The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1896-07-04
THE FIRST CLOCK MAKING
SKETCH OF THE RISE AND GROWTH
or THE INDUSTRY.

Some of the Pioneers in the Business That
Has Now Reached Immense Proper
tions.
years since Isaac Doolittle, an original
warden (770 April 16) of Trinity
church, in New Haven. and the most
important man among It's founders, was
a brass founder and maker of the old
time brass wheel clocks. He was
citizen of character and enterprise,
whose mark in his generation was that
of striking originality. Not only did
he supply clocks in the colony, but in
1774 he advertised that he had built a
bell foundry and equipped it for
the casting of bells. In the war of the
revolution he joined jeremiah Atwater
and Elijah Thompson in making gun
powder at Westville, near New Haven,
so much to the discomfort of the Trini-
ty church Tories that from IT'S to 1888
they dropped him from the Office of
warden.
The more extensive modern making
of clocks after new patterns and in
considerable number, began by Eli
Terry, nearly a hundred years since,
and somewhat later by Chauncey Je-
rome and his nephew, Hiram Camp.
| Terry, the father Of wood clock making
by machinery e., wheels of wood to
save the expense of brass-was born in
East Windsor, Conn, 1772, April, and
in 1898 began, in g. small way, clock
making at Plymouth, Conn. In 1907 he
bought an old mill and fitted it up to
makes clocks by machinery. The next
year he began 500 clocks at once, a
thing never before ventured. In 1910
he sold his works to Seth Thomas and
Silas Hoadley, and Thomas developed
pom this foundation very large bus
mess. Terry invented 1914, style of
clock called pillar scroll top case. and,
selling right to Thomas for $1,000,
they each made about 5000 year, at
SIS apiece, and later 10000 to 10000 a
year-each clearing by 1926 about $780,,
900 from the manufacture.
Chauncey Jerome, under whom clock
making was to become worldwide
| interest, worked for Terry in the winter
of 1916, and the next spring, when his
| job was finished, began for himself,
and effected that year his first great
| sale-twelve wood clocks for $144 in
cash. In the winter and spring of 1921
| % he secured a shop in Bristol. Conn,
and in the fall of 1926 formed COM
| pany, which in 1926, built small fac
| tory. The same year Jeromes device
| of what he called the bronze looking
glass clock made an epoch In the trade,
many pushing into the business, and
large profits resulting, from 1927 to 1887;
after which the great development was
his device of a one day clock---i. e., a
| simple clock with wheels of brass in
stead of wood--the idea Of which he
worked out early in 1883. The zinc dial
| instead of wood was first introduced
| with this precursor of cheap clocks.
After reaching 1871. success represented
| by $4,000 pHofits in one year, Jerome
| started an English agency in London,
| 1912, against prejudice which at first
| absolutely barred making any sales at
| all, until a merchant was induced to
permit two clocks to be left with him,
and finding that they sold at once, al
lowed four more to take their chance,
/ and then twelve more, thus initiating a
trade which, in ten years, reached
S150,000 a year, a profit of $4,000. AS
soon as the English business was under
way the revenue officials, in view of the
low price at which the clocks were i'm
| voiced took a couple of cargoes, at the
10 per cent. advance which they had
| the option of giving, to take what
! ever came in, but did not NEEDLE fur
| Their with the American clock invasion
| In 1S43 Jerome's works at Bristol
grew to extensive proportions by the
| addition Of two large factories, fitted
with machinery and tools for making
brass movements. and the next year
1874 he started factory in New Ha-