Persons prevented

Posted by Victoria S Dennis on August 29, 2007

In Reply to: Persons prevented posted by Lou Sorrentino on August 29, 2007

: What are the likely alternate meanings of the Colonial phrase "persons prevented" (from grinding at it).

: Context - I found a broken colonial period millstone
: below a colonial gristmill at the exact site mentioned here in 1781 East Haddam CT Devil's Hopyard". An article written a long 106 years later in 1881 says Revolutionaries tossed the gristmill millstones into the waterfall in the attack. Is there another likely meaning than the obvious, that the mob "prevented persons from grinding", by tossing it in the falls, which broke it?

Well, tossing millstones into a waterfall would naturally prevent any persons from grinding meal with them. I can't see any need to look for another meaning than the obvious, unless the whole passage gives you any reason to think there is. (VSD)