Hussey

which his goods passed to the East, Hussey went
there in 1840 to supervise more closely the mar-
keting phase of his business. Here in 1842 ru-
mors of rich copper deposits in the Lake Supe-
rior region stirred his interest, and the follow-
ing year he sent John Hays, an associate, to
make investigations. Hays was impressed by
what he learned and purchased for Hussey a
sixth share in each of the first three permits to
mine copper in that district granted by the
United States government. Hussey then organ-
ized the Pittsburgh & Boston Mining Company,
which opened the first of the Lake Superior cop-
per mines (the Cliff) and demonstrated that the
metal was there in paying quantities. A rush of
miners to the region followed. The Cliff mine is
reputed to have returned profits of $2,280,000
on an original investment of $110,000, In 1849
Hussey and Thomas M. Howe, a partner in the
mining company, organized C. G. Hussey &
Company, copper manufacturers, for the rolling
and marketing of copper. This company, later
known as the Pittsburgh Copper & Brass Roll-
ing Mills, soon came into the sole ownership of
Hussey. Its mill was the earliest of its kind
west of the Alleghanies, and one of the first in
the country to supply American copper in large
quantities to manufacturers. In 1859 Hussey
and Howe bought the old steel plant of Blair &
Company and began the manufacture of crucible
steel by the "direct process." Hussey spent
much time and money to perfect this process,
with the result that his success led to its sub-
stitution for the English cementation process
both in the United States and abroad. Hussey,
Howe & Company was the outcome of this en-
terprise. In addition to the management of his
own businesses, Hussey acted in the capacity of
adviser to mining developments in every part of
the country.

He served one term in the Indiana legislature
(1829). His views on the subject of religion,
war, slavery, and temperance were in agreement
with those of the Society of Friends, of which
he was a member. A hobby of his was the pro-
motion of the influence of women in industry
and business, an outcome of which was his es- .
tablishment of the School of Design for Women
in Pittsburgh. He was also a founder and pres-
ident of the Allegheny Observatory, which later
was combined with Western University of Penn-
sylvania (now the University of Pittsburgh), of
which he was a trustee (1864-93). In 1839 he
married Rebecca, daughter of James and Su-
sanna (Jackson) Updegraff of Jefferson Coun-
ty, Ohio.

[J. L. Bishop, A Hist, of Am. llrnvfacteres, voL III

Hussey

O86;); Standard Hitt. of Pittxlwrgk, Pa,

May, of Western Hist., Feb. 1886; Pittsburgh Ditpatch,

Apr. 26, 1893.3 F.A.T.

HUSSEY, OBED (i792-Aug. 4,1860), inven-
tor, was born in Maine of Quaker stock, and at
a very early age moved with his parents to Xan-
tucket, Mass. 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 me-
chanical genius, determined and intolerant of op-
position, and yet extremely modest and sensi-
tive. At such times as he was engaged in the
perfection of some mechanical device he worked
brilliantly; at other times he was inclined to lazi-
ness. 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 can-
dle 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 construc-
tion of experimental models without either de-
termining what had already been attempted by
others or caring whether a perfected machine
was needed. He must have left Cincinnati short-
ly after beginning this work, for it is known
that in 1831 he was Jiving 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 Hus-
sey lived there rent free, and had such encour-
aging results that he returned to Cincinnati in,
the winter of 1832-33 and began the construc-
tion of a full-size reaper. This was completed
in time for the harvest of 1833, and the first pub-
lic 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 improve-
ments he applied for a patent, which was grant-
ed Dec. 31,1833. The invention embodied a re-
ciprocating saw tooth cutter sliding between
upper and lower guard fingers. The cotter was
driven by a pitman from a crankshaft operated
through gear wheels frora the maia 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 ost grain. The pat-
ent specification provided for the locking: and
unlocking of the drive wheels and also for hing-
ing the platform, and stated that the operator
might ride on the machine.

After obtaining the potent Hassey begaa to
mantifacttire his reaper, ağd during tbfc yea**
1834 to 1838 he introduced it into Illinois, New

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