I have recently completed a new book about early John Deere partner Robert N. Tate. Tate was largely responsible for the design, construction, and operation of their first plow factory in Moline, IL. He stayed in partnership with Deere about 4 years (1848-52), then entered another partnership with Bufords of Rock Island, IL (1852-60), which became Rock Island Plow Company.His story covers 50 years of history coast-to-coast. Tate experienced virtually every mode of transportation in existence in his time: boats on the Erie Canal, newly invented steamboats on the rivers, corduroy roads by stagecoach, sailing ships, wagons, ox teams, omnibuses, and finally, the transcontinental railroad. He helped survey Illinois, voted for Lincoln, documented the Civil War, and built the first plow factory in Moline, Ill. Yet Tate was also an artist, a gardener, and a stargazer -- a real Renaissance man. "Who would be without a garden and a book?" he mused, in the middle of the war. This from a man who sold his clothes instead of parting with his cherished Diamond Poets. Considerable editing of Tate's handwritten diaries from the Deere Archives has resulted in a colorful and engaging account of his life, including corroborating vignettes, sketches, photographs, and maps. Take a journey into the past with "a man worth knowing."Available soon on www.amazon.com. $9.95 plus shipping. Or contact me directly by e-mail. 20 percent discount for orders of 5 copies or more.
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