William T. Hutchinson (1895–1976)

2008 Cyrus Hall McCormick: Seed-Time, 1809-1856, by William T. Hutchinson (read 31 May 1986) McCormick was born Feb 15, 1809, in Virginia. This book is very detailed in regard to the work he did on the reaper, and takes the story to 1856, when he was a very successful man. I found the technical stuff about the reaper interesting though I don't know that I could have so found it if 'the binder' had not been such a glamorous machine in my early childhood. Taking it out and getting it ready was a Big Event when I was a child, and many of the basic features were important in the development of the reaper, which began in 1831.… (más)

2009 Cyrus Hall McCormick: Harvest, 1856-1884, by William T. Hutchinson (read 5 June 1986) This is the second of two volumes in this biography. This is not an ideal biography, since it is based nearly entirely on the materials in the libraries of the McCormick Historical Association in Chicago. The author did a good job digging through those files, but there is little in the way of synthesis, and the author is weak on legal matters. Since much of McCormick's controversy revolved around patents, and he never hesitated to engage in litigation, this weakness is unfortunate. The book tells the story of a suit McCormick filed against the Penn. Cent. RR as a result of some of his luggage being destroyed by lightning in March 1862. The first trial was in 1969 and he got a judgment for $10,600, but the New York Court of Appeals ordered a new trial. In Dec. 1877 McCormick won a judgment for $16,000. In March 1880 the Court of Appeals ordered a new trial. This new trial gave McCormick a verdict for six cents. A new trial was again ordered. The fourth trial resulted in a judgment for McCormick for $13,000. The appeal resulted in a judgment for $18,000--in April 1885! But much of the book is over-footnoted and the chapters on McCormick's fights with fellow-Presbyterians, e.g., are not too interesting. McCormick died May 13, 1884, his last words being "I only want Heaven." The last sentence in this sometimes eloquent biography is: "Wherever in the annual harvest season men use machines to reap grain, there Cyrus Hall McCormick has his most enduring monument."… (más)