Jared Mansfield was born in May 1759 in New Haven, CT. He attended Yale where he
earned his degree in 1787. In 1800, he married Elizabeth Phipps (1776-1850). He
wrote a collection of essays entitled Essays, Mathematical
and Physical (1801) which was considered to be one the first books of
original mathematical research published by an American-born scholar. He became
professor of mathematics at West Point from 1802-1803. Mansfield was then appointed
Surveyor General of the Northwest Territory and moved his family to Ohio. In 1814,
he returned to West Point and was professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy
until his retirement in 1828. He died in February 1830.
Jared’s son, Edward Deering Mansfield, was born 17 August 1801 in New Haven, CT.
Edward graduated 5th in his class at West Point in 1819 but subsequently earned a
law degree from Princeton University in 1822. Mansfield moved to Ohio and taught
constitutional law at Cincinnati College in 1836. He later wrote for various
newspapers, including the New York Times during the
Civil War. In 1839, he married Margaret Worthington (1811-1863). He was also a
member of the Republican Party and corresponded with Salmon P. Chase and Rutherford
B. Hayes. Mansfield wrote books on various subjects including, History of the Mexican War (1849), American Education (1851), and Personal Memories (1870). He died in October 1880.
