Jonathan Winslow of New Salem, Worcester, Brookfield, Palmer, and Springfield, Massachusetts.

Jonathan Winslow was born in Rochester, Massachusetts, on August 15, 1765. He was the son of Shubael and Azubah (Blogett) Winslow. He is recorded as having moved and worked in several Massachusetts towns, including New Salem, Worcester, Brookfield, Palmer, and Springfield. He married Elizabeth Bailey of Worcester on January 1, 1790. In 1795, he was advertised as a “Brookfield clockmaker.” By 1818, he was advertising in Springfield. Jonathan died in Springfield on July 20, 1847. 

It is thought by some that he served his apprenticeship with the Cheneys in East Hartford, Connecticut, who were primarily wooden works clockmakers. This information is disputed in Philip Morris’s new book, “American Wooden Movement Tall Clocks 1712 - 1835,” due to the lack of similarity in construction styles. We have seen and owned several Winslow dwarf clocks over the last forty-five years. Many of these clocks are die-stamped on the seatboard by the Maker. This case form appears to be the most common form of this Maker’s output. There might be less than a dozen of these dwarf cases pictured in the Horological literature. A similar clock is pictured in “Horology Americana,” written by Lester Dworetsky and Robert Dickstein, on page 28. Another example is pictured in “The American Clock,” written by William H. Distin and Robert Bishop on page 82.