April 29, 2022
Connecticut Clocks & Clockmakers
This Musing is a brief look at some notable Connecticut Clockmakers. Learn more with William Hosley as he presents Adventures on the Prowl for Connecticut Clocks, May 4, 2022, from 6-8 pm at the Wood Memorial Library & Museum. This free program is presented by the Wood Memorial Library Association and co-sponsored by the Friends of Wood Memorial Library & Museum and the South Windsor Historical Society.
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This presentation is in celebration of the recent acquisition of a Burnap Tall Case Clock by the Wood Memorial Library Trust, owner of the Wood Memorial Library. The presentation will be followed by a reception for all, honoring the Shepard, Raymond and Birden families who made this acquisition possible. Pre-registration is strongly recommended.
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Daniel Burnap (1759-1838)
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"Clocks and clockmaking are one of a handful of industries in which Connecticut achieved national and even international influence. We didn’t produce America’s first clockmakers – but from the outset, Connecticut makers marched to their own beat – developing recognizable styles and eventually applying technological innovations that made their products accessible to a mass audience. The popularity of clocks coincided with changes in the world of work – that made keeping track of time an essential ingredient of success in business, education – even simply arriving to church on time. Thomas Harland, Daniel Burnap, Eli Terry, Seth Thomas, Riley Whiting and Silas Hoadley are among the many clockmakers who brought renown to Connecticut. Their products varied in style and mechanical ingenuity. This program is a survey of one of Connecticut’s most important industries. Several of the key players in the industry called Windsor and East Windsor Hill home". - William Hosley
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| Image of the Burnap Tall Case Clock on display in the upper gallery of Wood Memorial Library & Museum |
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The root of Connecticut's great clockmakers can be traced back to English-born clockmaker Thomas Harland (1735-1807). In 1773, Harland arrived in Norwich, Connecticut from England and set up shop. A year later, fifteen-year-old Daniel Burnap became his apprentice. After learning the craft of clockmaking, Burnap went on to established his own clock business in East Windsor Hill. Then along comes Eli Terry, who would dramatically change the way clocks were made, and make the expensive, status symbol available to the masses.
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Born in East Windsor, Eli Terry apprenticed himself to Burnap at the age of 14, and by the age of 21, had opened his own clockmaking business. Terry changed the course of history by introducing the ideas of mass production and interchangeable parts. Prior to Eli Terry, each clock part had to be made and fitted separately, a time consuming and labor intensive process which made clocks an expensive, luxury item. |
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Seth Thomas (1785 — 1859) |
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Terry passed his skills on to a variety of apprentices, and in 1807, hired Seth Thomas to help build the intricate parts of Terry’s wooden clock movements. Born in Wolcott, Thomas was first a carpenter by trade before apprenticing himself to Terry in 1807. Between 1807 and 1810, Thomas, Terry, and another clockmaker, Silas Hoadley, all became business partners, working together to produce approximately 4,000 clocks. |
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Years later, in 1853, Thomas established the Seth Thomas Clock Company. Thomas automated some of the processes necessary to building a clock's components, thus further "modernizing" the clockmaking industry. Thomas's version of an Eli Terry shelf clock was one of the most popular-selling clocks of the era. These two notable clockmakers, Eli Terry and Seth Thomas, were both honored by having towns in Connecticut named after them, Terryville and Thomaston, respectively. |
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Image is of a replica Seth Thomas shelf clock used for educational programming on display on the main floor of Wood Memorial Library & Museum |
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Sources used for this Musing are listed below.
*Hoopes, Penrose R., Shop Records of Daniel Burnap, Clockmaker, Friends of Wood Memorial Library & Museum online database, object number, 2006.08.005
*Marking Time: Early Connecticut Innovations Transform Clock Making, February 27, 2022
*Seth Thomas Works Around the Clock in Wolcott, October 28, 2020
*Vaughn,Thomas, Eli Terry, Connecticut Clock Maker, New England Historical Society Website *When the World Ran on Connecticut Time, March 1, 2014 Upcoming History Programming Adventures on the Prowl for Connecticut Clocks with William Hosley
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