The McCormicks of International Harvester

This is a story of the McCormick family with its roots on a Virginia plantation in the 1830’s. It is the story of Cyrus Hall McCormick and his family which evolved from that plantation to become one of the richest and most influential families in the US. The influence of this family has been felt around the world. The McCormick name can be placed alongside other influential family names such as Carnegie, Ford, Edison, Rockefeller, and J. P. Morgan.Cyrus H McCormick developed the reaper harvester machine which revolutionized farming worldwide. Cyrus, along with his brothers Leander and William established the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company. This company rapidly expanded and eventually became the basis for the International Harvesting Co. which at one time was the fourth largest corporation in the United States. While there are many facets of the McCormicks which will be touched upon in this book, it concentrates on the family as it relates to the development, success and demise of the original International Harvester Company. The story of the McCormick family and the story of International Harvester are embedded and cannot be successfully separated. It is the story of the McCormick family members who served as the chief executive managers and chief operations managers of McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. and International Harvester. It also tells of other McCormicks who distinguished themselves through achievements of great wealth and social influence.

Ray Burhop was born in Chicago and is a graduate of the University of Illinois. Prior residences were in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. Interest in the Civil War and in American History led Ray to do extensive research and finally led to the publishing of the book on the history of ＂The Twenty Fourth Illinois Infantry Regiment＂. His grandfather’s experience in the building and the first voyage of the Titanic generated Ray’s interest in this great ship. This led Ray to become the Chief Docent for the Titanic exhibit during the nine month stay at the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa, Fl. Ray continues to provide presentations on the tragedy of the Titanic. The closing of the Titanic exhibit presented an opportunity for Ray to become associated with Cracker Country, the living history museum at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa, FL. He served as a tour guide, docent and ＂unofficial volunteer historian＂. The objective of this living history museum is to provide the public the experience of a Florida Cracker community of the period of 1890 to 1910. The railroad depot originally located at Okahumpka, Florida is a very dominate feature at Cracker Country and generates many questions about the depot and the town of Okahumpka. Several years ago the author and his wife relocated from Tampa to central Florida, not too far from Okahumpka. The Director of the museum at Cracker Country suggested Ray initiate research on the depot and the town. This ultimately led to the publishing of, ＂Okahumpka, The History of a Florida Cracker Community＂. Ray grew up on a farm in Northwest Illinois. His father’s farm had an International Harvester model ＂A＂ and a model ＂H＂ tractor which yielded fond memories to Ray his whole life. One day in 2012, Ray visited Paquette’s International Harvester Tractor Museum in Leesburg, Florida and saw a model ＂A＂ and model ＂H＂ tractor on display, just like the one he grew up with on his father’s Oak Hill Farm in Cary, Illinois. Ray became a volunteer tour guide at the museum. Because of the interest in history, his experience in docent work, and the research capabilities associated with his authorship of his previous books, Ray initiated this project of discovering the ＂McCormicks of International Harvester.＂