William Elvins was a clockmaker, silversmith, and jeweler. Baltimore, Maryland.

William Elvins is listed as working in Baltimore, Maryland. Elvins took out many ads. The first known is in the October 27, 1795, Maryland Journal. At the time, he was on Fell's Street. In 1799, he was listed as working in a shop located at 32 Thames Street. He also took on an apprentice, John Gill, who was 13 in the same year. In 1801, an advertisement placed him at 4 Fell's Street. He moved several times. In 1801, he was on 10 Bond Street, and in 1802-08, at 12 Fell's Street. In 1805, he took on Charles W. Harding as an apprentice, who left before he served his time. In 1816, Elvins relocated to Fredericktown (later Frederick), Maryland, where he operated William R. Elvins & Co. Clock and Watch Makers on North Market Street. Our last public reference for Elvins is a record of his 1820 marriage to Caroline Bogen, a local Fredericktown woman.

The Baltimore Museum of Art owns a fine Elnins tall clock. A second clock is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA).

Clocks From This Maker

William Elvins, Fells Point, Baltimore, Maryland. An inlaid tall case clock with moon phase dial and eight-day duration brass movement. The case is attributed to the cabinetmaker's partnership of Bankson & Lawson. 223071.
William Elvins, Fells Point, Baltimore, Maryland. An inlaid tall case clock with moon phase dial and eight-day duration brass movement. The case is attributed to the cabinetmaker's partnership of Bankson & Lawson. 223071.
  This impressive 19th-century Federal mahogany tall case clock was made by William Elvins, Fells Point, Baltimore, Maryland. The extensive use of carefully chosen figured mahogany and lavish inlay work suggests that this case was made by the… read more