John Appleby was a clever inventor who, with patience and perseverance, turned an idea he conceived as a young man into a profitable business later in life. He was born in 1840 in Westmoreland, New York, the son of English immigrants. In 1845 his family moved to Walworth County, Wisconsin, where they established a farm homestead. It was in this frontier environment that Appleby, as a boy, had to rely upon his inventiveness to make his own toys. After his father's death in 1849, he shared the responsibility of supporting his family by working on neighbors' farms as well as on their own. In doing so, he showed a great acumen for repairing farm tools and equipment.

When he was only fifteen, Appleby witnessed a demonstration of a recently invented grain-cutting machine. He immediately saw a major shortcoming in its function. It could mechanically cut grain, but the binding operation--tying the...