The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-04-15
AMERICAS WOODEN CLOCKS.
The Inventors Son Died This Week in
Connecticut.

-
Connecticut.
New HAVEN, CONN, April 12-George
Terry, the New Haven patent attorney,
who died suddenly of apoplexy in his office
Monday night, was son of Eli Terry, the
father of American clock making Mr..
Terry was IS years of age, a graduate of
Yale in 1910. He never married. Among
his surviving classmates are ex-GoV
Charles r. Ingersoll of New Haven, Prof
Hopkin of Yale, Judge Booth of Chicago,
the Rev. DR.. Henry NJ. Goodwin and the
Rev. DR.. Henry M. Dexter. In the class of
40 were also the late President George
Thatcher of Iowa college, and the Rev. Dr.
Lavalette Perrin, who was killed in the
Central hotel explosion at Hartford Mr..
Terry. when a young man, incurred the
displeaslre of his father and was cut off
from his Inheritance with a small
yearly allowance. In his limited patent
business he was very successful
Eli Terry, father OF the deceased attor-
ney, was the founder of what is now the
Seth Thomas Clock Company of Thomas
ton, the largest establishment of the kind in
the world. Eli Terry, with iackknife and
a saw, made the first wooden clock ever
made in America at Terryville, Litchfield
county. He began the business in 1913 In
1900 he employed two young men to help
him. At that time the business was 50 ca
larged that the works for one OF two dozen
clocks were cut out at time before putting
them together Mr.. Terry, when he had a
small stock of clocks ready, would make a
trip to what was then called The New
Country" Just across the lower Hudson
and sell the clocks for about $25 each. That
price was for the movement alone.
In 1907 Mr.. Terry fitted 10 mill with
machinery and took a large contract to
make clocks for Waterbury capitalists. 1t
was then that he began to accumulate his
fortune 1t was a glorious time for him
when in 1893 he began the works for 500
clocks at olce. Previous TO that time the
wheels had been marked out with square
and compass and the teeth cut with a very
fine saw. Mr.. Terry made the patterns and
managed the business, but left mis- worAmen
to do the mechanical parts and went himself
to peddle clocks from house to house. He
oftea carried back to Terryville salt pork
and farm produce in payment for the time
pieces. At that time Mr.. Terry was very
poor, but twenty-five years later he was
worth 5000, 900
The business was sold out in 1910 to Seth
Thomas and Slas Hoadley, two of Terry's
leading mechanics, and Mr.. Terry devoted
himself to invention and improvements
Other concerns sprang up at about this
time, and the price of clocks was reduced
from $25 to $40 and So. The great family
VI dHkee CLOCK pouulerS grew out OF the
competition of the manufacturers, and
with two or three clocks in their saddle
bags they started out to the regions of the
then far west and south.
The business was revolutionized in 1914
by an invention Of Mr.. Terry, a shelf clock
of wood, which superseded the old-fash-
Toned hang-up clock. This clock was
patented and called the "pillar scroll-top
case" Mr.. Terry sold this patent to Seth
Thomas for 81 900. The incomes of Terry
and Thomas at this time were from SIS, 900
500 900 each, and together they made about
1000 clocks year. Terry's inventions
would have made him immensely rich if
he had had proper appreciation Of their
Importance. Seth Thomas was a shrewd
business man, and he made the most of
Terrys talents, pa ying for the patents what
were then large prices, but from those pat
ents he realized the wealth which is now
divided among his descendants. Terry and
his sons began the manufacture of locks
and iron castings, and none of the family
is now in the clock business, which has de-
veloped into one of the greatest industries
of New England and gives support to doz-
ems OF thriving villages.