William Cummens of Roxbury, Massachusetts.

William Cummens was born in 1768 and died in Roxbury, Massachusetts, on April 20, 1834. He was 66 years old. William worked in Roxbury as a clockmaker as early as 1789. He learned clockmaking from Simon Willard. In fact, he was an apprentice in Willard's shop about the same time that Elnathan Taber was training. After serving his apprenticeship, Cummens stayed in Roxbury and worked alongside the Willard clockmaking family for many years. Based on the large number of clocks that have survived, Cummens and the Willards must have had an excellent relationship with one another. In this Roxbury location, Cummens had direct access to the same suppliers, such as case makers and dial painters, that the Willard family used. As a result, his clocks are nearly identical in form. Cummens was one of the first persons authorized by Simon Willard to manufacture Simon Willard's Patented Timepiece. The patent was granted in 1802. Over the past 55-plus years of buying and selling clocks, we have owned and sold a substantial number of tall case clocks, Massachusetts shelf clocks, and wall timepieces signed by this important clockmaker.