He had filed the application in 1901, when the notion of an electrically powered cleaner was only beginning to be seen as a possibility. A Savannah woman, Corinne Dufour, who had a year earlier received a patent for an "Electric Carpet Sweeper and Dust Gatherer" whose motor was designed to operate a suction-fan, also is a forgotten figure. Kenney purchased one of the English inventor H. Cecil Booth's vacuum cleaners, and after the 1907 patent was granted, Booth withdrew his own application for a US patent.
He had submitted the application in 1901, when the idea of an electrically powered cleaner was just starting to be considered feasible. A Savannah woman, Corinne Dufour, who had received a patent a year earlier for an "Electric Carpet Sweeper and Dust Gatherer" with a motor designed to operate a suction-fan, is also often overlooked. Kenney purchased one of the English inventor H. Cecil Booth's vacuum cleaners, and after the 1907 patent was granted, Booth withdrew his own application for a US patent.