John Francis Appleby was born on May 23, 1840 in Westmoreland, New York, United States, the son of James and Jane Appleby who had but recently come to New York from England. In 1845 the parents continued their migration to try a fresh start in the newer country of Wisconsin, where they established their farm home in Walworth County.
Appleby obtained a district school education in the infrequent intervals when he was not needed for work at home or on some neighbor's farm.
It was when only eighteen, in the employ of a farmer in Iowa County, that he first conceived the idea of a binder. He was assisting in the trial of a new reaping machine, binding the sheaves as the grain was cut, when it occurred to him that a machine could be made to do this work. His suggestion was received with jeers from his employer.
Nevertheless, during the ensuing year he constructed a model of a twine binder which contained the essential elements of the Appleby Knotter. Lack of funds prevented Appleby from further developing his knotter and when the Civil War started he volunteered and served in the 23rd Wisconsin Infantry.
While in the trenches before Vicksburg, he had time to whittle out a new device for rifles. This mechanism provided a magazine for cartridges and an automatic feed device. He received a patent for this the next year (1864) which he sold for $500, only to see it resold for $7, 000. This incident, besides supplying funds necessary to continue experimentation, impressed Appleby with the value of invention and made him an inventor for life.
In 1867 he was able to demonstrate his first complete machine at Mazomanie, Wis. The demonstration was unsuccessful and earned him the reputation of being a crank. He was encouraged, however, by one spectator, Dr. E. D. Bishop, who invested $1, 500 in the binder.
In 1872 Appleby connected himself with Parker & Stone of Beloit, Wisconsin, and built in their factory a wire binding machine which was successful as a binder, but failed because of the farmers' prejudice against wire as a binding material.
In 1874 he organized the Appleby Reaper Works to build self-rake reapers at Mazomanie. The following winter he renewed his experiments with the twine binder at the factory of Parker & Stone, and the next year rebuilt the machine which was then entirely satisfactory.
On July 8, 1878, and February 18, 1879, patents were issued covering the perfected machine and binder. In the winter of 1878, William Deering, of the firm of Gammon & Deering, recognized the possibilities of the binder and purchased the rights to substitute it for a wire binder which the company had been using on the Marsh Harvester. This was the first manufacture of the Appleby Knotter on a large scale, and marked the beginning of its general adoption on harvesters. The McCormick, Champion, and Osborn companies procured rights and began the manufacture of this type of binder and all others were soon outdistanced by its superiority.
Appleby was married at Mazomanie, Wisconsin, in 1867, and was the father of three children.
