John Francis Appleby (1840–1917) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

inventor who developed a knotting device to bind grain bundles with

twine Twine is a strong thread, light string or cord composed of two or more thinner strands twisted, and then twisted together ( plied). The strands are plied in the opposite direction to that of their twist, which adds torsional strength to the co ...

. It became the foundation for all farm grain binding machinery and was used extensively by all the major manufacturers of large grain harvesting machines in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Appleby's knotting device was a major landmark in the mechanization of agriculture and aided the development of the western wheat fields of the United States.

Background

John Francis Appleby was born in

Westmoreland, New York Westmoreland is a town in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 6,138 at the 2010 census. The Town of Westmoreland is in the west-central part of the county. The New York State Thruway (Interstate 90) passes across the town. ...

in 1840. In 1844 his extended family of 17 arrived by boat to

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

. When he was just 18, Appleby invented the basic knotting device that would become the foundation for all farm binding machinery, but no one was interested in the idea at the time. He served with the 23rd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

, from 1862 to 1865. During the war, Appleby invented and patented a manual magazine feed

breech loading A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition ( cartridge or shell) via the rear (breech) end of its barrel, as opposed to a muzzleloader, which loads ammunition via the front ( muzzle). Modern firearms are generally bre ...

needle gun A needle gun (or needle rifle for varieties with rifling) is a firearm that has a needle-like firing pin, which can pass through the paper cartridge case to strike a percussion cap at the bullet base. Types Pauly A diagram of a needle-gun ...

. When the US government rejected the idea, Appleby sold the patent for $500. The weapon was later used extensively by the

Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

Grain binder

After the war, he returned to Wisconsin and by 1874 had developed a successful wire grain binder. He was unable to gain any financial backing for it because of lack of support from farmers for the use of wire binding because small bits of wire often got into feed grain and were ingested by cattle, causing them harm. By 1878, Appleby had developed a successful twine binder, which he patented. Twine binders did not cut into the wheat or, like wire binders, kill cattle that happened to eat a strand. He licensed the twine binder mechanism to the Gammon and Deering Company, which incorporated it into its Marsh Harvester grain binders and harvesters. Primarily on the value of Appleby’s twine binder, The Deering Harvester Company (as it became known in 1880) outsold its competitors. Appleby's design soon became the standard grain binding device used on machines manufactured by

Cyrus McCormick Cyrus Hall McCormick (February 15, 1809 – May 13, 1884) was an American inventor and businessman who founded the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, which later became part of the International Harvester Company in 1902. Originally from the ...

’s McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, Champion Machine Works, and the D.M. Osborne Co.

Later life

In 1881, Appleby sold his grain binder machine patent interests to Champion Machine. He continued to work on various inventions, eventually patenting a horse-drawn cotton harvesting machine in 1905. He died in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

in November 1917. John Appleby is the namesake of the small community of Appleby, South Dakota.

References

External links

Wisconsin Historical Society official website Swingle, F. B. "Unbending Backs at Harvest Time" ''Wisconsin Agriculturalist'' July 14, 1923; reprinted as "The Invention of the Twine Binder" in ''The Wisconsin Magazine of History'', vol. 10, 1927, Wisconsin Historical Society Deering Estate at Cutler.16701 SW 72 Ave.Miami FL 33157USA305-235-1668
{{DEFAULTSORT:Appleby, John 1917 deaths 1840 births History of Wisconsin People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War People from Chicago People from Westmoreland, New York People from Milwaukee