Effingham Embree clockmaker, watchmaker, jeweler, land speculator.

Effingham Embree was born in Flushing, New York, on September 24, 1759. He died of consumption, that is, tuberculosis, on December 3, 1817. He was the son of John and Elizabeth (Lawernce) Embree. He moved to Manhattan to learn the clockmaking trade. By 1774, he may have been training under Thomas Pearsall. He served in the New York Militia before the British Occupied New York in 1776, and in 1781, Effingham and Thomas Pearsall were conducting a watch-making business together. This connection may have been made as a result of Effingham's older brother marrying John and Thomas Pearsall's sister. In 1781, the shop moved to the corner of Beekman's Slip. By 1789, Effingham was in business for himself, making clocks and watches and selling jewelry from his shop at 185 Pearl Street (named Queen Street during the British occupation). Effingham married his first cousin, Mary (Lawrence), in December of 1780. In 1796, he ended his clockmaking career, selling his business to Stephen Van Wyke, and moved back to Flushing. In 1817 purchased a large, valuable tract of land in lower Manhattan, which extended from Grand Street to below Franklin Street and from Broadway to Trinity Church. Embree served as a trustee.

Distinctive cases. We have seen a Henry Mitchell tall clock in the same case form.