(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

John Deer's Son Charles

J

John B.

Well-known Member
Here are two pictures of Charles Deere who was a son of John Deere.
a98972.jpg
 
He was instrumental in keeping the company intact after the Civil War till the time of Teddy Roosevelt. His father never had the business acumen that Charles had. Lots of companies in every industry back then had a short boom-bust cycle but Charles kept Deere growing slowly and he did have his share of setbacks. Charle's son-in-law proved to be not much more than a caretaker as the next head of Deere. William Butterworth went along very grudingly with ventures such as the Waterloo Engine Company rather than having a deep vision of the industry. His succesors (Deere family members by blood or marriage) Wiman and Hewitt provided the leadership to keep Deere from turning into an also-ran. A fate that befelled competitors such as Massey Harris and Minneapolis Moline.
 
Deere almost fell several times during the first 50-75 years of existence. I read the book John Deere's Company by Wayne Broehl maybe 25 years ago. It's close to 900 pages and will make your head spin reading about all of the family connections. It's all about the business end of the company from the first blacksmith shop up to 1984 when the book was published. There is almost nothing about the products except for mentioning what happened in the back room during the planning stages. The person who is only interested in iron will lose interest in this book. It was very interesting reading for me but took awhile to get through. It's very, very rare for a family run business to last and prosper as long as Deere has. Jim
 
Your post reminds me of a book I read some years ago called "The Merchants of Grain" by Dan Morgan
All about the international/multinational business of the grain industry.
He likewise goes into the Cargill/McMillian Clan who still privately own Cargill - one of the largest privately held corporations in the world.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

A
1931 John Deere GP
Replies
9
Views
649
Fixingfarmer
Fixingfarmer
T
Cylinder head gasket
Replies
5
Views
753
560Dennis
560Dennis
R
Chrome front wheels for John Deere 4010
Replies
7
Views
421
DR. EVIL
D
A
What was the problem with the JD 9400 combine engine?
Replies
6
Views
515
coonie minnie
C
Crazy Horse
Barrett Jackson: 9N and '48 JD B sold Monday
Replies
9
Views
972
Russ from MN
R
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top