Ralph Sandiford Man was born on November 21, 1825 in Charleston, South Carolina. He was the youngest child of John and Catherine Norton Man. The Mans were English immigrants who came to America sometime before 1815. Hearing rumors of wealth and adventure, Man at the age of twenty-two decided to leave home and go west. He first went to Georgia then Louisiana and finally to Harrison County, Texas in 1850. In Harrison County he met a man by the name of Julian Feild. They befriended one another and soon left Harrison County to seek more adventure. They arrived in Fort Worth in 1854. From previous training, Man maintained mill building as his main skill. In Fort Worth, Man, Feild and a man named Mock built the first mill in the town. It was a water mill and ground both corn and wheat. It fed off the Clear and West Forks of the Trinity River. However, due to several years of drought in the area, the mill failed. Refusing to admit failure, Man and Feild began heeding to rumors about a settlement southwest of Fort Worth known as Cross Timbers and Walnut Creek. In 1859, Man and Feild traveled to this fertile area. With the help of a local brick layer, Samuel W.A. Hook, and land from William M. Simpson, Man and Feild built the first three storied, brick, steam-powered mill in the state. The mill opened for business in 1860 at the corner of Water and Broad Streets. The town that grew around the mill became known as Mansfield, taking its name from the two men that built the mill.

After completing the mill, there was still something missing for Ralph Man. He soon traveled back to Harrison County, Texas where he re-acquainted himself with the Boisseau family. He met and soon fell in love with Miss Julia Alice Boisseau, the younger sister of Henrietta Boisseau-Feild. The two married on December 30, 1863. Ralph and Julia had two children, Walter Boisseau Man and Julia Alice Man. Man began building his home in 1866 and completed the historic landmark in 1870. The R.S. Man house still stands and remains a historic landmark. Julia Boisseau-Man passed away August 29, 1868 and their daughter Julia Man passed away in 1872. He took the loss of his wife and daughter very hard and became more of a recluse. Ralph Man was always described as a quiet and reticent man who was musical and loved nothing more than a good book in his home.

Man remained in Mansfield for the rest of his life. He was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Mansfield. On June 19, 1874, Man deeded a three acre tract to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church to be used solely as a place of burial.

Ralph Man married Sarah Jane Stephens in 1870. They had four children, Norma Lillian Man-Prichard, Edwin Norton Man, John Man and Roy Stephens Man. Man was again left with the task of raising his motherless children alone when Sarah died November 9, 1880. Ralph Sandiford Man passed away November 18, 1906. He, along with his two wives, four of his children and one granddaughter are buried in the Cumberland Presbyterian section of the Mansfield Cemetery.