Elisha Perkins Invented Metallic Tractors – in the 1700s?

Here is the death notice of Dr. Elisha Perkins (1741-1799). It is fairly straightforward.

obituary for Elisha Perkins, Norwich Courier newspaper article 11 September 1799
Norwich Courier (Norwich, Connecticut), 11 September 1799, page 3

The death notice tells us that Perkins died in New York City on Friday morning, 6 September 1799, and that he was the inventor of “metallic tractors.”

Wait – he was the inventor of the metal tractor? In the 1700s?

Didn’t John Deere (1804-1886) or Cyrus McCormick (1809-1884) invent the metal tractor in the 1800s?

What exactly did Elisha Perkins invent?

Looking for more information in GenealogyBank’s Historical Newspaper Archives, I found this article in the Norwich Courier reporting that Perkins’ “metallic tractors” were being used to cure people in Great Britain – including over two hundred people in Durham, England.

article about the Perkinsian Institution founded by Elisha Perkins, Norwich Courier newspaper article 10 July 1805
Norwich Courier (Norwich, Connecticut), 10 July 1805, page 3

So, Perkins’ “metallic tractors” was some sort of medical device.

Dr. Perkins’ son Benjamin Douglas Perkins wrote a booklet in 1798: The Influence of Metallic Tractors on the Human Body, in Removing Various Painful Inflammatory Diseases, Such as Rheumatism, Pleurisy, Some Gouty Affections, &c. &c. Lately Discovered by Dr. Perkins, of North America.

title page of the book written by Benjamin Perkins about the medical device "metallic tractors"
Source: Internet Archive

Perkins’ metallic tractors were actually just two small metal rods he used to prod and massage areas of inflammation – not the kind of tractors used in farming, as we might initially assume when reading Perkins’ death notice.

According to Wikipedia: “The Connecticut Medical Society condemned the tractors as ‘delusive quackery,’ and expelled Perkins from membership on the grounds that he was ‘a patentee and user of nostrums.’”

Genealogy Tip: Don’t assume anything during your genealogy research. At first glance it appeared that Elisha Perkins had invented an early version of the farming tractor – but by digging deeper we see that his invention was actually a quack medical device.

Related Articles:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.