Clock Makers
James Doull was born in Scotland in 1785 and immigrated to the United States, Boston, in 1806 at the age of 29. In 1807, he was listed in the Boston tax records as working as a journeyman working for the Boston clockmaker Aaron Willard. This suggests that he came to this country already trained and… read more
Ephraim Downs was born in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, on December 20, 1787, and died in Bristol, Connecticut, on December 8, 1860. He was the son of David and Mary Chatterton Downs and had a brother Anson who was a Carpenter.
Ephraim was known to have made wooden geared tall clock movements as… read more
P.H. (Plimmon Henry) Dudley(1843-1924). Mr. Dudley was a gifted civil and metallurgical engineer whose opinions on these matters were held in high regard and respected by the railroad industry. Concerning clocks in the development of standardizing time, he believed in electronically adjusting or… read more
Joseph N. Dunning was born in Brunswick, Maine, on January 2nd, 1795, and died in Burlington, Vermont, on December 14th, 1841. He was first a journeyman working for Lemuel Curtis in Concord before they formed an informal partnership before 1820. In 1821, they formally advertised their partnership,… read more
Walter Durfee was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on March 23rd, 1857, to Elisha A. and Sarah Law (Allen) Durfee. He died at the age of 82 on August 4th, 1939. He is buried at the Swan Point Cemetery in Providence. Durfee's father ran the Durfee Mill, which made overcoats for the Union Army… read more
David Dutton was born on April 22, 1792, in Wilton, New Hampshire. His parents were Jacob and Rhoda (Dix) Dutton. David married Delinda Saunders of Brookline on December 5, 1813. They had at least three children. The Duttons moved to Mt Vernon before 1814.
In his early life, David worked with… read more
William Dutton is thought to have been born in 1720 and served his apprenticeship under the famous George Graham of London in 1738. He completed his apprenticeship in 1746 when he became a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers. In circa 1750, he became a partner to the famous Thomas… read more
Joseph H. Eastman formed the Eastman Clock Company in 1895 after the failure of the Boston Clock Co. The Eastman Clock Company built a factory in Chelsea, MA. This soon became the factory location for the Chelsea Clock Co., even before the Eastman Clock Company failed only a year after its… read more
Isaiah Eaton was born on October 15th, 1757 in Haverhill, Massachusetts and died in Westminster, Vermont on January 21st 1847. His parents were Captain Timothy Eaton and his first wife Abigail Massey. Isaiah served as a private under James Sawyer in the Revolutionary War and was at Lexington on the… read more
Jonah Edson was born in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, on March 18, 1792, and died in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, on December 7, 1874. He is thought to have been trained as a clockmaker by John Bailey II in Hanover, MA. Edson is recorded as working in both Dighton, Massachusetts, and Bristol… read more
Abraham Edwards is believed to have been born in Concord, Massachusetts, in 1761. His younger brother Calvin was born two years later, in 1763. Both were the sons of Samuel Edwards and Huldah Easterbrook of Concord. The family moved from Concord to Ashby, Massachusetts, sometime in 1777. Ashby was… read more
John B. Edwards was the son of Ashby clockmaker Abraham Edwards. John was born in Ashby, Massachusetts on October 20, 1787. Abraham and first wife, Rebecca, had four children before Rebecca died in 1813. Â The four children are recorded in Ashby:Â Rebecca b. April 1, 1785, John b. Oct. 20, 1787,… read more
Samuel Edwards "Jr." was born on August 18, 1787. He was the first of six children born to Calvin Edwards and Mary (Houghton) Edwards of Ashby, Massachusetts. Samuel's father and uncle Abraham were productive clockmakers. In partnership, they signed their tall clock dials "A & C Edwards." They… read more
Nathaniel Edwards Jr., was born in Acton on September 19, 1770, to Nathaniel and Hannah (Prescott) Edwards. His working dates are listed from 1791 to 1800. Nathaniel worked in his father’s house, which still stands today. It is located at 328 Pope Road, near the Concord line. Very few clocks made… read more
Epes Ellery was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, in 1780. The Ellery family was well connected in this coastal town. His father was a merchant and his uncle, Epes Sargent, owned a significant part of the town property. Sargent’s portrait was painted by John Singleton Copley and displayed in the… read more
John Ellicott II was born into a clockmaking family and became one of the most eminent of English makers. His father, John, was also a clockmaker and a member of the Company of Clockmakers in London. He was made free in 1696. His son, John II, was born in about 1706. He carried on his father's… read more
Reuben was born in 1736 and died in 1785. He was the son Giles Ellsworth and Hanna Stoughton. Reuben married Elizabeth Moore. Ms. Moore was born in 1743 and died in 1798. Reuben had an older Uncle David who was also a clockmaker. David was born in 1709 and lived until 1782. It is logical to assume… read more
William Elvins is listed as working in Baltimore, Maryland. Elvins took out many ads. The first known is in the October 27, 1795, Maryland Journal. At the time, he was on Fell's Street. In 1799, he was listed as working in a shop located at 32 Thames Street. He also took on an apprentice, John Gill… read more
Effingham Embree was born in Flushing, New York, on September 24, 1759. He died of consumption, that is, tuberculosis, on December 3, 1817. He was the son of John and Elizabeth (Lawernce) Embree. He moved to Manhattan to learn the clockmaking trade. By 1774, he may have been training under Thomas… read more
Effingham Embree was born in Flushing, New York, on September 24, 1759. He died of consumption, that is, tuberculosis, on December 3, 1817. He was the son of John and Elizabeth (Lawernce) Embree. He moved to Manhattan to learn the clockmaking trade. By 1774, he may have been training under Thomas… read more