Leander J. McCormick
Leander James McCormick was born to Robert Hall and Maryann (Polly) Grigsby McCormick on
February 8, 1819 in Rockbridge County, Virginia. He was raised at
the family homestead
Walnut Grove,
located near Steele's Tavern. Robert Hall McCormick invented the
mechanical reaper, for which his son Cyrus later
received the patent. Leander eventually developed multiple improvements
to the reaper and received patents for two of them, with the remainder
being patented by his brother Cyrus. At age 26, Leander married
Henrietta Hamilton on her parents' homestead, Locust Hill, in Rockbridge
County on October 22, 1845. The following year Robert McCormick died and
his three living sons--Leander, Cyrus and William--established
themselves in a business run by Cyrus to manufacture the reaper and sell
it across the midwest. This led the McCormick family, including
Leander's wife and infant son, Robert Hall, to move to Chicago in
November 1848. There they created what eventually became the McCormick
Harvesting Machine Company with Leander taking over management of the
manufacturing department, which he controlled for the next 30 years. By
1870, the McCormicks were one of the wealthiest families in the
U.S.
McCormick Family Homestead at Walnut Grove in Rockbridge
County
In 1871, the great fire in Chicago destroyed much of the Reaper Works
and other buildings, as well as the Leander McCormick family residence
at the corner of Rush and Ohio streets, including pictures and ancestral
souvenirs. Leander, his wife and children fled their burning home in
early morning hours, moving to the west side of the city for the next
several years. The McCormicks, under Leander's direction, quickly
rebuilt and recovered. By 1879, the business had fully recovered and was
merged into a corporation. Leander stayed active in the management of
the business until 1889 when he retired and sold his shares to his
nephew, Cyrus H. McCormick.
In his later years, Leander McCormick remained in Chicago and began to
research the McCormick genealogy. He eventually produced and published
works on the McCormick family.
