Obed Hussey

Background

He was born in Maine, in 1792, of Quaker stock, and at a very early age moved with his parents to Nantucket, Massachussets.

Career

It is conjectured that in his early life he was a sailor, probably by necessity rather than choice, for, as shown by his later actions, he was moody and impatient, a theorist and mechanical genius, determined and intolerant of opposition, and yet extremely modest and sensitive. At such times as he was engaged in the perfection of some mechanical device he worked brilliantly; at other times he was inclined to laziness.

He had already devised a corn-grinding machine, a sugar-cane crusher, and a machine for grinding hooks and eyes, and was at work in Cincinnati, Ohio, on an improvement for a candle mould, when, about 1830, the suggestion of devising a machine to cut grain was made to him. The idea apparently appealed to him, and in his characteristic way he began the construction of experimental models without either determining what had already been attempted by others or caring whether a perfected machine was needed. He must have left Cincinnati shortly after beginning this work, for it is known that in 1831 he was living alone and working on his reaper models in the loft of the agricultural implement factory of Richard B. Chenoweth, in Baltimore, Md. For some eighteen months Hussey lived there rent-free, and had such encouraging results that he returned to Cincinnati in the winter of 1832-33 and began the construction of a full-size reaper. This was completed in time for the harvest of 1833, and the first public trial was held before the Hamilton County Agricultural Society near Carthage, Ohio, on July 2, 1833. Its success was attested by nine witnesses. After making several minor improvements he applied for a patent, which was granted December 31, 1833.

The invention embodied a reciprocating saw tooth cutter sliding between upper and lower guard fingers. The cutter was driven by a pitman from a crankshaft operated through gear wheels from the main drive wheels. The machine was horse-drawn from the front, with the cutter set off to one side, back of which was a platform to catch the cut grain. The patent specification provided for the locking and unlocking of the drive wheels and also for hinging the platform, and stated that the operator might ride on the machine.

After obtaining the patent Hussey began to manufacture his reaper, and during the years 1834 to 1838 he introduced it into Illinois, New York, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. His machines sold well and he established a factory in Baltimore. Six months after Hussey obtained his first patent, Cyrus McCormick patented a reaper and began to manufacture it. A keen, at times bitter, rivalry developed between the two men, which continued for many years both in the United States and in England, and probably had much to do with the subsequent development of the reaper. Hussey, for example, took out a second patent, No. 5227 (August 7, 1847) for the open top and slotted finger bar, which is an important part of all successful cutter bars; and McCormick, a third patent, for gearing changes and raker's seat. Both Hussey and McCormick asked for extensions to their patents but failed to get them. They exhibited their machines at the London Exhibition in 1851, and subsequently entered into competitive trials in England, both men receiving high honors. The successes of these two pioneers naturally spurred others to devise improvements in the reaper, which McCormick was quick to acquire, but which Hussey, with his characteristic obstinacy, refused to adopt. As a result, his business gradually declined and he sold out in 1858. He then turned to the invention of a steam plow, on which he was at work when, during a visit to New England, he fell beneath a railway train and was killed.

Achievements

• He is remembered as a U. S. inventor of a full-sized grain reaper that was in wide use throughout Illinois, Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania until Cyrus Hall McCormick’s reaper captured the market.

Connections

His wife was Eunice B. (Starbuck) Hussey.

Spouse:

Eunice B Starbuck Lamberton

1832–1898

Daughter:

Martha Hussey

1860–1932

Daughter:

Mary Hussey

1857–1859

References

• The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century
• Obed Hussey, Who, of All Inventors, Made Bread Cheap