John Deats

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

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

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. Snell, James P. (1881). History of Hunterdon and Somerset Counties, New Jersey. Everts & Peck. pp. 444–445.
  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. 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. 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.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  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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