Obed Hussey | Page 3

place.
Mr. Hussey, with repressed excitement, stood watching, and when he
saw the perfect success of his invention, he hastened to his room too
moved and agitated to speak. This scene is vividly impressed on my
mind, as is also a remark made by a workman, that Mr. Hussey did not
wish us to see the tears in his eyes."
The story of Mr. Hussey's efforts at that time is also told by a brother of
the little granddaughter:
"Chicago, Nov. 25, 1893.
"Clark Lane, Esq., "Elkhart, Ind.
"My Dear Sir:--
"I notice in this morning's 'Inter Ocean' your letter of 22nd in regard to
the First Reaper and Obed Hussey; now I can say that the name of
Obed Hussey called to my mind the best friend of my boyhood days, as
he was in the habit of keeping me supplied with pennies when I was
short, and taught me how to put iron on a wood sled, and helped me to
make my first wagon as he turned the wheel for me. You are right with
regard to the date of the fingers and shaped cutters for Reapers, as I saw
and handled it, to my sorrow in 1833 or '34 before the machine was
finished and nearly cut my fingers off. I have the whole thing
photographed in my mind and can show the spot or within 10 feet of it
where I lay on the floor. It was not possible to try it in Maryland, owing
to the hilly nature of the ground, and was afterwards taken to Ohio for

trial and was rebuilt there, or at least a part of it, but of that part (the
rebuilding) I do not know for a certainty, but the bars, fingers and
knives I do most positively remember, as I was a lad of some eight or
nine years old with a mechanical turn of mind and was looking into
what seemed strange to me, hence I cut my finger so bad that I carried
the scar for a number of years. I very distinctly remember the
incomplete reaper made by my old friend, Obed Hussey, as it was made
in my grandfather's shop in Baltimore, Maryland, who was at that time
the leading plow-maker of the U. S. and that it was made either in 1833
or '34, as I would not have had a chance to see it if later than '34 as I
was not at home until '38, when it had been sent, as I was told, to Ohio
for trial and some parts had to be rebuilt.
"Please excuse the liberty I have taken in writing to you, but I could not
resist the temptation to give my tribute to my old friend, O. Hussey.
"Very respectfully yours,
(Signed) "W. H. CHENOWETH."
The machine referred to was, no doubt, the reaper completed and tested
near Cincinnati in the harvest of 1833.
[Sidenote: The First Reaper]
It is not known when Mr. Hussey left the Chenoweth factory, but
during the winter of 1832-33 he was at Cincinnati working upon the
reaper that, more than else, won him lasting fame during the harvest of
1833. The "Mechanics Magazine" for April, 1834, contains an
illustration of "Hussey's Grain Cutter." The picture does not represent
the model deposited in the Patent Office with his application, for it
differs in many essentials from the drawing of the patent, which, of
course, corresponded with the model there filed. It has neither divider
nor outer wheel, and the construction of the platform differs from that
of his regular machine. It is thought that the picture represents the small
working model made at the Chenoweth factory, mentioned by the little
girl.

[Sidenote: Financing the First Reaper]
Mr. Hussey found one who took an interest in his invention and
became so confident of its value that he provided the necessary funds
and mechanical facilities for manufacturing a reaper to be tested in the
field. This was Jarvis Reynolds of Cincinnati. Drawings were made of
the cutting apparatus and a description of it was sent by the inventor to
a friend, Edwin G. Pratt, early in 1833.
[Sidenote: The Reaper Historian]
Another personal friend of Obed Hussey was Edward Stabler, who
lived at Sandy Hill, Maryland, and was, as he termed himself, "a farmer
and a mechanic." That he was a mechanic of ability is evidenced by
government seals which were cut by him, that for the Smithsonian
Institute being worthy of mention as an example of his skill. He was a
postmaster from President Jackson's time until his own death. He is the
only one who may be said to have acted as Hussey's historian, and has
left very much valuable information in the form of letters, legal papers,
et cetera. In 1854 and