James Oliver (inventor)
James Oliver was an American inventor and industrialist best known for his creation of the South Bend Iron Works, which was reincorporated as the Oliver Farm Equipment Company after his death. After buying a South Bend, Indiana foundry with partner Harvey Little in 1855 he began experimenting with improved farm plow designs. Driven by the sales of his popular Oliver Chilled Plow, for which he registered 45 patents during his lifetime, the company grew to become one of the largest in Indiana and one of the worlds largest producers of farm plows during the late 19th Century.
James Oliver was born August 28, 1823 in Liddesdale, Scotland the youngest of the nine children of Mary Irving and George Oliver. His family was Presbyterian and James was taught to read and write in a local church. His father was a shepherd but found it difficult to earn an income to support his family. An outbreak of cholera in 1832 killed most of family flock, and George injured his leg the following year making it difficult for him to walk. The familys oldest sons immigrated to the United States in the following years and prepared a home for the rest of the family to join them in 1835. There the family worked on a farm near Alloway, New York that had been purchased by the sons.
Source: Wikipedia