Nathan Hale working in Windsor, Vermont. An inlaid cherry case tall clock. 220107.
Vermont-made tall clocks come to the marketplace infrequently. This is true because so few of them were originally made in the state. Nathan Hale made this attractive and bold example while he was working in Windsor.
This inlaid case is constructed primarily in cherry. The modern shellac finish highlights the unusually strong grain pattern exhibited in the wood and enhances its warm color.
The cherry cabinet is elevated up off the floor on boldly formed ogee bracket feet. These are applied to a double-step molding that is attached to the base. The base panel features vertical graining. The front panel is decorated with a large line inlaid diamond pattern. A scalloped-shaped molding is draped from the lower waist molding. This addition of this molding is a very attractive detail. A tombstone-shaped waist door dominates the waist section of the case. The door is framed with an applied molding. Through this door, one can access the two drive weights and the brass-faced pendulum bob. Fluted quarter columns are fitted into the front corners of the waist. These terminate at both ends in brass quarter capitals. The hood or bonnet features a whale's tail fret pattern. This distinctive shape exhibits good height. All three finial plinths are decorated with a fluted design and support a brass ball spiked finial. The back of the hood is fitted with quarter columns. The side panels feature tomb-stone shaped side lights that are fitted with glass. Fully turned and fluted columns flank the hood door. It is hinged and fitted with glass. It opens to access the dial.
This painted dial was manufactured in America. It is not an import. The four spandrel areas are decorated with lacy gilt patterns. This theme is also used to decorate the lunette. In the center of the lunette is a painted nautical scene. A sailing ship is guided by a lighthouse that stands on a peninsula. The time ring display includes Arabic five-minute markers, a closed mute ring, and Roman-style hour numerals. A subsidiary seconds dial is positioned in its traditional location. The time is displayed or indicated by steel-shaped hands and seconds bit. The Clockmaker's name can be found signed just above the six o'clock hour. It reads in script lettering, "Nathan Hale."
The movement is constructed in brass. The cast brass rectangular-shaped plates are joined by four ring-turned brass posts. The gearing is also brass, and the pinions are hardened steel. The movement is weight driven and designed to run for eight days on a full wind. This mechanism will strike each hour on a bell that is mounted above the plates. The strike train is a rack and snail design. The winding barrels are grooved and accept the weight cord in an orderly fashion. The movement is supported by a seatboard. The pendulum features a metal rod and a brass-faced lead bob.
This clock stands approximately 7 feet 11.75 inches tall to the top of the finials. This case is 21 inches wide and 11.5 inches deep when measured at the feet. It was made circa 1800
Inventory number 220107.
Nathan Hale II was born in Rindge, New Hampshire, on July 1, 1771, the third child of Colonel Nathan and Abigail (Grout) Hale, daughter of Colonel John and Joanna (Boynton) Grout of Lunenburg, MA. Colonel Hale was a founder and a leader in the Village of Rindge, NH. He was a merchant, the first constable in 1768, and the town council president. Nathan Senior served in the Revolutionary War as a captain. On April 20, 1775, he assembled 55 men on the Rindge Common and marched to aid their brethren in Cambridge. He was captured by the British during the Battle of Ticonderoga. He was responsible for the sick and the wounded from the fort and towards Hubbardston. Three days later, during the Battle of Hubbardston, he and the sick and wounded were discovered and taken prisoner by the British on July 7, 1777. His surrender there was the subject of controversy. He was later released on limited parole by the British on the condition that Hale was not allowed to serve in the Army and he had to return to the enemy lines. He returned to Rindge, New Hampshire, on July 20, 1777. Since he was not exchanged, Hale returned to prison on June 14, 1779. Colonel Hale had hoped to be able to exonerate himself after a prisoner exchange. Colonel Nathan Hale died on September 23, 1780, in New Utrecht, Brooklyn, while aboard the British prison hulk moored at New Utrecht, Long Island (now part of Brooklyn). His wife, Abigail, remarried.
It is not definitively known where Nathan II learned to make clocks. One thought is that Nathan served his apprenticeship in Charlestown, New Hampshire, under the instruction of Stephen Hasham. Why Hasham? Nathan's Uncle, Col. Enoch Hale, moved his family from Rindge to Walpole, NH, in 1782. The Colonel knew the colorful Mr. Hasham. Nathan was twenty years old when he returned to Rindge in 1791. That December, Hale first advertises in the Massachusetts Spy that he works in a shop near the meetinghouse in Rindge as a goldsmith and silversmith. This ad also states he has warranted clocks of the best kind and can repair necklaces and buckles. It is also recorded that the ornamental artist Ezra Ames worked for him in Rindge in 1791. Hale advertised again in January of 1792. On August 14, 1793, Nathan married Eunice Raymond (b. August 28, 1778, died November 27, 1794) of Winchendon, MA, in Rindge. Nathan moved from Rindge to Windsor, Vermont 1797. At this time, Windsor, Vermont, was the largest town in the eastern half of the State, with a population above 2,200 persons. In June of 1796, Nathan advertises in the Vermont Journal that he is a clockmaker working in Windsor, Vermont. In 1799, he was married a second time to Ruth Tyler. In 1800, he worked as a merchant in a business located on the "Street." Soon after, he was joined by his brother Harry. The firm was called N. & H. Hale. Soon they opened a second store in the West Parish of Windsor, which Harry ran. On February 2, 1806, Nathan married Sarah Caldwell of Barre, MA. In 1807, Nathan and soon after Harry moved approximately 50 miles north to the town of Chelsea, Vermont, and opened another store. Their business renewed as merchants and millers under the old firm name. About this time, the cabinetmaker Julius Barnard moved to town and purchased a share in a new brick building from Nathan Hale. Julius advertised that he was making tall clock cases. In 1823, Jeremiah Dewey, a clockmaker, moved to town. Nathan was eager to have Phineus Bailey take over his shop and his tools. Nathan retired from N. & H. Hale. Hale became an innkeeper and tavern keeper. He owned a grist mill and accumulated considerable property. Although he was extremely sensitive to his profound deafness, he was fairly active in the community: He was a Captain in the Militia, and after the original contractor for the Chelsea Congregational Church died, the Hales and a Rufus Lathrop finished the building, taking their pay from the sale of pews. The church was dedicated in 1813. Nathan died on January 9, 1849, in Chelsea, VT.
