The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1884-05-17
Death of Cyrus Il. Mccormick.
The Inventor of the Reaper and Mower
Dies mt the Age OF rs Years.


CYRUS Fl. Mccormick, head of the great
Harvester Manufacturing Company, and sup
posed to be one of the richest men In Chicago,
died at his home in that city Tuesday MORN
ing, aged rs years. He had been an invalid
for number of years.
Cyrus Hall Mccormick was born February
Is, 1909, and was the son of Robert p. Nc
Cormick, a farmer of good property, living in
Rockbridge- county, Va. His father and
mother were both natives of the state of Vir-
ginia ,Sand of Scotch. Irish descent. In 1916
the elder Mccormick made reaping machine,
which was used in the harvest of that year,
and was fairly successful where the grain
stood up straight and untangled; but it was
unequal to the work when the grain was
lodged, and was eventually abandoned, the
last trial taking place in 1881, in the presence
of his son Cyrus, who was then twenty two
years of age. The machine of the elder Nc
Cormick (1Sl6-31) was pushed along in front
of the horses like the Scotch machine of Bell,
(1826) and had several features which have
been entirely abandoned. The cause of his
fathers i'll success seems to have occurred to
Cyrus, and he struck out in new path, max
ing a machine which embodied the principal
features of the harvester of the present day.
The young man $ first machine was so hur-
riedly built that it was used in the same year
which WlIHSSSeu Ine laSI Irlal Oh HIS
fathers machine, the new reciprocating cut
ting knife being tried in field of rye, and,
with the addition of the gathering reel and a
better divider, in a field of late oats the same
season.
Nearly all of its features were original in
this machine, and entitle Cyrus Nee ormick to
be called the ssfather of the reaping machine"
The inventor cut with this reaper fifty acres
of grain in 1882 with entire success. He took
patent for the machine June 81, 1884, and
commenced making it for sale in 1899, the
intervening time having been employed in
gradually improving the machine, each sum-
mer affording a short period for practical
tests. Public trials of the Mccormick and
Hussey machines were made in the neighbor-
hood of Richmond, Va, in 1843, and certii-
Gates of superiority in every case awarded to
Mccormick. In 1847 he moved to Chicago,
where he afterwards resided.
Mr.. Mccormick received the gold medal OF
the American Institute, New York, in 1915;
the council medal for the most valuable article
contributed to the Worlds Fair, London, in
1851: the grand gold medal of the Paris Ex-
position; the grand gold medal, after nine
days trial, at Syracuse, N. Y, in 1857; the
prize medal at the London International Ex-
hibition, 1862 medals at Hamburg, Germany,
and Leeds, England, in 1868; in 1868 the per-
sonal decoration of Chevalier of the Imperial
Order of the Legion of Honor, and two bronze
medals, the highest prize given at the Cen
tennial Exposition in 1876
The manufacture of the Mccormick reap
ing machines is one of the important interests
of the city of Chicago. The factory, COM
mencing with small beginnings in lS47, now
covers twenty one acres. In 1S48 700 McCor-
mick reapers were made and sold; in 1849 the
sales reached 500; since that time the sales
have regularly increased until now the product
for a single year exceeds 10000 machines,
employing between 1900 and 800 men, be-
sides having altogether over 5000 persons en-
gagged in the sale and handling of the reapers
throughout the world.