{"id":10720,"date":"2015-05-28T11:22:01","date_gmt":"2015-05-28T15:22:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=10720"},"modified":"2021-06-17T14:31:06","modified_gmt":"2021-06-17T18:31:06","slug":"elisha-perkins-invented-metallic-tractors-in-the-1700s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/elisha-perkins-invented-metallic-tractors-in-the-1700s.html","title":{"rendered":"Elisha Perkins Invented Metallic Tractors \u2013 in the 1700s?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here is the death notice of Dr. Elisha Perkins (1741-1799). It is fairly straightforward.<\/p>\n

\"obituary<\/a>
Norwich Courier (Norwich, Connecticut), 11 September 1799, page 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The death notice tells us that Perkins died in New York City on Friday morning, 6 September 1799, and that he was the inventor of \u201cmetallic tractors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wait \u2013 he was the inventor of the metal tractor? In the 1700s?<\/p>\n

Didn\u2019t John Deere (1804-1886)<\/a> or Cyrus McCormick (1809-1884)<\/a> invent the metal tractor in the 1800s?<\/p>\n

What exactly did Elisha Perkins invent?<\/p>\n

Looking for more information in GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a>, I found this article in the Norwich Courier<\/em> reporting that Perkins\u2019 \u201cmetallic tractors\u201d were being used to cure people in Great Britain \u2013 including over two hundred people in Durham, England.<\/p>\n

\"article<\/a>
Norwich Courier (Norwich, Connecticut), 10 July 1805, page 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So, Perkins\u2019 \u201cmetallic tractors\u201d was some sort of medical device.<\/p>\n

Dr. Perkins\u2019 son Benjamin Douglas Perkins wrote a booklet in 1798: The Influence of Metallic Tractors on the Human Body, in Removing Various Painful Inflammatory Diseases, Such as Rheumatism, Pleurisy, Some Gouty Affections, &c. &c. Lately Discovered by Dr. Perkins, of North America<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"title<\/a>
Source: Internet Archive<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Perkins\u2019 metallic tractors were actually just two small metal rods he used to prod and massage areas of inflammation \u2013 not the kind of tractors used in farming, as we might initially assume when reading Perkins\u2019 death notice.<\/p>\n

According to Wikipedia: \u201cThe Connecticut Medical Society condemned the tractors as \u2018delusive quackery,\u2019 and expelled Perkins from membership on the grounds that he was \u2018a patentee and user of nostrums.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Genealogy Tip:<\/em><\/strong> Don\u2019t assume anything during your genealogy research. At first glance it appeared that Elisha Perkins had invented an early version of the farming tractor \u2013 but by digging deeper we see that his invention was actually a quack medical device.<\/p>\n

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