James Cary of Brunswick, Maine. Clockmaker, gunsmith, goldsmith, and silversmith.

James Cary Senior and his wife moved to Brunswick, Maine, from Boston, Massachusetts, shortly after the American Revolutionary War. They lived in a house on the corner of Main and Mason Streets. James Senior was the town's first gunsmith.

James Cary Jr. was born in Brunswick, Maine, on July 22, 1790. He is recorded in the horological records as serving an apprenticeship under the Belfast, Maine, Clockmaker Robert Eastman in 1805. In 1806, Eastman moved his shop South to Brunswick, and the two formed a partnership under the name Eastman & Cary. This partnership lasted approximately three years. It is interesting to note that James Cary had only received a single year of training before forming the partnership. He would have been 16 years old. Cary must have been naturally gifted before training with Eastman. Perhaps he worked with his father, the gunsmith. In 1809, Cary bought out his partner and by 1810 was making clocks under his own name at the location his parents purchased when moving to that town. James Cary's business prospered. In his early years, he specialized in making brass movement tall clocks housed in elegant "Roxbury-style" cases. Records show that these clocks cost about eighty dollars. In his later years, Cary became well-known for making small silver spoons. On July 16, 1816, he married Mary Oakman of Pittson, Maine. Ten years later, they built a house at 11 Federal Street. James Jr is well known for training Aaron L. Dennison, who later moved to Boston and worked with Edward Howard. Dennison and Howard invented machines that standardized the production of watch parts in order to mechanize the process of making pocket watches.

James Cary was a prominent Brunswick citizen who served the local community. He died on August 25, 1865, at the age of 75, and is buried in Pine Grove Cemetery.

We have owned a number of clocks made by him. Examples include tall cases, wall timepieces, shelf clocks, and mirror clocks. Today, his clocks are highly prized, particularly by those customers with ties to the great state of Maine.