Daniel Hale Mansfield

MANSFIELD, Daniel Hale. b. probably Bangor, Maine, 23 June 1810; d. probably Augusta, Maine, 25 February 1855. Mansfield is primarily known as the compiler of a popular oblong tunebook, The American Vocalist (Boston, 1848, Rev. 1849). His ancestors, arriving in the American colony of Massachusetts around 1638, reflected seven generations of English Puritan heritage. They prospered as farmers and were gentlemen and owners of enslaved people in the New World. During the second half of the 18th century, land speculation opened up new settlement possibilities further north, resulting in the relocation of Mansfield’s grandfather and other family members. His grandparents Daniel and Lydia...