Oliver Gerrish of Portland, Maine.

Oliver Gerrish, watchmaker, clockmaker, silversmith, and jeweler, was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on January 4th, 1796. He was the son of Timothy Gerrish (1756-1815), a gold and silversmith, and Dorothy Paterson (1756-1845). In 1810, at the age of fourteen, he went with and apprenticed to watchmaker John Gaines. Gaines was a descendant of the Gaines family of chairmakers. Oliver served his seven-year apprenticeship and, in 1817, went on to work as a journeyman in Boston. He first worked for Williams and Johnson. Their shop was located at the corner of Washington and Court Streets. Within nine months, Oliver moved on and worked with Baldwin and Jones. By 1819 he moved to Portland, Maine, and opened a jewelers shop on Exchange Street. On January 6th, 1825, he married Sarah Little in Portland, Maine. From 1858-77, he worked in partnership with his nephew, Nathaniel Pearson. Oliver Gerrish was an active member of the Portland community. He served as the President of the Portland Savings Bank and the Mechanics Association and Aged Brotherhood. He was a member of the Board of Trade, The National Historical Society, and the Portland Athenaeum. He was a prominent Mason and held almost every imaginable post in that organization. He was also Secretary and Treasurer of the Relief Fire Society. Oliver died on December 3rd, 1888.