Jared Mansfield

In 1801 he had printed some scientific papers titled Essays Mathematical and Physical, which were brought to Jefferson's attention by Senator Abraham Baldwin. Jefferson appointed Mansfield captain of engineers, so he might become a professor at West Point. After moving to West Point, Mansfield was appointed Surveyor General in Summer of 1803. Jefferson was dissatisfied with the performance of Rufus Putnam, whose surveys in the Congress Lands of Ohio were poorly executed. Putnam was also a Federalist.^[7] In 1801, the position had been offered to Andrew Ellicott by Jefferson, but he refused, because he was upset at slow pay for work he had done for the Federal Government.^[8] Mansfield's Essays included sections on determining longitude and latitude, which would be useful in improving precision in surveying. Jefferson made a recess appointment, which was confirmed by the Senate November 15, 1803. He was told to "survey Ohio and lands north of the Ohio River", with later extensions to Indiana Territory and Illinois Territory.^[7]

Mansfield and his family moved to Marietta, Ohio (1803–1805), Ludlow Station (1805–1809) and near Cincinnati (1809–1812).^[9] Under Mansfield's direction the survey was continued down the Ohio River, with grids laid out northward from the river, thus dividing the territory into rectangular townships. Mansfield is credited with "considerable scientific ability and high standards of workmanship."^[10] He laid out baselines and Meridians astronomically, adapting principles of celestial navigation to surveying,^[9] which Ellicott and others had used to extend the Mason–Dixon line decades earlier. Among his deputies were Thomas Worthington, Lewis Cass, and Ethan Allen Brown.^[11]

In 1816, Mansfield was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia.^[12]

Jonathan Williams, Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy sent Mansfield a letter March 20, 1809, "...your rank in the Corps doubtless settled, and I wish you were here to take direction of the Academy." The War of 1812 in the West made surveying difficult. Mansfield returned to West Point in 1814 as professor of mathematics and natural and experimental philosophy, continuing in this position until his retirement in 1828. He never was to direct the academy. He and his wife moved back to Cincinnati, and he died February 3, 1830, while visiting New Haven.^[13]

He arranged for Thomas Jefferson to sit at Monticello for the painter Thomas Sully, and the resulting full-length portrait now hangs in the USMA Museum.

The city of Mansfield, Ohio, is named for Jared Mansfield.

He was father of author Edward Deering Mansfield.^[14]

• Dexter, Franklin Bowditch, Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College: May 1745-May 1763, Volume 2 (Holt, 1896)
• Croswell, Frederick, “A History of Trinity Church, New Haven, Read March 8, 1868”, Papers of the New Haven Colony Historical Society, Volume I (New Haven Colony Historical Society, 1865)
• Dudley, Charlotte W (1998). "Jared Mansfield: United States Surveyor General". Ohio History. 85: 231–246. Archived from the original on 2014-10-29. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
• Stewart, Lowell O (1935). Public Land Surveys History Instructions Methods. Ames, Iowa: Collegiate Press Inc. ISBN 9780598975874. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
• Mathews, Catherine Van Courtlandt (1908). Andrew Ellicott, His Life and Letters. New York: The Grafton Press. p. 204.