Philander Noble of Westfield and Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

Philander Noble Inventor, Clockmaker, Silversmith, Moneymaker, and Counterfeiter.

Philander Noble was born on April 20, 1772, in Westfield, Massachusetts, and died there on February 27, 1845, at the age of 72. The small town of Westfield, Massachusetts, had the distinction of being the colony's westernmost settlement for decades after its founding in the seventeenth century. Philander was one of seven children born to Daniel Noble of Westfield and Anna (Norton) Noble of Suffield, Connecticut. (Anna was born on October 31, 1744.) The Noble family tree is somewhat confusing due to its large size. It is recorded that Philander did not like farming and took to and excelled in the trades. We currently do not know who trained Philander as a clockmaker. A possible suspect is Jacob Morse, who worked as a clockmaker in Westfield on Main Street and Broad Street from about 1790 through 1800. A tall clock is recorded as being made by Philander in 1796, which is so dated. This would imply that Philander may have made it when he was 24 years old. He is soon listed as working in Pittsfield, Massachusetts as a clockmaker and as a silversmith. Another clock is known that is signed with Pittsfield as the place location. Philander married twice. His first wife was Naomi Wheeler of Lanesboro, Mass. They were married in 1797. Lanesboro abuts Pittsfield's northern border. Naomi may have died shortly after they were married. Philander married a second time 20 years later to Anna Owen on March 28, 1817. It is during these 20 years that Philander traveled a bit and expanded his interesting set of skills.

It is recorded in Ben Tarnoff's: A Counterfeiter's Paradise. The Wicked Lives and Surprising Adventures of Three American Moneymakers, Philander was an artisan, entrepreneur, and accomplished engraver. His nimble fingers earned him a living as a silversmith, a clockmaker, and as an inventor. In 1800 he invented the machine that was used to grind gun barrels. He complained that his employer at the time had underpaid him and stole the idea and the credit for the invention. Within years, in 1803, Philander moved north to the area of New York, Vermont, and the Canadian border. Here he used his skills engraving copperplates to counterfeit currency in the form of banknotes and cash. In 1807, he was captured in Plymouth, Vermont, for counterfeiting. It was recorded that his skill level was very high. Two years later, he was arrested in Canada for the same offense and was convicted. This new venture must have been profitable for him because he continued in the business. In fact, he is credited with training David Lewis in his new trade, and together, in 1813, they moved to Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. It was not long after his arrival in that town that Philander was arrested and examined on suspicion of being a British spy. (United States vs. Philander N. Noble.) By 1815, Philander returned to Westfield and was listed as a clockmaker. His name is recorded in several federal census records as living in that town. In 1835, he applied for a patent for propelling boats (granted January 20, 1836) with a coil spring that can be wound with one's fingers. It appears that he applied a fusee cone to the going train in order to level out the power of the spring. The patent office found this to have been previously patented in England in1795. They claimed the plan was too absurd to reason about and too contemptible even for ridicule.

Philander remained in Westfield until his death in 1845. Yo my knowledge, less than four of his clocks have come to public market in the last 2 decades.