Was born in the city of New York, December 1, 1821, and left an orphan by the death of his father and mother when quite young. There were but two children, Martin H. and William, who by the intervention of friends, succeeded in finding desirable homes in Pennsylvania. Martin found a place at the home of the father of Senator Patterson, at Mifflintown, Juniata county, where he grew to manhood and learned business habits. He early developed a talent for mechanical pursuits, and devoted his time in perfecting machinery to aid the agriculturist. He never had any training by practical machinists, and his mechanical ideas were all born with him, and of a wonderful cast. About 1846 he began to evince his peculiar talent for invention, and letters patent were granted by the office in Washington for improvements in clover hullers; his object being to enlist the farmers in raising clover for the purpose of saving the seed, and enhancing the price of both clover and seed, and in making it a valuable crop as a fertilizer of failing lands, and a good feed for stock. When patented his original huller was visited by many farmers, and looked upon as an effort that would aid in saving the seed, and increase a disposition to raise and save increased crops wherever introduced. He visited several States with a view to interesting farmers in the enterprise, and selling territory. He met with some encouragement, but not such as the merits of his invention warranted, and finally turned his attention to Ohio, where his invention attracted a good deal of attention, and finally settled in Mifflin township, in Richland county, where he commenced the manufacture of his huller in 1848.

His original object was to enlist mechanics who would engage in making this huller. His shop was at first in Mifflin, in Juniata county, Pennsylvania. He procured two horses and a wagon, and with one of his hullers and cleaners commenced to canvass, hoping to encourage the growing of clover, but met with little success in selling machines and patents. It was then in the fall and winter, when clover could be procured to exhibit the machine by hulling and cleaning the seed. The weather was generally stormy, with rain or snow, arresting the hulling and cleaning. It was not pleasant work exhibiting the machine. The roads became very bad, and he could hardly travel. In the winter of 1848 he made a trip to Ohio and made an effort to sell the patent, and operated among the farmers of Richland and Ashland counties, but without sales. In Ashland he put up at the hotel kept by the late James McNulty. While at his hotel he drove out to the farm of the late Isaac Davis, near the Mifflin line, and states that by that time “he was flat broke” in finances. He remained with Mr. Davis about two weeks, and sold one machine to Isaac Roland and Jacob Hoover, for fifty dollars–about half price–getting twenty-four dollars cash and a note for the balance. He found that in his travels it would be better to sell machines than patents. So he determined to come to Ohio and engage in manufacturing his huller and cleaner, and never again offer a patent right for sale. Before leaving he went to Mansfield and partly arranged with Messrs. Hall and Allen, then proprietors of the Mansfield Machine Works, to assist in making his huller. Leaving Ashland county, he returned to Juniata county, Pennsylvania, receiving from Roland and Hoover twenty-four dollars, balance due on a machine, which carried him safely through the mountains, there then being no railroad for conveyance to Ohio. About six weeks after, being in December, 1848, he arrived at his old home. It is proper to state that Mr. Saiger, a brother-in-law, accompanied him on his former trip. In a good covered spring wagon, with curtains, and a pair of good horses and about eight hundred pounds of goods and clothing, and in February, 1849, his wife, Mr. Saiger and himself started for Ohio. The roads were then frozen and were smooth, much resembling a plank floor all the way to Mansfield, where he rented a house from Dr. Teegarden, and lived in it until April, 1849. Having failed to complete a contract with Messrs. Hall & Co., to manufacture machines, and becoming scarce of money, he concluded to settle in Mifflin township, near Mr. Isaac Davis, and start a shop of his own, furnished by Mr. Steinhour, who lived near, and with his assistance, he being a mechanic, made hullers. On the first of April, 1849, he moved near Mr. Davis, and commenced making clover hullers in a small way. He made five that spring and summer, and sold them all in the fall. He remembers that George Stillwagon and Daniel Koogle, near Mifflin, bought machines and gave him a friendly recommend among the farmers, which aided him very much, these gentlemen having done a good deal of hulling during that fall and winter. Mr. Mansfield regarded this act as very kind to the day of his decease, and attributed his success to the aid of such friends. It was the means of selling a number of hullers that fall and winter, and was the cause of many other sales in Ashland county. By this means he had accumulated a small amount of money by April 1, 1850, when he removed to Ashland and settled in an old frame building opposite the house of the late Captain A. Walker, on Third street, in which he lived and used as a shop for two years.

The demand for hullers was very great, and it became necessary to procure more room. So he purchased out lot number sixteen, of Joseph Wasson, in South Ashland, where he built a shop, where Robert McMurray subsequently built a residence. The shop was twenty-four by sixty feet, two stories high, one of which was converted into a dwelling, where Mr. Mansfield lived, having moved into it, until the spring of 1852. A short time after he attached a foundry, and made plows and other farm implements, having a blacksmith shop, with steam engine. The demand for hullers kept increasing from year to year–some years running as high as one hundred–until he was compelled to enlarge his facilities, and, in the summer of 1853, Mr. D. Whiting built him a residence, where he resided, which gave him all the room he needed for the hullers. In 1856 he entered into partnership with D. Whiting, who built a shop on ground formerly owned by the late George Swineford, as a tannery and residence, and now occupied by Messrs. Whiting & Shearer for the manufacture of agricultural implements. After he and Mr. Whiting formed a partnership they increased their facilities for manufacturing. He sold one-half of the undivided interest in his patents to Mr. Whiting, after having conducted a thriving business four years, being limited to that time. In January, 1860, he sold his interest in the machine works to Mr. Whiting. On the fourth of January, 1861, he purchased lot number thirty-five, on the south side of Main street, in Ashland, from William Skilling, and commenced again to make hullers, during the year, in an old building on the lot. He seems to have been destined to wear out in improving and making clover machinery.

In 1862 he built the brick building that now stands upon the lot opposite the Times office, and in 1866, put up the rear brick. The front part is about twenty-eight by seventy-five feet, two stories high, with a basement. The rear is thirty-eight by seventy-five feet, with same number of stories as front. It is now occupied by F.E. Myers & Brother as an agricultural implement store room. These buildings were built for the manufacture of clover hullers; also with a view to other employments.

Previous to 1864 the clover hullers and cleaners made in Ashland were not like the ones made at the present day. They hulled and cleaned the seed from the clover heads after the straw was first removed by a separate machine, or by a wheat threshing machine, or in some other manner. In 1858 Mr. John Birdsall, then of New York State, obtained a patent for combining in one machine, a cylinder to thresh the heads, from the straw, and a cylinder to hull the seed, with separating and cleaning apparatus. These were called double-cylinder machines. Other manufacturers immediately commenced to make the two-cylinder machines. Mr. Birdsall brought suit in the United States court against several parties for infringements upon his machine. In order to compete with Mr. Birdsall, and not to infringe upon his patents, Mr. Mansfield constructed in the fall of 1863, a machine with only one cylinder to do the same work as that done by the Birdsall two cylinder machine. To the surprise of quite a number of manufacturers he was successful, and succeeded in obtaining a patent for his machine in 1864, 1866, and in 1871, with additional improvements. In 1875 he retired from business, and granted a license to Messrs. Russell & Co., of Massillon, Ohio, and since then retired from the business altogether, in consequence of ill health, and being affected with a bronchial trouble, brought on by being exposed to the clover dust by experimenting, setting up and starting clover hullers for the past thirty years.

Since the Mansfield machine was invented, and introduced among the farmers of this part of Ohio, the production of clover has been largely increased, the acreage being more than five times as great as formerly. The land has been greatly improved by raising the crop, the old adage that “he that causes one blade of grass to grow, where it had not previously grown, must be regarded a benefactor of his race,” is literally true. It was Mr. Mansfield’s pride, not only to be a successful inventor, but to aid the farmer in producing a valuable crop. In this respect, his value to the agriculturist cannot easily be determined. He has now done his last work, and been called home to rest. He died April 4, 1880, and was buried April 6, 1880.

As a mechanic, he was very successful; in fact, he may be regarded as a genius in invention. He was methodical and unassuming in manner, and deemed a very generous and conscientious manager of his business. Employees speak of him only in a spirit that evinces true affection. They carried him, with many tears, to his last resting place in the cemetery, accompanied by hundreds of citizens, who had learned, by long association, to love and respect him.

Mr. Mansfield was married to Miss Anna Saiger, of Mifflintown, Juniata county, Pennsylvania, February 1, 1848. Of this union there were eleven children, seven boys and four girls; two boys died young, and five survive. Two members of the family are married, William and Anna Belle. (Transcribed and contributed by Russ Shopbell)