John Deere ( 1804 - 1886 )

John Deere was born in Vermont. He was the son of William Rinold Deere who
disappeared when he left Vermont in 1808. He was planning to go to England to collect
an inheritance and no one ever heard from him again.
Raised by his mother and educated in a local school, John Deere later attended
Middlebury College before dropping out. After leaving college, John worked under
Captain Benjamin Lawrence who was a successful blacksmith in Middlebury. John
learned from Lawrence before breaking into business for himself in 1825.
In 1836, John Deere married Demarius Lamb. They began raising a family together but
business as a blacksmith wasnt good for John. He sold out to his father-in-law and
moved to Illinois where he continued his trade as a blacksmith.
Once in Illinois, Johns creative imagination began to drive him. His ideas for
manufacturing a better plow developed and in 1837, the first Deere commercial caststeel plow was a success. In 1838, Deere sold his fist steel plow to a farmer. The
farmer, Lewis Crandall spread the word quickly and by 1841, there were orders
mounting up for the Deere plow.
John Deere knew that he needed help if he was going to be able to keep the orders
filled and customers satisfied so he gained a partner. His partner was Leonard Andrus
but the partnership experienced complications. By the end of 1848, John Deere was out
of his partnership and ready to find a better location to set up his business.
John needed to be on or near the Mississippi River and Moline, Illinois was the perfect
location because of the transportation provided on the river. Thanks to the new location
and a thriving business, John Deere was able to sell over ten thousand plows by the
end of 1855.
John Deere became a corporation in 1868. Later in life, John Deere was able to take on
a more active political and social status. He became the President of the National Bank
of Moline and served as mayor of Moline. John Deere died in 1886.