Seth Thomas (1785 — 1859) was an American
clockmaker
A clockmaker is an artisan who makes and/or repairs clocks. Since almost all clocks are now factory-made, most modern clockmakers only repair clocks. Modern clockmakers may be employed by jewellers, antique shops, and places devoted strictly to ...
and a pioneer of mass production at his
Seth Thomas Clock Company
The Seth Thomas Clock Company was founded by Seth Thomas and began producing clocks in 1813. It was incorporated as the "Seth Thomas Clock Company" in 1853. The company manufactured clock movements for the Self Winding Clock Company from 1886 th ...
.
Biography
Thomas was born in
Wolcott, Connecticut
Wolcott () is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. It is primarily residential, with a population of 16,142 as of the 2020 United States Census.
The town was settled in the 1730s by English settlers of the Connecticut Colony a ...
, in 1785. He was apprenticed as a carpenter and joiner, and worked building houses and barns. He started in the clock business in 1807, working for clockmaker
Eli Terry
Eli Terry Sr. (April 13, 1772 – February 24, 1852) was an inventor and clockmaker in Connecticut. He received a United States patent for a shelf clock mechanism. He introduced mass production to the art of clockmaking, which made clocks a ...
.
Thomas formed a clock-making partnership in
Plymouth, Connecticut
Plymouth is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England. The population was 11,671 at the 2020 census, down from 12,243 at the 2010 census. The town of Plymouth includes the villages of Plymo ...
, with
Eli Terry
Eli Terry Sr. (April 13, 1772 – February 24, 1852) was an inventor and clockmaker in Connecticut. He received a United States patent for a shelf clock mechanism. He introduced mass production to the art of clockmaking, which made clocks a ...
and
Silas Hoadley
Silas Hoadley (1786 – December 28, 1870) was an American clockmaker.
Biography
Hoadley was born in Bethany, Connecticut on January 31, 1786. He was a cousin of the architect and builder David Hoadley. He received little formal education befor ...
as Terry, Thomas & Hoadley.
In 1810, he bought Terry's clock business, making tall clocks with wooden movements, though he chose to sell his partnership in 1812, moving in 1813 to
Plymouth Hollow, Connecticut, where he set up a factory to make metal-movement clocks. In 1817, he added shelf and mantel clocks. By the mid-1840s, he changed over to brass from wooden movements. He made the clock that is used in
Fireman's Hall. He died in 1859, whereupon the company was taken over by his son, Aaron, who added many styles and improvements after his father's death. The company went out of business in 2009.
Death and legacy
Thomas died on January 29, 1859, in Plymouth Hollow, Connecticut, and was interred at the Hillside Cemetery. In 1875, the town's Plymouth Hollow district was renamed
Thomaston in Thomas's memory.
Gallery
Image:Grand Central Terminal clock 2.jpg, The Seth Thomas Clock Company-manufactured clock at Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...
File:Street clock, Bath, Maine.jpg, This Thomas clock was built in Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, , in 1911 and moved to Bath, Maine
Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. The population was 8,766 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County, which includes one city and 10 towns. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its ...
, in 1915Bath Street Clock
– Historical Marker Database
The Historical Marker Database (HMdb.org) is an online database that documents locations of numerous historical markers in the United States as well as other countries. The database was launched in 2006 by computer programmer J. J. Prats.
The HMd ...
References
External links
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1785 births
1859 deaths
American manufacturing businesspeople
American clockmakers
People from Wolcott, Connecticut
People from Plymouth, Connecticut
19th-century American businesspeople
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