Complex sentence: Henry and James F. Pitkin were jewelry makers in Hartford, Connecticut in the mid- 1830s before their business failed as a result of the panic of 1837 and they turned their attention to the manufacture of watches.
Split into simpler sentences: Henry and James F. Pitkin were employed in the manufacture of jewelry in Hartford, Connecticut in the mid- 1830s. The Pitkin brothers then turned their attention to the manufacture of watches.