money, he decided to accept a job as a private instructor in South Carolina instead.

He was persuaded to travel to Georgia instead of arriving at his intended location. Georgia was a popular destination for New Englanders looking to make their fortunes in the last years of the 18th century. General Nathanael Greene of Rhode Island's widow and family were among his shipmates when he initially set out for South Carolina. Her name was Catherine Littlefield Greene. Whitney was welcomed to Mulberry Grove, a plantation owned by Mrs. Greene in Georgia. Phineas Miller, a fellow immigrant from Connecticut and Yale graduate who would later become Whitney's business partner, served as her plantation manager and future husband.