John Deats
Born(1769-02-01)February 1, 1769
DiedMay 1, 1841(1841-05-01) (aged 72)
Known forInvention of the Deats plow

John Deats (February 1, 1769 – May 1, 1841) was an American wheelwright and inventor of the Deats plow from Hunterdon County, New Jersey.[1]

Life and family

John Deats was born in 1769 to William Deats (also spelled Deitz), a German immigrant, and wife Mary at their home about four miles northwest of Flemington. He married Ursula Barton (1767–1853) and they had four children: Elisha Deats (1800–1862), Rhoda Deats Thurston (1803–1880), Gilbert Deats (1808–1870), and Hiram Deats (1810–1887).[1][2]

He was a wheelwright, like his father, and worked in that trade. After designing a plow and unable to find a manufacturer locally, he moved west.[1] He died in Newark, Ohio in 1841.[2][3]

Deats plow

Patent Diagram for the Deats Plow

After experimenting in building plows, Deats was issued a patent for an improved plow in 1828.[1][4] He was issued another patent in 1831, which detailed improvements in the moldboard, main landside, bottom landside, cutter, share, plate of iron under the share, and clevis.[5] After his death, his son, Hiram Deats, as administrator, was granted a reissue of this 1831 patent on May 16, 1845.[6][7] The plow was successfully manufactured and sold by Hiram for many years.[8] The improved moldboard was said to scour better than others.[9] Hiram's nephew, Hiram Deats Jr. (1853–1928), son of Gilbert Deats (1808–1870), later ran the company at Pittstown until 1904.[4][10][11]

Legacy

In 1929, his grandson, Hiram Edmund Deats, donated several pieces of agricultural equipment, including a Deats plow, made by the Deats company to Rutgers University for their agricultural museum under the care of Professor Wabun C. Krueger.[8][12] This collection became important in the creation of the New Jersey Museum of Agriculture in 1990.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Snell, James P. (1881). History of Hunterdon and Somerset Counties, New Jersey. Everts & Peck. pp. 444–445.
  2. 1 2 Chambers, Theodore Frelinghuysen (1895). The Early Germans of New Jersey: Their History, Churches, and Genealogies. Dover Printing Co. pp. 323–4.
  3. ↑ Deats, Edwin R. (1973). The Deats Families (Also Teats, Teets, Dates, Deets, Dietz and Deitz). p. 4.
  4. 1 2 Ramsburg, Bernard F. (2014). "Industry, 1964". The First 300 Years of Hunterdon County, 1714–2014. Flemington, New Jersey: Hunterdon County Cultural & Heritage Commission. p. 129. LCCN 2013957213.
  5. ↑ US patent 6883X, John Deats, "Improvement in Plows", published 1831-12-28
  6. ↑ US patent RX70, Hiram Deats, of Quakertown, New Jersey, administrator of John Deats, deceased, "Plow", published 1831-12-28
  7. ↑ "American Patents". Journal of the Franklin Institute. 1846. p. 263.
  8. 1 2 Barth, Linda J. (2018). "Deats Plow". New Jersey Originals: Technological Marvels, Odd Inventions, Trailblazing Characters & More. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 26–27. ISBN 978-1-4671-3926-7.
  9. ↑ Ramsburg, Bernard F. (2014). "Agriculture, 1964". The First 300 Years of Hunterdon County, 1714–2014. Flemington, New Jersey: Hunterdon County Cultural & Heritage Commission. p. 45. LCCN 2013957213.
  10. ↑ Deats, Hiram Jr. (September 1889). "Advertisement". The Jerseyman. A Quarterly Magazine of Local History. Flemington, N. J.: H. E. Deats. 1 (2): 22. We make the Original Deats Plow which has been extensively used for the past 60 years.
  11. ↑ Brecknell, Ursula (August 1989). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Pittstown Historic District". National Park Service. Section 8, Page 8. With accompanying 50 photos
  12. ↑ Soul, Louise (December 14, 1986). "State Agricultural Museum: A Collection Without a Home". The New York Times.
  13. ↑ Mautner, Lyn (December 17, 1989). "New Museum's Focus Is Agriculture". The New York Times.
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