Nathaniel Hamlen of Oxford, Augusta, and Sidney, Maine

Nathaniel Hamlen was born in Lebanon, Connecticut, on November 29, 1941. He was the son of Lewis and Experience (Jenkins) Hamlen. It is recorded that he moved to Oxford, Maine, sometime between 1777 and 1780 from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. This would put him in contention as being one of the earliest Maine clockmakers. We know that he made a number of wooden geared clocks while living in Oxford. A clock signed by him is numbered on the dial, "No 7." This clock is now in the collection of the American Clock and Watch Museum in Bristol, Connecticut. In 1797, he was recorded in the Kennebec County Registry of Deeds as a housewright living in Augusta. A year later, in October 1798, he is listed as a clockmaker. Deed transactions in Augusta of 1812 also list him as a clockmaker. A March of 1829 transaction lists him in Sidney, Maine. He died in Sidney on January 19, 1834. 

A very limited number of tall clocks have been recorded. These are constructed with both wooden geared movements and brass geared movements. The brass geared example featured metal plates of cast iron plate formats. A dwarf clock has also been recorded. It is currently in the collection of the Henry Ford Museum and pictured in A Treasury of American Clocks written by Brooks Palmer. We have owned a wooden feared tall clock that was signed on the dial.