Show REAPER HONCH HOW mccormick families in dispute concerning inventor cyrus H mccormick McCorm lck not the originator of great farm machine says woman in letter son says say he wat was the unveiling of 0 the portrait of cyrus 11 II mccormick McCorm lck la in tho the farmers hull hall of fame in memorial hall ball of 0 the college ot of agriculture ot of tho the university of illinois at urbana aroused controversy as to whether the late inventor or hl his father robert me 11 of Co to IB entitled to the honor of having invented tho the reaper seemingly the controversy Is being waged among different branches of the mccormick McConn lck family itself that the distinction ascribed by history to cyrus byrua 11 ZIe McCorm Cormick lck was disputed apparently within tho the family came to the surface when a letter d dated at now new york and signed katherine mccormick McCorm lck was printed on the pago page of a chicago newspaper published by one of the it asserted robert mccormack McCorm lck invented the reaper the claim of cyrus 11 II mccormick mccormack McCorm lck Is defended by his direct descendants s ants in chicago at his residence GO 50 kast east huron street cyrus 11 II McCorm le Cormick lck eon of the he inventor of that name and president of the international harvester company scouted the suggestion contained in the letter of katherine Kather lne mccormick McCorm lck the claim that cyrus mccorduck muck did not invent the reaper Is too absurd to dis discuss culs said mr mccormick McCorm lck my aly father did invent tho the reaper but it seems quite unnecessary for mo me to make such a 1 statement for it Is an historical fact robert mccormick McCorm lck his rather tried tred to a reaper but railed lie made a few ew experiments but they did not result in the produce aton of a practical machine it w waa a s cyrus mccormick McCorm lck who worked out th the idea mr mccormick McCorm lck said he had read the tha ell Q L cyrus cyri t H mccormick McCorm lck setter etter signed katherine Kather lne mccormick and found its statements incorrect who la Is katherine Kather lne mccormock McCorm lck lei he was asked that la Is what I 1 should like to know myself have you nay any relatives of 0 that name aamot yes yea there are several chave no means mean of knowing whether any of then them wrote tho the letter the letter which stirred up the controversy tro versy after referring to tho the unveiling of tho the portrait of cyrus 11 II mccormick which was to take place the next day continues as follows 1 I hope however that the gentleman who will pronounce his eulogy will not fall into the stupid error which I 1 understand has been made several times recently that cyrus if mccormick invented the reaper mr cyrus 11 II mccormick neither invented the reaper nor any es essential enolal part thereof and to the best of my rec recollection liec and I 1 knew him intimate intimately 7 he never made any such claim during his lifetime tho the reaper was invented by robert mccormick McCorm lck ot of rockbridge nock bridge county virginia in the early and ho he manufactured with the help of his third son leander J Me McCorm Cormick lck one fine working serviceable machines which lie he sold to the farmers of rockbridge county and neighboring counties in goodly numbers until he be died in 1845 ills ilis machine wits was never patented after hla his fathers death cyrus 11 me mccormick Corm lck following some serious business vicissitudes in various localities came to chicago and with his brothers william S and leander J afek established the chicago manufactory of the reaper invented by their father which enterprise brought success and fortune to all three of them the writer adds a book Is being pro pared to prove robert mccormick McCorm lck the roal real inventor |