This book contains some historical information about the reaper industry in Rockford, Illinois during the second half of the nineteenth century. It contains some biographical information about the innovators and industrialists involved. Several pictures of their patents, 1851-1869, are included. This is the result of some family history research I was doing when I discovered that my grandfather, Louis Andrew Belden, had been employed in Rockford, Illinois at the firm of Emerson Manufacturing Co. in 1905. In 1903-1905, his father in law, Great-Grandpa William J Goff, was also employed there. This firm later became Emerson-Brantingham Co and was purchased in 1928 by J I Case Co. I was employed in Rockford at the product engineering office of the J I Case factory beginning in 1952 and continued at that location until it was closed down in 1970. I remained in the Case Co employment at Bettendorf, IA until 1975 and then in Racine, WI until my retirement in 1989.