Heman Clark.

Heman Clark was born in 1783, the son of Jehiel and Patience (Sanford) Clark near West Haven. He was the third of ten children. Four of his brothers grew to become involved in the clock industry in some manner. He died in 1838. He learned to make clocks under the instruction of Eli Terry. Clark was probably 14 when he started in 1797. He was Terry's only known apprentice who learned brass and wooden geared clockmaking. In 1804, he joined Terry in a partnership under the name of Terry & Clark. This was located in Plymouth. In 1807, Heman purchased Terry's prototype production factory in Niagara. He continued business there until about 1809 when he built a new shop about a mile or more southwest in Plymouth Hallow, now Thomaston. In 1813, he sold this building, land, machinery, and tools to Seth Thomas for $1,500. In 1817, Clark built his third clock shop. This one is designed to make clocks with brass movements rather than wooden ones. He operated here until he quit the business in 1825. Clark worked under his own name. He focused on brass movement clocks. The earliest was made in Plymouth Hollow, now Thomaston. These brass movement clocks were eight-day examples. Several other makers also became involved, and most of the work was centralized around SalemBridge. It is from this village that this movement gets its name. Miles Morse joined Clark in 1818-1821. Many of those clocks were signed on the dial Miles Morse & Co. or M. Morse & Co. Heman Clark stopped making clocks in 1825. Examples of his work can be challenging to find. The Pillar & Scroll version is often the most desirable form today.