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Title: Early American Scientific Instruments and Their Makers
Author: Bedini, Silvio A.
Language: English
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SMITHSONIAN
INSTITUTION
[Illustration]
UNITED STATES
NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 231
WASHINGTON, D.C.
1964
Publications of the United States National Museum
The scholarly publications of the United States National Museum include
two series, _Proceedings of the United States National Museum_ and
_United States National Museum Bulletin_.
In these series are published original articles and monographs dealing
with the collections and work of the Museum and setting forth newly
acquired facts in the fields of anthropology, biology, geology, history,
and technology. Copies of each publication are distributed to libraries
and scientific organizations and to specialists and others interested in
the various subjects.
The _Proceedings_, begun in 1878, are intended for the publication, in
separate form, of shorter papers. These are gathered in volumes, octavo
in size, with the publication date of each paper recorded in the table
of contents of the volume.
In the _Bulletin_ series, the first of which was issued in 1875, appear
longer, separate publications consisting of monographs (occasionally in
several parts) and volumes in which are collected works on related
subjects. _Bulletins_ are either octavo or quarto in size, depending on
the needs of the presentation. Since 1902 papers relating to the
botanical collections of the Museum have been published in the
_Bulletin_ series under the heading _Contributions from the United
States National Herbarium_.
FRANK A. TAYLOR,
_Director, United States National Museum_.
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents,
U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C., 20402--Price $1.00 (Paper Cover)
[Illustration: Frontispiece.--"Washington as a Surveyor." Engraving
reproduced from Washington Irving's _Life of George Washington_ (New
York: 1857, vol. 1).]
EARLY AMERICAN
SCIENTIFIC
INSTRUMENTS
_and Their Makers_
SILVIO A. BEDINI
_Curator of Mechanical
and Civil Engineering_
MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
WASHINGTON, 1964
Contents
Page
Acknowledgments ix
Preface xi
THE TOOLS OF SCIENCE 3
Philosophical and Practical Instruments 3
The Need for Instruments 6
Colonial Training in Instrument Making 8
THE MATHEMATICAL PRACTITIONERS 15
The Rittenhouse Brothers 15
Andrew Ellicott 19
Owen Biddle 21
Benjamin Banneker 22
Joel Baily 24
Reverend John Prince 24
Amasa Holcomb 26
INSTRUMENTS OF METAL 27
Pre-Revolutionary Immigrant Makers 27
Post-Revolutionary Immigrant Makers 30
Native American Makers 33
New Hampshire 34
Vermont 34
Massachusetts 36
Rhode Island 43
Connecticut 45
Ohio 49
New York 51
New Jersey 53
Delaware 54
Maryland and Virginia 54
Pennsylvania 58
INSTRUMENTS OF WOOD 65
The Use of Wood 65
Surviving Instruments 69
Compass Cards 75
Trade Signs 75
The Makers 80
Joseph Halsy 80
James Halsy II 84
Thomas Greenough 85
William Williams 93
Samuel Thaxter 97
John Dupee 104
Jere Clough 105
Andrew Newell 106
Aaron Breed 107
Charles Thacher 107
Benjamin King Hagger 109
Benjamin Warren 112
Daniel Burnap 117
Gurdon Huntington 118
Jedidiah Baldwin 123
Thomas Salter Bowles 124
THE NEW ERA 130
THE NATIONAL COLLECTION 131
Appendix 153
Surviving Wooden Surveying Compasses 153
Mathematical Practitioners and
Instrument Makers 155
Bibliography 172
Index 177
Acknowledgments
The writer wishes to acknowledge his great indebtedness to the various
compilations relating to clockmakers and instruments which have been
consulted in the preparation of this work, and which have provided an
invaluable basis for it.
He is especially grateful for the generous and interested assistance of
the many who have cooperated in making this work possible. Particular
credit must be given to Mrs. H. Ropes Cabot of the Bostonian Society;
Mrs. Mary W. Phillips of the Department of Science and Technology of the
U.S. National Museum; Prof. Derek J. de Solla Price, Avalon Professor of
the History of Science at Yale University; Mr. Stephen T. Riley,
Director of the Massachusetts Historical Society; and Mr. Charles E.
Smart of Troy, New York.
Preface
Within recent years fairly exhaustive studies have been made on many
aspects of American science and technology. For example, there have been
numerous works relating to clocks and clockmakers, so that the collector
and horological student have a number of useful sources on which to
rely. More recently there has been a series of publications on the
development of American tools and their makers. Until now, however, no
systematic study has been attempted of the scientific instruments used
in the United States from its colonial beginnings. While several useful
regional lists of instrument makers in early America have been compiled
from advertisements in contemporary newspapers and published as short
articles, these, however, are fragmentary, and are inadequate to the
need for documentation in this field.
With the rapidly growing interest in the history of science, it becomes
necessary to have a more complete background for the student and the
historian alike. It is desirable to have a more comprehensive picture of
the work of the scientific practitioners of the earlier periods of
American scientific development, and of their tools. At the same time it
is essential to have a history of the development and distribution and
use of scientific instruments by others than the practitioners and
teachers. The role of the instrument maker in the American Colonies was
an important one--as it was in each epoch of the history of science in
Europe--and it deserves to be reported.
To make a comprehensive study of American scientific instruments and
instrument makers in the American Colonies is no simple matter, partly
because of an indifference to the subject in the past, and partly
because of the great volume of sources that must be sifted to accomplish
it. Such a project would require an organized search of all published
reference works relating to the field and associated topics, of all
contemporary newspapers for advertisements and notices, of civil records
filed in state and community archives, of business account-books and
records that have been preserved, and of business directories of the
period under consideration. In addition, such a study would require the
compilation of an inventory of all surviving instruments in private and
public collections, and a correlation of all the data that could be
assembled from these sources.
The present study attempts only in part to accomplish this aim, being no
more than a preliminary compilation of the scientific instruments known
to have been used during the first two centuries of American colonial
existence. It merely attempts to assemble all the data that is presently
available in scattered sources, and to organize it in a usable form for
the student and historian of American science. A supplement relating to
19th-century instruments and instrument makers is in progress.
The most that is hoped for the present work is that it will be of
temporary assistance, serving to bring forth additional information on
the subject from sources not previously available or known.
_February 1, 1964_ S.A.B.
EARLY AMERICAN
SCIENTIFIC
INSTRUMENTS
_and Their Makers_
_The Tools of Science_
Philosophical and Practical Instruments
Development of the sciences in the American Colonies was critically
dependent upon the available tools--scientific instruments--and the men
who made and used them. These tools may be separated into two groups.
The first group consists of philosophical instruments and scientific
teaching apparatus produced and employed for experimentation and
teaching in educational institutions. The second includes the so-called
"mathematical instruments" of practical use, which were employed by
mathematical practitioners and laymen alike for the mensural and
nautical needs of the Colonies. It is particularly with this second
group that the present study is concerned.
It has been generally assumed that scientific instruments, as well as
the instrument makers, of the first two centuries of American
colonization were imported from England, and that the movement declined
by the beginning of the 19th century with the development of skilled
native craftsmen.[1] This assumption is basically true for those
instruments grouped under philosophical and scientific apparatus for
experimentation and teaching. Almost all of these items were in fact
imported from England and France until well into the 19th century.
Likewise, the very earliest examples of mathematical instruments for
surveying and navigation in the Colonies were imported with the settlers
from England. It was not long after the establishment of the first
settlements, however, that the settlers, and later the first generation
of native Americans, began to produce their own instruments. Records
derived from historical archives and from the instruments themselves
reveal that a considerable number of the instruments available and used
in the Colonies before 1800 were of native production. Apparently,
relatively few instrument makers immigrated to the American continent
before the end of the Revolutionary War. Later, with the beginning of
the 19th century, makers of and dealers in instruments in England and
France became aware of the growing new market, and emigrated in numbers
to establish shops in the major cities of commerce in the United States.
Quite possibly the few instrument makers trained in England who
immigrated to the Colonies in the early epoch of Colonial development
may have in turn trained others in their communities, although no
evidence has yet been found. Perhaps more data on this aspect of the
subject will eventually come to light.
There is reason to believe that a few mathematical practitioners and
instrument makers lived and worked in the New England colonies as early
as the first century of colonization.
The evidence, frankly meager, consists of two items. The first is a
reference relating to James Halsie of Boston. In a land deed made out to
him in 1674 he was referred to as a "Mathematician."[2] Halsie was
listed as a freeman of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1690. He
apparently was the forbear of the several members of the Halsy family of
instrument makers of Boston of the 18th century, mentioned later in this
study. It is uncertain whether the use of the term "mathematician" in
this connection meant an artisan, but if not it may be inferred that
Halsie was a practitioner.
The second piece of evidence is even more slender; it consists of an
inscription upon a dialing rule (fig. 1) for making sundials and charts.
The instrument is of cast brass, 20-7/16 inches long and 1-11/16 inches
wide. The date "1674" is inscribed on the rule together with the name of
its original owner, "Arthur Willis." The instrument almost certainly was
produced by the school of Henry Sutton, the notable English instrument
maker who worked in Threadneedle Street in London from about 1637
through 1665. The name and date inscriptions are consistent and
contemporary with the workmanship of the rule, and were probably
inscribed by the maker for the original owner. It is conceivable that
Arthur Willis was an Englishman and that the rule was brought into this
country even in relatively recent times. However, it is claimed that the
rule was owned and used by Nathaniel Footes, surveyor of Springfield,
Massachusetts. Nathaniel Footes, believed to have been originally from
Salem, subsequently moved from Springfield to Wethersfield, Conn. The
instrument was later owned and used in Connecticut not later than the
early 19th century[3] by the forbears of Mr. Newton C. Brainard of
Hartford, Connecticut. If records relating to Willis as a resident of
the New England colonies can be recovered, it may then be possible to
establish whether he worked in the Colonies as a mathematical
practitioner in the 17th century. His name is included on a tentative
basis.
[Illustration: Figure 1.--Dialing rule made of brass and inscribed with
the name "Arthur Willis" and the date "1674." Allegedly used by
Nathaniel Footes, surveyor of Springfield, Massachusetts. Photo courtesy
Newton C. Brainard, Hartford, Connecticut, and the Connecticut
Historical Society.]
The Need for Instruments
The production and use of scientific instruments in the American
Colonies reflected colonial development in education and in territorial
and economic expansion, and closely paralleled the same development in
England, where the first mathematical practitioners were the teachers of
navigational and commercial arithmetic and the surveyors employed in the
redistribution of land following the dissolution of the monasteries. As
the communities became established and the settlers gained a foothold on
the soil, their attention naturally turned to improving their lot by
expanding the land under cultivation and by trading their products for
other needs. The growth of the communities became increasingly rapid
from the end of the 17th century, and the land expansion closely
paralleled the development of trade. The educational institutions placed
greater emphasis on the sciences as their curriculums developed.
Particularly there was a greater preoccupation with the sciences on the
part of the layman because of the need for knowledge of surveying and
navigation.
The colonial school curriculum was accordingly designed from the
practical point of view to emphasize practical mathematics, and there
was an increasing demand for instruction in all aspects of the subject.
One of the earliest advertisements of this nature appeared in _The
Boston Gazette_ in March 1719. In the issue of February 19 to March 7
the advertisement stated that:
This day Mr. Samuel Grainger opens his school at the House formerly
Sir Charles Hobby's, where will be taught Grammar Writing after a
free and easy manner in all the usual Hands, Arithmetick in a
concise and Practical Method, Merchants Accompts, and the
Mathematicks.
He hopes that more thinking People will in no wise be discouraged
from sending their children thither, on the account of the reports
newly reviv'd, because these dancing Phaenomena's were never seen
nor heard of in School Hours.
The advertisement was further amplified in its second appearance, in the
issue of March 21-22, 1719:
At the house formerly Sir Charles Hobby's are taught grammar,
writing, after a free & easy manner in all hands usually practiced,
Arithmetick Vulgar and Decimal in a concise and Practical Method,
Merchants Accompts, Geometry, Algebra, Mensuration, Geography,
Trigonometry, Astronomy, Navigation and other parts of the
Mathematicks, with the use of the Globes and other Mathematical
Instruments, by Samuel Grainger.
They whose business won't permit 'em to attend the usual School
Hours, shall be carefully attended and Instructed in the Evenings.
R. F. Seybold[4] has noted that: "In advertisements of 1753 and 1754,
John Lewis, of New York City, announced 'What is called a New Method of
Navigation, is an excellent Method of Trigonometry here particularly
applied to Navigation; But it is of great use in all kinds of measuring
and in solving many Arithmetical Questions.' James Cosgrove, of
Philadelphia, in 1755, taught 'geometry, trigonometry, and their
application in surveying, navigation, etc.,' and Alexander Power, in
1766, 'With their Application to Surveying, Navigation, Geography, and
Astronomy'." These subjects were featured also in the evening schools of
the colonial period, maintained by private schoolmasters in some of the
larger communities for the education of those who could not attend
school in the daytime.
According to Seybold, surveying and navigation were the most popular
mathematical subjects taught. Some explanation is to be derived from the
statement by Schoen[5] that: "In the days when the 'bounds' of great
wilderness tracts were being marked off by deep-cut blazes in the trees
along a line, a knowledge of land surveying was a useful skill, and many
a boy learned its elements by following the 'boundsgoer' in his work of
'running the line.' And those who did not actually take part in running
the line must have attended many a gay springtime 'processioning' when
neighbors made a festive occasion out of 'perambulating the bounds'."
"Vague land grants and inaccurate surveys," he adds, "made the subject
of boundary lines a prime issue in the everyday life of colonial homes."
At the same time there was interest in the other aspects of the
mathematical sciences. As early as 1743, for instance, a Harvard
mathematician named Nathan Prince advertised in Boston that if he were
given "suitable Encouragement" he would establish a school to teach
"Geography and Astronomy, With the Use of the Globes, and the several
kinds of Projecting the Sphere" among other things.[6] A decade later,
Theophilus Grew, professor in the academy at Philadelphia which has
become the University of Pennsylvania, published a treatise on globes,
with the title:
_The Description_ and _Use_ of the _Globes_, Celestial and
Terrestrial; With Variety for _Examples_ for the Learner's
_Exercises_: Intended for the Use of Such Persons as would attain
to the Knowledge of those _Instruments_; But Chiefly designed for
the _Instruction_ of the young _Gentlemen_ at the _Academy_ in
Philadelphia. To which is added Rules for working all the Cases in
Plain and Spherical Triangles without a Scheme. By _Theophilus
Grew_, Mathematical Professor. Germantown, Printed by Christopher
Sower, 1753.[7]
Thus, the need for practical mathematical instruments for the surveyor
and navigator became critical in proportion to the need for men to make
and use them, and it is not surprising to discover that the majority of
the instruments produced and advertised by early American makers were
for surveying, with nautical instruments in second place. Generally, the
surveyors were not professionals; they were farmers, tradesmen, or
craftsmen with a sound knowledge of basic arithmetic and occasionally
with some advanced study of the subject as taught in the evening
schools. The surveying of provincial and intercolonial boundaries
required greater skill, however, as well as a knowledge of astronomy,
and this work was relegated to the scientific men of the period.
As the increasing preoccupation with subdivision of land and with
surveying led to a greater demand for suitable instruments, it was the
skilled craftsmen of the community, such as the clockmaker and the
silversmith, that were called upon to produce them. Superb examples also
were produced by the advanced scientific men, or "mathematical
practitioners," of the period.
Colonial Training in Instrument Making
One may well ask, where did these native craftsmen acquire the knowledge
that enabled them to produce so skillfully the accurate and often
delicate mathematical instruments? There were a number of possible
sources for this knowledge. The first source lies in England, where some
of these craftsmen could have studied or served apprenticeships. After
completing their apprenticeship with English mathematical practitioners,
they may have immigrated to the Colonies and taught the craft to others.
This seems to be entirely plausible, and was probably true, for example,
of Thomas Harland the clockmaker, Anthony Lamb, and perhaps several
others. However, these were the exceptions instead of the rule, since a
biographical study of the instrument makers in general reveals that they
were for the most part native to America. It is not likely that the one
or two isolated practitioners that had been trained in England could
have taught so many others who worked in the same epoch.
[Illustration: Figure 2.--Title page of _The Surveyor_ by Aaron
Rathborne, published in London in 1616. The book was one of the sources
of information for American makers of mathematical instruments.]
Another source for this knowledge of instrument making was probably the
reference works on the subject that had been published in England and in
France. As an example, Nicolas Bion's _Traitè de la Construction et des
Principaux Usages des Instruments de Mathematique_, which had been first
published in 1686, was translated into English by Edmund Stone in 1723,
and went into several English editions. Copies of this work in English
undoubtedly found their way to America soon after publication. Other
popular works were Aaron Rathbone's _The Surveyor_, which appeared in
London in 1616 (see fig. 2); William Leybourn's _The Compleat Surveyor_,
in 1653; and George Atwell's _Faithfull Surveyour_, in 1662. Other works
popular in the Colonies were R. Norwood's _Epitome, or The Doctrine of
Triangles_ (London, 1659) and J. Love's _Geodasia, or the Art of
Surveying_ (London, 1688).
These works undoubtedly inspired similar publications in America, for
many books on surveying and navigation appeared there before the
beginning of the 19th century. Chief among them were S. Moore's _An
Accurate System of Surveying_ (Litchfield, Conn., 1796), Z. Jess's _A
Compendious System of Practical Surveying_ (Wilmington, 1799), Abel
Flint's _Surveying_ (Hartford, 1804), and J. Day's _Principles of
Navigation and Surveying_ (New Haven, 1817).
The published works were unquestionably responsible for much of the
training in the making of mathematical instruments in America, although
no documentary evidence has yet been recovered to prove it.
Another important influence on early American instrument-making which
must be noted was that of the clockmaker as an artisan. A comprehensive
study of surviving instruments and related records has revealed that
only a few of the many clockmakers working in the American Colonies in
the 18th century made mathematical instruments. Yet, a large proportion
of the surviving surveying and nautical instruments produced before 1800
were the work of clockmakers. Classic among these must be noted the
instruments produced by the brothers David and Benjamin Rittenhouse (see
p. 15 and figs. 3 and 4), as well as the fine surveying instruments made
by four separate members of the Chandlee family, whose clockmaking
traditions began early in the 17th century (see p. 54).
[Illustration: Figure 3.--Transit telescope made by David Rittenhouse
and used by him for the observation of the transit of Venus in 1769.
Brass, 33-1/2-in. tube on a 25-in. axis, with an aperture of 1-3/4 in.
and a focal length of 32 in. Photo courtesy the American Philosophical
Society.]
[Illustration: Figure 4.--Surveying compass marked "Potts and
Rittenhouse." Believed to be the work of David Rittenhouse in
partnership with Thomas Potts. Photo courtesy the American Philosophical
Society.]
Finally, one must not overlook the fact that examples of English and
other European instruments were available in the Colonies, and that at
least some of the early colonial makers undoubtedly copied them. It is
apparent from some surviving early American instruments that the
materials, designs, dimensions, and details of European prototypes had
been deliberately copied. It is possible to see in public collections,
for instance, a Davis quadrant of English manufacture exhibited beside a
later example, signed by a New England maker, which comes
extraordinarily close to duplicating it in every feature.
As with the presumed influence of published works, the practice of
copying imported instruments cannot be documented, but it must have been
engaged in by many of the unschooled New England instrument makers. By
this means some may even have profited to the degree that they became
professional craftsmen without benefit of formal apprenticeship.
Yet it is remarkable that although numerous instruments were produced by
native artisans, in addition to the substantial number which were
imported before the end of the 18th century, relatively few specimens
have survived in public collections as well as in private hands. Despite
the exhaustive combing of attics and barns throughout the country by
dealers in antiques and by avid collectors during the past several
decades, the number of surviving instruments now known is incredibly
small in comparison with the numbers known to have been made locally or
imported before the beginning of the 19th century. Since instruments are
not items which would ordinarily be deliberately discarded or destroyed,
or melted down for the recovery of the metal, this small percentage of
survival presents a puzzle which has not been resolved.
[Illustration: Figure 5.--David Rittenhouse. Engraving from portrait by
Charles Wilson Peale.]
_The Mathematical Practitioners_
The Rittenhouse Brothers
Notable among the American practitioners was David Rittenhouse
(1732-1796) of Norristown and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who was
established as a clockmaker and surveyor in Philadelphia by 1749. He
surveyed the boundary between Pennsylvania and Delaware in 1763 with
instruments of his own design and construction. Six years later, in
1769, he successfully calculated the transit of Venus and later
observed that planet with astronomical instruments he had constructed
himself. In the following year, 1770, he built the first American
astronomical observatory, in Philadelphia. Two orreries that he designed
and built--at the University of Pennsylvania and at Princeton
University--survive as outstanding examples of American craftsmanship.[8]
Several of his surveying and astronomical instruments are exhibited in the
collections of the U.S. National Museum. David Rittenhouse is credited
with being the originator of a declination arc on the surveying compass,
a feature to be copied by a number of later instrument makers.
David's brother, Benjamin Rittenhouse (1740-c.1820), served in the
Revolution and was wounded at Brandywine. He superintended the
Government's gunlock factory at Philadelphia in 1778 and achieved
recognition as a maker of clocks and surveying instruments (see fig.
8).[9] During one period of his career he worked in partnership with his
brother David. An interesting advertisement appeared in the May 14,
1785, issue of _The Pennsylvania Packet_:
WANTED, An ingenious Lad not exceeding 14 years of age, of a
reputable family, as an Apprentice to learn the Art and Mistery of
making Clocks and Surveying Instruments. Any lad inclining to go an
apprentice to the above Trade, the terms on which he will be taken
may [be] known by enquiring of Mr. David Rittenhouse, in
Philadelphia, or at the subscriber's house in Worcester township,
Montgomery county. Benjamin Rittenhouse.
[Illustration: Figure 6.--Astronomical clock made by David Rittenhouse
for his observatory at Norristown, Pa., and used by him for the
observation of the transit of Venus in 1769. Unembellished pine case
83-1/2 in. high, 13-1/4 in. wide at the waist with a silvered brass dial
10-5/8 in. diameter. Photo courtesy the American Philosophical Society.]
[Illustration: Figure 7.--Orrery built by David Rittenhouse for the
University of Pennsylvania. The center section shows the motions of the
planets and their satellites and the right-hand section the eclipses of
the Sun and Moon. The case, considered to be an outstanding example of
colonial cabinet-work, was made by John Folwell.]
[Illustration: Figure 8.--Brass surveying compass inscribed "Made by
Benjamin Rittenhouse, 1787." Photo courtesy Ohio State Museum, Columbus,
Ohio.]
[Illustration: Figure 9.--Portrait of Andrew Ellicott (1754-1820) by
unknown artist.]
Andrew Ellicott
A name closely associated with that of the Rittenhouse brothers was that
of Andrew Ellicott (1754-1820) of Solebury, Pennsylvania, and Ellicotts
Mills, Maryland. Andrew was the son of Joseph Ellicott, the clockmaker
and pioneer industrialist who founded Ellicotts Mills. Although a
Quaker, Andrew (fig. 9) served in the Revolution, and he became one of
the most distinguished engineers of the new republic. He worked as a
clockmaker and instrument maker from 1774 to 1780. In 1784 he ran the
boundary between Virginia and Pennsylvania and in the following year he
was a member of the survey that continued Mason and Dixon's line. In
1785 and 1786 he served on the Pennsylvania commissions that surveyed
the western and northern boundaries of the state, and in 1789 he served
on the commission that fixed the boundary between New York and
Pennsylvania. Between 1791 and 1793 he surveyed the site of the city of
Washington, D.C., and redrew L'Enfant's plan for the city.
In early 1793 Ellicott was appointed commissioner by the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania for the project of viewing and locating a road from Reading
to Presque Isle, now Erie. It was an extremely difficult undertaking,
but Ellicott completed the work by the autumn of 1796, including laying
out the towns of Erie, Warren, and Franklin.
In May 1796 Ellicott was commissioned by President Washington to survey
and mark the boundary line between the United States and the Spanish
Province of Florida in accordance with the provisions of the
Pinkney-Godoy Treaty of October 27, 1795. This line was to begin at the
point where the 31st parallel of north latitude intersected the
Mississippi River, and to proceed thence along that parallel eastward to
the Appalachicola River for about 400 miles.
In 1801 Ellicott was offered the position of surveyor general of the
United States by President Jefferson. Ellicott declined, but
subsequently accepted the secretaryship of the land office of
Pennsylvania, a post he held until 1808.
In 1811 Ellicott became commissioner to represent Georgia in locating
the Georgia-North Carolina boundary, a project on which he was engaged
for the major part of the following year.
In 1815 President Madison appointed Ellicott professor of mathematics at
West Point, with the rank of major. This is an appointment he kept until
his death in 1820. It was interrupted in 1817 when the Government
required his services as astronomer to locate a portion of the United
States-Canadian boundary in accordance with the fifth article of the
Treaty of Ghent.
[Illustration: Figure 10.--Transit and equal-altitude instrument (left)
made by Ellicott in 1789 and used by him in the survey of the boundary
between the United States and Florida and in other surveys. USNM
152080.]
[Illustration: Figure 11.--Zenith sector with focal length of 6 ft.,
made by David Rittenhouse and revised by Andrew Ellicott. Described in
_Journal of Andrew Ellicott_ (Philadelphia, 1803). USNM 152078.]
Ellicott was a member of a number of learned societies, including the
American Philosophical Society, the Society for the Promotion of Useful
Arts of Albany, and of the National Institute of France.
Ellicott constructed a number of instruments for surveying and
astronomical observation, and he designed and used others that were
produced by his friend David Rittenhouse[10] (see figs. 10, 11). Of
particular interest in connection with Ellicott's career as a clockmaker
and instrument maker are two advertisements that appeared in the
Baltimore newspapers. The first one was in the _Maryland Journal and
Baltimore Daily Advertiser on April 7, 1778_:
Ellicott's Upper Mills, April 4, 1778. Wanted, a person acquainted
with the Clock-Making business, and able to work by directions.
Such a person will meet with good encouragement by applying to
Andrew Ellicott, sen.
The second advertisement, in the same vein, appeared in the May 16,
1780, issue of the _Maryland Journal_:
Good Encouragement will be given to either Clock or Mathematical
instrument makers, by the subscriber, living in Baltimore-Town.
Andrew Ellicott.
Owen Biddle
Another mathematical practitioner associated with David Rittenhouse in
his observations of the transit of Venus was Owen Biddle (1737-1799) of
the North Ward, Philadelphia.
In early life Biddle was an apothecary and a clock and watchmaker. In
his shop "next door to Roberts warehouse" he sold clock and watch parts
and tools. From 1764 to 1770 he advertised himself as "Clockmaker, and
scientist, statesman and patriot." As a Quaker, he participated actively
in civic and patriotic affairs of Philadelphia. During the American
Revolution, in spite of his religious affiliation, he fought for the
defense of the Colonies and was appointed Deputy Commissioner of Forage.
Evidencing sincere repentance, he was permitted to rejoin the Society of
Friends.
In 1769 Biddle took an active part in the preparations made by the
American Philosophical Society for the observation of the transit of
Venus. With Joel Baily he was sent to Cape Henlopen, Delaware, with a
large reflecting telescope borrowed from the Library Company. The
expedition was described in the _Transactions of the American
Philosophical Society_ in 1771 in an article entitled "An Account of the
Transit of Venus, over the Sun's Disk, as observed near Cape Henlopen,
on Delaware Bay, June 3rd, 1769 by Owen Biddle, Joel Baily and (Richard
Thomas) Drawn by Owen Biddle." In addition to his trade in clocks and
watches, Biddle also made mathematical instruments and was well known in
his native city as a merchant, inventor, and ironmaster.
Benjamin Banneker
A name that is too often ignored in the history of science in colonial
America is that of a free Negro, Benjamin Banneker (c. 1734-1806) of
Baltimore. A farmer by occupation, Banneker was the son of a native
African slave and a free mulatto woman. In his spare time he attended
the school of a Quaker farmer; the only book he owned was the Bible.
When he was a young man he acquired a watch from a trader, and from it
he developed his love of science and instruments. Although he had never
seen a clock, he constructed one based on drawings he made from the
watch. Banneker was called upon to assist in the construction of the
mills for the Ellicotts, and it was natural that his clock, which was
the marvel of the Negro settlement, should come to the attention of
Joseph Ellicott. Ellicott became interested in Banneker's thirst for
knowledge and allowed him the use of his tools, scientific instruments,
and technical books. Among the books were Mayer's _Tables_, James
Ferguson's _Astronomy_, and Leadbeater's _Lunar Tables_. Banneker
absorbed these and other works that he borrowed and went on to explore
the wonderful new world they opened up for him. He pursued astronomical
studies, and within three years he began to make calculations (fig. 12)
for an almanac. After completing the calculations for the year 1791, he
went on to produce a set of calculations for 1792. During this period he
mastered the use of surveying instruments and made a firsthand study of
tides in the region. His great opportunity came when Andrew Ellicott was
chosen to make a survey for the city of Washington and hired Banneker as
an assistant. While thus employed, Banneker completed his almanac and
gave it to George Ellicott, Andrew's cousin, as a subject of possible
interest. Apparently George Ellicott turned it over to the Honorable
James McHenry of Baltimore, who in turned submitted it to the
Philadelphia firm of Goddard & Angell, who published it (fig. 13).
Banneker mailed a copy of his _Benjamin Banneker's Pennsylvania,
Delaware, Virginia And Maryland Almanac and Ephemeris For the Year of
Our Lord, 1792_ to Thomas Jefferson, who was so impressed with it that
he forwarded it to the Marquis de Condorcet, secretary of the French
Academy of Sciences. After his work with Ellicott had been completed,
Banneker retired to his farm to produce almanacs annually until 1802.
When he died in 1806 he was eulogized before the French Academy by the
Marquis de Condorcet, and William Pitt placed his name in the records of
the English Parliament.[11]
[Illustration: Figure 12.--Letter from Benjamin Banneker to George
Ellicott dated October 13, 1789, regarding astronomical data for the
compilation of Banneker's almanac. Photo courtesy Maryland Historical
Society.]
Joel Baily
Still another 18th-century practitioner was Joel Baily (1732-1797), a
Quaker of West Bradford, Pennsylvania. In addition to his trade as a
clockmaker and gunsmith, Baily achieved local eminence as an astronomer,
mathematician, and surveyor.[12]
In 1764, at the time that Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon established
their headquarters near his farm, Baily was the local surveyor.
Obtaining employment with the expedition, he worked with Mason and Dixon
until the completion of their survey in 1768. Baily was subsequently
employed by Mason and Dixon to build pine frames for carrying the
20-foot rods to be used in the second measurement of courses from the
Stargazers' Stone southward.
In 1769 Baily was appointed by the American Philosophical Society to
work with Owen Biddle in setting up the station at Cape Henlopen for
observation of the transit of Venus. In 1770 he again worked with Biddle
in taking the courses and distances from the New Castle Court House to
the State House Observatory in Philadelphia for determining the latitude
and longitude of each. In the same year Baily was elected a member of
the American Philosophical Society.
Reverend John Prince
Another noteworthy mathematical practitioner of the period was the
Reverend John Prince (1751-1836) of Salem, Massachusetts. The son of a
hatter and mechanic, Prince studied natural philosophy under John
Winthrop at Harvard and received his B.A. degree in 1776. He was a
student of divinity under Samuel Williams and was ordained in 1779 at
the First Church in Salem. Although an amateur of the sciences, Prince
became a skilled maker of scientific instruments. He made, sold, and
repaired instruments for the use of numerous colleges, schools, and
academies, including Brown, Dartmouth, Rutgers, Harvard, Union, Amherst,
and Williams. Among other accomplishments, he effected "improvements" on
the lucernal microscope and the air pump.[13]
[Illustration: Figure 13.--Title page of one of Banneker's almanacs. The
portrait of Banneker was made by Timothy Woods in 1793 for the publisher
and reproduced by woodcut. Banneker's first almanac was published in
Philadelphia in 1792.]
Amasa Holcomb
Although he was born in the 18th century, Amasa Holcomb (1787-1875)
properly belongs to a later period. An astronomer and telescope maker of
Southwick, Massachusetts, Holcomb became a surveyor in 1808. An
autobiographical sketch noted that "he manufactured about this time a
good many sets of surveyors instruments--compasses, chains, scales,
protractors and dividers, some for his pupils and some for others."[14]
Instruments of Metal
Pre-Revolutionary Immigrant Makers
According to present evidence, only a few makers of metal instruments
emigrated from England to the Colonies before the beginning of the
Revolutionary War. A slightly larger number emigrated after the war had
ended. In almost every instance, the immigrant instrument makers settled
in the major cities, which were the shipping centers of the new country.
The reason is obvious: in these cities there was the greatest demand for
nautical and other instruments.
One of the earliest immigrant instrument makers arrived in Boston in
1739. According to an advertisement that appeared in _The Boston
Gazette_ in the issue of July 16-23, 1739, there had
Arriv'd here by Capt. _Gerry_ from _London_ John Dabney, junr. who
serv'd his time to Mr. Jonathan Sisson, Mathematical Instrument
Maker to his Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales. Makes and sells
all sorts of Mathematical Instruments, in Silver, Brass, or Ivory,
at Reasonable Rates, at Mr. Rowland Houghton's Shop the north side
of the Town Huse in Boston.
N.B. Said Dabney, sets Loadstones to a greater Perfection than any
heretofore.
Dabney's master, Jonathan Sisson (1694-1749) originally of Lincolnshire,
with a shop in the Strand, London, was a well-known maker of optical and
mathematical instruments in the early decades of the 18th century. He
was particularly noted for the exact division of scales, and examples of
his work are to be found in the major collections.
Dabney's name appeared again several years later, in the Supplement to
the _Boston Evening Post_ for December 12, 1743, and again in the
_Boston Evening Post_ for December 19 of the same year, with the
following advertisement:
To be shown by John Dabney, Mathematical Instrument maker, in Milk
Street, Boston, on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday Evenings, from five
to eight o'clock, for the Entertainment of the Curious, the Magic
Lanthorn an Optick Machine, which exhibits a great Number of
wonderful and surprising Figures, prodigious large, and vivid, at
Half a Crown each, Old Tenor.
In New York City, one of the earliest immigrant instrument makers was
Charles Walpole, who established a shop at a corner in Wall Street,
according to a notice in the May 26, 1746, issue of the _New York
Evening Post_. The announcement stated that Walpole was a "citizen of
London" and that at his shop "all sorts of Mathematical Instruments,
whether in silver or brass, are made and mended...."
In the May 21, 1753, issue of _The New York Gazette or The Weekly Post
Boy_ there was an announcement by the widow of Balthaser Sommer who
lived on Pot-Baker's Hill in Smith Street in New York City and who
advertised herself as a "grinder of all sorts of optic glasses, spying
glasses, of all lengths, spectacles, reading glasses for near-sighted
people or others; also spying glasses of 3 feet long which are to set on
a common Walking-Cane and yet be carried as a Pocket-Book."
John Benson emigrated from Birmingham, England, and established a
lapidary and optical store in May 1793 at 12 Princess Street in New
York, where he produced miniatures, lockets, rings, glasses, "as well as
Spectacles, single reading and burning glasses, and where he also
polished scratch'd glasses." In July 1797 he moved to 106 Pearl Street
where he sold green goggles, thermometers, and opera and spy glasses, in
addition to an assortment of jewelry. In September 1798 he was
established at a new location, 147 Pearl Street, "At the sign of The
Green Spectacles" where he specialized in optical goods. He featured for
rent or sale a "Portable Camera Obscura" for the use of artists in
drawing landscapes. His advertisements chronicled each change in
location in the issues of _The New York Daily Advertiser_.
A craftsman whose name is well known in scientific circles was Anthony
Lamb, who advertised in 1753 as a mathematical instrument maker living
on Hunter's Key, New York. He claimed that he could furnish
Godfrey's newly invented quadrant, for taking the latitude or other
altitudes at sea; hydrometers for trying the exact strength of
spirits, large surveying instruments in a more curious manner than
usual; which may be used in any weather without exception, small
ditto which may be fixed on the end of a walking stick, and
lengthened to a commodious height, gauging instruments as now in
use, according to an act of assembly with all other mathematical
instruments for sea or land, by wholesale or retail at reasonable
rates.[15]
Lamb had served an apprenticeship with Henry Carter, a mathematical
instrument maker in London. In July 1724 he became an accomplice of
Jack Sheppard, a notorious burglar, and was arrested and sentenced to
the gallows in 1724. As he was awaiting execution on the gallows at
Tyburn, his sentence was commuted to transportation to Virginia for a
period of seven years, inasmuch as this was his first offence. After he
had completed his term of seven years in Virginia he moved to
Philadelphia, where he opened a shop as an instrument maker and a
private school for teaching technical subjects. The curriculum included
surveying, navigation, and mathematics. Although his enterprises
prospered, he moved to New York. There he married a Miss Ham and
established himself in a respectable position. Lamb's first
advertisement in New York appeared on January 23, 1749. He died on
December 11, 1784, at the age of 81, and two days later he was eulogized
in _The New York Packet_ where he was mentioned as "a steady friend to
the liberties of America."
John Lamb (1735-1800), Anthony's son, learned and practiced his father's
craft for a time and worked as a partner in the firm of A. Lamb & Son.
He subsequently became a wine and sugar merchant, achieved considerable
wealth, married well, and was accepted by the gentry of the city. He was
a firm patriot and from 1765 he was active as the leader of the Sons of
Liberty. He served in several major engagements in the American
Revolution and in 1783 was brevetted a brigadier-general.[16]
The immigrant instrument makers were not confined to those working in
glass, however. One of the earlier immigrant craftsmen was Charles
Blundy, a London watchmaker who established himself on Church Street in
Charleston, South Carolina, in 1753. He notified the public that in
addition to watches he sold thermometers of all sizes and types.
Presumably his merchandise was imported from England.[17] He was absent
from the city between 1753 and 1760 but returned and continued in
business in the latter year.
Another pre-Revolution immigrant was Thomas Harland (1735-1807), a clock
maker who settled in Norwich, Connecticut, in 1773. It is claimed that
he sailed from England on one of the ships carrying the tea destroyed by
the Boston Tea Party. Over the course of the years his business
prospered to such a degree that he hired from ten to twelve apprentices
at one time. Some of the leading American 18th-century clockmakers
served apprenticeships with Harland. In 1802 his newspaper notice stated
that he had for sale "Surveyors Compasses, with agate centre needles;
chains and Protractors ..."[18]
A most interesting instrument that has recently come to light is a brass
sundial made in Philadelphia in 1764. The dial, about 10-1/2 inches in
diameter, is signed by the maker, "Daniel Jay Philad^a. fecit." It is
dated 1764 and inscribed with the name of the person for whom it was
made, "James Pemberton." In the center is "Lat. 40," which coincides
with the latitude for Philadelphia. The style of the dial is very much
in the English tradition of the period, indicating that Jay was probably
an emigrant trained in England.
Post-Revolutionary Immigrant Makers
A large proportion of the English craftsmen who came to the American
Colonies after the Revolution settled in Philadelphia, There was John
Gould for instance, a mathematical instrument maker from London who had
opened a shop at 47 Water Street by 1794. He sold nautical, surveying,
and optical instruments as well as mirrors, presumably all imported from
England. He moved to 70 South Front Street "At the Sign of the Quadrant"
in 1796. He was succeeded in business in 1798 by Thomas Whitney, another
emigrant from London. Whitney made and sold instruments (see fig. 85) in
Gould's former shop, and featured also a vast array of department store
merchandise. John Whitney, who may have been his son, was listed at the
same address in the Philadelphia directory of 1801 as a "Mathematical
Instrument Maker and Optician."[19]
In the Philadelphia directory and register for 1821 Thomas Whitney
advertised that he
... presents his sincere thanks to his friends and the public and
respectfully soliciting the continuation of their favors, wishes to
inform them that he has devoted his attention principally to the
making of surveying compasses for 16 years past, and has made 500
of them; the good qualities of which are well known to many
surveyors, in at least 16 of the States and Territories of the
Union ... [he also makes] many other instruments, protractors,
gunner's Calibers and quadrants, etc.
George Evans was another instrument maker who arrived from London after
the end of the Revolution. He established himself in a shop at 33 North
Front Street in 1796, where he sold imported instruments as well as
stationery, Bibles, and cloth. He died in 1798.[20]
Thomas Dring, who migrated from England, settled in Westtown Township of
Chester County, Pennsylvania, where he was first noted in the tax
records of 1786. He married Hanna Griffith, a native of the region, and
their son, Jeptha Dring, subsequently was mentioned as a carpenter by
trade, and a vagrant by inclination, who could quote Shakespeare from
memory. According to local legend, Dring raised money from a number of
townspeople for the purpose of purchasing clocks for them in England. He
set sail for his homeland in about 1798 and never returned.
Although the tax records for 1796 described Dring as an "Optician" he
was also a clockmaker and maker of scientific instruments. At least
three of his tall-case clocks have survived, and a stick type of
barometer which he made for Edward and Hannah Hicks in 1796. The
instrument is now in the collection of the Chester County Historical
Society. It measures 39 inches in height, and is signed on the
thermometer dial THOMAS DRING/West Chester. This instrument (fig. 14) is
one of the very rare barometers produced in America in the 18th century.
Another craftsman who emigrated from England was Robert Clark, who
opened a shop at 5-1/2 Church Street in Charleston, South Carolina, in
1785. In that year he announced himself as a
Math., Optical and Philosophical Instruments maker and Clockmaker
from London ... As the Advertiser has lately had an opportunity of
working and receiving instruction under the first masters in the
above branches in Great Britain, flatters himself that he shall
give satisfaction to those who may be pleased to favor him with
their orders ... for Surveyors compasses, Quadrants, Telescopes,
Microscopes, Spirit Levels, etc.[21]
W. Fosbrook was another craftsman originally from London. He was a
cutler and maker of surgical instruments, with a shop in Beekman's Slip
in New York City in 1786 or earlier. He specialized in leg irons and
rupture trusses, and he made instruments and files for setting the
teeth as well as standard items for surgeons.[22]
[Illustration: Figure 14.--Barometer made in 1796 by Thomas Dring of
West Chester, Pa., for Edward and Hannah Hicks. Photo courtesy the
Chester County Historical Society.]
Several immigrant instrument makers established themselves in
Philadelphia during the same period. John Denegan (or Donegan), stated
to have been "late from Italy," moved his shop in March 1787 to the
corner of Race and Fourth Streets at "the sign of the Seven Stars".[23]
There he made barometers and thermometers as well as glasses for
philosophical experiments. It seems too much of a coincidence that in
October 1787 an instrument maker named Joseph Donegany established a
shop at 54 Smith Street in New York City,[24] where--according to an
advertisement in the October 17, 1787, issue of _The New York Daily
Advertiser_--he made "thermometers, barometers and sold hydrostatic
Bubbles and hygrometers for proving spirits, and also ... glasses for
experimental purposes." It is probable that Denegan and Donegany were
one and the same; since Denegan was stated to have been of Italian
origin, the name may originally have been "De Negani."
Joseph Gatty advertised himself as an "Artist from Italy" with a shop at
341 Pearl Street in New York City where he "made and sold every simple
and compound form of barometer and thermometer as well as curious
Hygrometers for assaying spirits which show the actual strength with the
greatest precision and are not liable to be corroded, in addition to
several new Philosophical Instruments of his own invention, and all
types of artificial fireworks."[25] By 1796 Gatty (or Gatti?) had moved
to Philadelphia where he had a shop at 79 South Front Street and
advertised the same items that had appeared in his advertisements in New
York. The Philadelphia directory for 1800 listed Gatty as a "Weather
Glass Maker."[26]
Native American Makers
Comparatively speaking, the greater proportion of the early American
instrument makers were native born. Among these were to be found a
substantial number of artisans trained as clockmakers who subsequently
produced scientific instruments to meet the surveying and nautical needs
of their communities. Together with the other craftsmen throughout the
colonies who established and advertised themselves specifically as
instrument makers, they produced a large number of the mathematical
instruments used in the American Colonies in the 18th century. A careful
study of their regional distribution reveals that most of them were
concentrated in the major coastal cities of commerce.
[Illustration: Figure 15.--James Wilson, first American maker of globes.
From a sketch by John Ross Dix in _Ballou's Pictorial Drawing Room
Companion_ (Boston, 1857), vol. 12, p. 156.]
_New Hampshire_
Among the artisans who combined clockmaking with instrument making
before the beginning of the 19th century was Benjamin C. Gilman
(1763-1835) of Exeter, New Hampshire. He made mathematical instruments
and clocks in addition to working as a silversmith, clockmaker, and
hydraulic engineer.
_Vermont_
A New England instrument maker who had a most unusual career was James
Wilson (1763-1855) of Bradford, Vermont. He was a native of Francestown,
New Hampshire, where he was born in a log cabin and brought up on a
farm. In 1796 he purchased his own farm, at Bradford.
[Illustration: Figure 16.--Globe made by James Wilson (1763-1855) of
Bradford, Vermont. Diameter is 13 in. Photo courtesy Houghton Library,
Harvard University.]
When a young man of 36 he saw a pair of globes at Dartmouth College in
neighboring Hanover and tried to duplicate them. He made balls of wood
turned from solid blocks, covered them with paper, and finished them off
with lines and drawings. He later improved this method by coating the
wooden balls thickly with layers of paper pasted together. He then cut
the globes into hemispheres, removed the wooden molds, and joined the
paper shells to make the globes.
Wilson next proceeded to procure copper plates of the necessary sizes
for his globes, and he projected his maps on them in sections. He
received a few lessons in engraving from Amos Doolittle of New Haven,
but he was otherwise completely self-taught.
Wilson exhibited the first edition of his globes in Boston in 1814. They
created a sensation, and many persons asked to see the maker, but Wilson
was reluctant to come forward because of his coarse clothing and rustic
manners. He was greatly encouraged, however, by the public interest in
his work, and he continued to make globes in Bradford (see fig. 16). In
about 1815 Wilson and his three sons, all of whom were as ingenious as
the father, formed a company to manufacture globes in Albany. There they
produced terrestrial and celestial globes, the latter showing as many as
5,000 stars. Wilson produced a new set of plates in 1826 and made globes
in several sizes. Even after he had reached the age of 83 years he
constructed an excellent planetarium, engraving the large copperplate
himself.
Wilson was married three times and was the father of 14 children. He
died at the age of 92 in March 1855 at Bradford.[27]
_Massachusetts_
A surprisingly small number of the Massachusetts craftsmen working
before the end of the 18th century produced scientific instruments.
Among the very earliest were several members of the King family of
Salem. Daniel King (1704-1790) was born in Salem on November 17, 1704.
At the time of his death Rev. William Bentley spoke of him as a "maker
of Mathematical Instruments" and a "teacher of Mathematics."[28]
[Illustration: Figure 17.--Brass surveying compass made by Stephen
Greenleaf (fl. 1745) of Boston. Photo courtesy New Hampshire Historical
Society, Concord.]
Following Daniel's death, his business in instruments was inherited by
his son Benjamin King (1740-1804), of Salem. Benjamin specialized in
producing nautical instruments, and several of his Davis quadrants have
survived in public collections. When he died on December 26, 1804,
Reverend Bentley wrote that King was "... a Mathematical Instrument
maker, in that branch which immediately regarded practical navigation by
quadrant and compass. He supported a very good character through life &
was much esteemed."[29]
Another of the very early mathematical instrument makers in
Massachusetts was Stephen Greenleaf (see fig. 17), who kept a shop on
Queen Street opposite the prison in Boston where
He makes and Mends all Sorts of Mathematical Instruments, as
Theodolites, Spirit Levels, Semicircles, Circumferences, and
Protractors, Horizontal and Equinoctial Sun Dials, Azimuth and
Amplitude Compasses, Elliptical and Triangular Compasses, and all
sorts of Common Compasses ... N.B. He sets Load Stones on Silver or
Brass, after the best manner.[30]
Jonathan Dakin worked as a mathematical balance-maker "at the Sign of
the Hand & Beam, opposite to Dr. Colman's Meeting House" where he made a
variety of scale beams in 1745.[31]
An interesting advertisement by Rowland Houghton appeared in the January
17-24, 1737, issue of the _Boston Gazette_. Houghton announced that he
had "lately improv'd on his new Theodolite, by which the Art of
Surveying is rendered more plain & easy than heretofore." Houghton was
active in the political scene in Boston, as evidenced by the fact that
in various issues of the _Boston Gazette_ for January and February 1739
he is listed variously as "Commissioner," "Proprietors' Clerk" and as
"Collector."
Isaac Greenwood, Jr. (1730-1803), was born at Cambridge, where he
married Mary I'ams in 1757. He maintained a shop where he combined the
business of mathematical instrument maker and ivory turner, and also
imported hardware. After the Revolution, he engaged in dentistry,
specializing in making artificial teeth and in the manufacture of
"umbrilloes." Paul Revere apparently did printing for him on five
different occasions between 1762 and 1774, and in about 1771 engraved
his trade card, which read:
ISAAC GREENWOOD, Ivory Turner Next door to Doctor John Clark's at
the North End Boston. Turns all sorts of work in Ivory, Silver,
Brass, Iron, Horn, Wood, etc. Such as Billiard Balls, Tea Boards,
Scallop^d and Plain Salvers, Decanters ...[32]
Isaac's father, Isaac Greenwood, Sr., was "Professor of Mathematicks and
Natural and Experimental Philosophy" at Harvard. In the _Boston Gazette_
for February 19-26, 1728, there appeared the following notice of his
installation:
On the 13th of this Month at Ten in the Morning, The Honorable &
Reverend Overseers of the College at Cambridge, met the Corporation
in the College Hall, to Inaugurate Mr. Isaac Greenwood into the
Office of Professor of the Mathematicks, and Natural and
Experimental Philosophy, lately founded by that great and living
Benefactor to this Society, Mr. Thomas Hollis of London Merchant.
The Rev. President being detain'd by illness, Mr. Flint the Senior
Fellow perform'd the part of Moderator, began with Prayer, and then
Pronounc'd a Latin Oration proper to the Occasion: Mr. Wiggleworth
Divinity Professor, read the Founders Instructions. Mr. Greenwood
took the Oaths and made the Declarations required in them: and
pronounc'd a Latin Oration. The Rev. Mr. Appleton Pray'd: and
Singing part of the 104 Psalm concluded the Solemnity. After which
the Overseers & Corporation repair'd to the Library; till the
Publick Dinner in the Hall was ready, where all the Gentlemen
Spectators of the Solemnity were hansomely Entertained.
Greenwood continued to teach privately for a decade. In various issues
of _The Boston Gazette_ of 1738 and 1739 he featured an advertisement,
the text of which always stated:
Such as are desirous of learning any Part of Practical or
Theoretical Mathematics may be taught by Isaac Greenwood, A.M. &c.
in Clark's Square, near the North Meeting House, where Attendance
will be given between the Hours of 9 and 12 in the Forenoon, and 2
and 5 in the Afternoons.
N.B. Instructions may also be had in any Branch of Natural
Philosophy, when there is a sufficient Number to attend.[33]
John Bailey II (1752-1823) of Hanover and Lynn, Massachusetts worked as
a clockmaker from about 1770. His father, John Bailey I, and his
brothers Calvin and Lebbeus also were clockmakers. Bailey married Mary
Hall of Berwick, Maine, and settled in Hanover where he made scientific
instruments and clocks. A brass surveying compass in the collection of
the New York Historical Society is inscribed "J. BAILEY HANOVER
1804."[34]
Undoubtedly the best known instrument maker in Massachusetts was Joseph
Pope (1750-1826), of Boston, who was described by contemporaries as the
"local mathematician, watch-maker and mechanical genius." In 1787 he
completed the construction of a gear-driven orrery displaying the
motions of the solar system in a horizontal plane with eccentric and
inclined orbits. At each of the twelve corners were mounted cast bronze
figures, claimed to have been carved in wood by Simeon Skillin and cast
in bronze by Paul Revere. Although the instrument was made for Harvard,
the university lacked funds for its purchase. Accordingly, it held a
public lottery which realized a substantial sum in excess of the
£450.3.0 paid to Pope, and the orrery was delivered in December
1788.[35] The orrery (fig. 18) has survived and is part of the
collection of historical scientific instruments at Harvard University.
According to a statement in the _Boston Gazette_ for February 16, 1789,
an apparatus for displaying planets in their proper orbits by means of
wires was made and exhibited in Boston by Bartholomew Burges.
Mention must also be made of several members of the Folger family of
Nantucket, Massachusetts. Peter Folger (1617-1690), founder of the
American branch of the family, emigrated from Norfolk, England, in 1635
and occupied himself in Nantucket as blacksmith, schoolmaster,
watchmaker, and surveyor. He was a grandfather of Benjamin Franklin.
Another notable descendant was Maria Mitchell (1818-1889), professor of
astronomy and director of the observatory at Vassar College.
The best known member of the family was Walter Folger, Jr. (1765-1849),
a self-taught clockmaker and watchmaker with great interest in the
sciences. A telescope that he produced about 1818 was considered to be
the finest in the country at that time. His greatest achievement was a
tall case astronomical clock that he devised and constructed; it was
completed in 1790 and is considered to be the most complicated domestic
clock on record.[36] Folger also produced quadrants and compasses, and
made astronomical observations. His observations of the solar eclipse of
September 17, 1811, were published in 1815 in _Memoirs of the Academy of
Arts and Sciences_.
Probably one of the most significant of the surviving early American
scientific instruments is a pair of gunners' calipers made and used by
PAUL REVERE (1735-1818) of Boston. The calipers are made of incised
brass, measuring 7 inches in length and 1-3/4 inches in width. They are
signed on the reverse side with the name "Revere" in the style of script
signature used by this maker in many of his engravings. The design of
the instrument is substantially different from that which is commonly
found in English, French, and German gunners' calipers of the period,
and was probably Revere's own. (See figs. 19, 20.)
[Illustration: Figure 18.--Orrery by Joseph Pope completed in 1787 for
Harvard University. Engraved plates and bronze figures were made by Paul
Revere. The orrery is 6-1/2 ft. in diameter and 6-1/2 ft. high. The
twelve figures at the corners are said to have been carved in wood by
Simeon Skillin and cast in bronze by Paul Revere. Photo courtesy Harvard
University.]
It is believed that these calipers, which are preserved in the
collection of the Bostonian Society in Boston, were probably used by
Revere in 1775-1776. This was the period during which he was in charge
of ordnance repairs for the Continental Army, and involved in various
ventures for the manufacture of gunpowder and the casting of cannon.
There is no evidence of other scientific instruments made by Revere,
lending some weight to the belief that these calipers were made for his
own use.
[Illustration: Figure 19.--Brass gunnery calipers made and probably used
by Paul Revere (1735-1818). The calipers are 7 in. long and 1-3/4 in.
wide.]
[Illustration: Figure 20.--Reverse side of gunnery calipers, showing the
inscribed signature. Photos courtesy the Bostonian Society, Boston,
Mass.]
Other Massachusetts instrument makers include Gideon Fairman (1774-1827)
of Newburyport who was a partner of William Hooker in the firm of Hooker
& Fairman, which dealt in mathematical instruments before 1810.[37]
Fairman later moved to Philadelphia, where he was associated with the
engraving firm of Draper, Murray & Fairman.
At the end of the 18th century Samuel Emery was making mathematical
instruments in Salem, at the same time that John Jayne was engaged in
the same work in that community.[38]
John Potter of Brookfield, Massachusetts, produced surveying instruments
in the last quarter of the 18th century. A graphometer signed with his
name and dated 1785 is in the collection of the firm of W. & L. E.
Gurley in Troy, New York.
_Rhode Island_
One of the earliest and most important of the instrument makers of Rhode
Island was Benjamin King (1707-1786), of Newport. He was the son of
Capt. Samuel King of Salem, Massachusetts, where he was born and
baptized on March 13, 1707. He was a brother of Daniel King of Salem.
Benjamin eventually moved to Newport, where he married Mary Hagger in
July 1742. They had four children: Benjamin, Mehitable, Samuel, and
Mary. He established himself as a respectable businessman in the
community, and in 1759 or 1760 he became the senior partner in the
importing and retailing firm of King & Hagger, "near the sign of Mr.
Pitt," dealing in general merchandise, mathematical and nautical
instruments, and stationery. William Hagger was probably the junior
partner, and may have been King's brother-in-law. King began making his
own instruments for sale, surviving examples dated as early as 1762. The
partnership was dissolved early in the 1760's. In 1766 Benjamin King was
importing, making, and selling quadrants and other instruments "At the
Sign of the Mathematical Instruments" next to the Golden Eagle on Thames
Street. His son Samuel King occupied the same premises, where he dealt
in paints and artists supplies.
When the British occupied Newport, King moved to North Kingstown, but he
returned after the British vacated the city. He was 79 when he died in
1786, and his son Samuel King succeeded him in business.[39]
William Guyse Hagger (c. 1744-1830?), born in Newport, is believed to
have been the son of William Hagar and Mary Knowlton. He was a quadrant
maker (see fig. 21). In 1774 he headed a household that consisted of
his wife, five children, and a colored servant. Whether it was he or his
father who was the partner of Benjamin King cannot be determined with
certainty. When Newport was occupied by the British, Hagger moved to
Cranston, where he joined the Pawtuxet Rangers and served as a sentinel
at Pawtuxet Fort in 1778. No members of the Hagger family appear in the
1790 census of Newport, but a William Hager is reported as having died
in Boston in 1830 at the age of 82. It seems likely from the age and
dates that it was William Hagger the elder who worked as a partner in
the firm of King & Hagger, which was established in 1759 or 1760.[40]
[Illustration: Figure 21.--Davis quadrant or backstaff made and signed
by William Guyse Hagger of Newport, Rhode Island, about 1760-1770. USNM
319029.]
Another instrument maker of Rhode Island was William Hamlin (1772-1869).
He had established himself in Providence by the beginning of the 19th
century in the manufacturing and repairing of mathematical and nautical
instruments, for which there was an active market in that city. Hamlin
was one of the first engravers in America and the first in Rhode Island.
He designed and engraved banknotes for many banks in the State and for
other institutions. At the same time he carried on a general trade in
the sale of musical instruments. Hamlin moved his shop several times,
but from 1847 until his death he worked at "The Sign of the Quadrant"
(see fig. 22) at 131 South Water Street. He was equally interested in
optics and astronomy, and it has been claimed that he constructed the
first telescope in America. It is well established that he worked for
many years to perfect a reflecting telescope for his own use.[41]
Instruments were made also by Paul Pease, who may have been the husband
of the daughter of Nathaniel Folger of Nantucket. This Elizabeth Folger
Pease, wife of a Paul Pease, was born in 1720 and died in 1795. Little
is known about Pease except for the name "Paul Pease 1750" inscribed on
a quadrant in the collection of the Rhode Island Historical Society.[42]
_Connecticut_
The clockmakers who worked in Connecticut during the span of the 18th
century numbered almost a hundred. Yet only a half dozen appear on
record to have made or sold instruments in addition to clocks. Among
these were several members of the Doolittle family, including Isaac
Doolittle (1721-1800) of New Haven. In 1763 he advertised that he sold
surveying compasses in addition to clocks, watches, bar iron, and
chocolate.[43] His son Isaac Doolittle, Jr. (1759-1821), also of New
Haven, established a shop of his own, which he advertised in 1781 as
having
Compasses of all kinds, both for sea and land, surveyors scales,
and protractors, gauging rods, walking sticks, silver and plated
buttons, turned upon horn; also clocks and watches made and
repaired ...[44]
Although not very active as a clockmaker, Isaac Jr. appears to have
specialized more in the production of surveying and nautical
instruments. He took over his father's business just before the latter's
death, and in 1799 he advertised[45]:
[Illustration: Figure 22.--Trade cards of William Hamlin (1772-1869),
engraver and instrument maker of Providence, Rhode Island. In collection
of Rhode Island Historical Society, Providence.]
The subscriber having commenced business at the shop lately
occupied by Mr. Isaac Doolittle, in Chapel Street, where he repairs
watches, makes and repairs Surveyors Compasses and Chains, Brass
Amplitude, plain brass and common Ship's Compasses, Gauging Rods,
Quadrants, repair'd &c. every favor gratefully received by the
public's humble servant, Isaac Doolittle, jun.
Enos Doolittle (1751-1806), a nephew of Isaac Doolittle, Sr., made,
sold, cleaned, and repaired clocks and surveying and marine compasses
from 1772 through 1788 at his shop in Hartford. He also sold these items
through agents in Saybrook and Middleton.[46]
One of the best known of the Connecticut clockmakers was Peregrine White
(1747-1834), of Woodstock. White was a descendant of the first Pilgrim
child, and a native of Boston. After serving an apprenticeship, he
worked as a clockmaker and silversmith in Boston. He was accused of
forging silver spoons and left the city to settle in Woodstock. He
established his own shop west of Muddy Brook Village.[47] In addition to
fine tall-case clocks, for which he was noted, White also produced
surveying compasses, one of which is in the collection of the U.S.
National Museum (fig. 23). A similar specimen in Old Sturbridge Village
is reputed to have been used for surveying the town of Southbridge,
Mass.
Benjamin Hanks (1755-1824), of Mansfield and Litchfield, inserted a
notice in a newspaper in 1808 to notify the public that he and his son
Truman Hanks, in partnership, had "surveyors compasses upon the
Rittenhouse improved plan" in addition to such other commodities as
brass cannon, bells from their own foundry, clocks, goldsmith's items,
and stocking looms.[48]
Ziba Blakslee (1768-1834), of Newton, worked as a clockmaker, goldsmith,
and bell founder and he advertised that he made and sold surveying
instruments.[49]
In New Haven, Clark Sibley and Simeon Marble organized the firm of
Sibley & Marble and advertised that in addition to repairing swords and
cutlasses, clocks and watches, they also repaired mathematical and
surgical instruments.[50]
[Illustration: Figure 23.--Brass surveying compass made about 1790 by
Peregrine White (1747-1834) of Woodstock, Connecticut. USNM 388993.]
One of the instrument makers of New England who has remained relatively
unknown was Benjamin Platt (1757-1833), who was born in Danbury,
Connecticut, on January 3, 1757.[51] He married Adah Fairchild of the
same city in 1776, and it is believed that he must have completed his
apprenticeship by that date inasmuch as apprentices usually were not
allowed to marry.
It is not known how long Platt worked in his native city, but by 1780 he
had moved to Litchfield, where he worked in gold, silver, and brass. He
became established as a clockmaker and produced tall case clocks and
other types. In 1787 he was in New Milford, a town adjacent to Danbury,
where he produced surveying compasses (see fig. 24). Three years later,
in 1790, he was at Milford, where he invented a "Compass for measuring
distance in hilly country." In 1793 he returned to New Milford, where he
made a clock to order for Eli Todd, and by 1800 he had moved to
Lanesboro, Massachusetts.
_Ohio_
Benjamin Platt was the migratory type. In 1817 he migrated from
Lanesboro to Columbus, Ohio. His son, Augustus Platt (1793-1886), also
made mathematical instruments (see fig. 25) in Columbus. In 1809 a
grandson, named William Augustus Platt was born. When the child's mother
died, Benjamin and Adah Platt adopted the boy, and when he came of age
he went into the watchmaking trade. William Platt married Fanny Hayes,
sister of President Hayes.[52] His shop was listed in the 1843 city
directory; it was the first jewelry and clock and watch store in the
community.
An interesting account of instrument making in Ohio is found in the
report of a missionary, John Heckewelder. He mentioned the brothers
Joseph and Francois Devacht who worked as watchmakers and instrument
makers in Gallipolis, Ohio. Writing in 1792, Heckewelder stated that
"the most interesting shops of the Workmen [in Gallipolis] were those of
the Goldsmiths and Watchmakers. They showed us work on watches,
compasses, sundials finer than I have ever beheld."
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Figure 24.--Brass surveying compass made by Benjamin
Platt (1757-1833) of New Milford, Connecticut, about 1795-1800. Shown in
original wooden case and separately (opposite page). Photos courtesy
Ohio State Museum.]
_New York_
There were relatively few makers of mathematical instruments in New York
City before the end of the 18th century. Perhaps the earliest was John
Bailey, who moved from Fredericksburg, Virginia, to Fishkill, New York,
in 1778. He was a cutler by trade, and he made and sold surgical
instruments.[53]
"Bulmain & Dennies" at 59 Water Street in New York were the appointed
agents to sell the "Perpetual Log or Distance Clock to find a ship's way
at sea." The device had been patented in the United States, and one of
the instruments was displayed at the bar of the Tontine Coffee House,
according to an advertisement in the July 23, 1799, issue of the _New
York Gazette and General Advertiser_.
H. Caritat, at 153 Broadway in New York, imported and sold "The
Planispherical Planetarium." This item was described in an
advertisement[54] as "a graphic representation of the earth, in twelve
particular positions during its revolutionary course around the sun, as
also of the Moon's revolution around the earth, together with literal
description of parts and motions, etc." The advertisement also stated
that Caritat sold "Carey's newly improved Terrestrial and Celestial
Globes which omitted the Constellary Configurations."
[Illustration: Figure 25.--Surveying theodolite made by Augustus Platt
(1793-1886) of Columbus, Ohio, in the early 19th century. Photo courtesy
Ohio State Museum.]
In 1785 M. Morris of New York City made and sold his own invention of a
"Nautical Protractor for the price of One Dollar." In an advertisement
in _The Independent Journal or the General Advertiser_ of May 25, 1785,
he explained that the device was for use in the construction of globular
maps and Mercator charts. He also made another protractor for attaching
to the end of a ruler for measuring distances on charts. He planned to
publish a treatise on the subject of his inventions.
James Youle, a cutler and mechanician with a shop located first on Fly
Street and then at 64 Water Street "at the Sign of the Cross-Knives and
Gun," sold a large variety of cutlery and hardware for gun repair. He
also made surgical instruments. He died in February 1786 at the age of
46 as the result of an injury to his chest from a breaking grindstone
while working in his shop. He was survived by a widow and nine children
and was succeeded in business by his son John Youle.[55]
_New Jersey_
One of the few instrument makers known to have worked in New Jersey was
Aaron Miller of "Elizabeth-town." He was first noted in the New York
newspapers in 1748 when he notified the public that, in addition to
clocks, he made compasses, chains for surveyors, and church bells, for
which he maintained his own foundry. When he died in 1771 he left all
his tools to a son-in-law, Isaac Brokaw.[56]
Another craftsman who is entitled to being included as an instrument
maker was Richard Wistar. When Casper Wistar died in 1752, his son
Richard succeeded him as owner of the famous glass works. In addition to
window glass and glassware, Richard Wistar also produced such special
products as retorts for use in chemistry and "electerizing globes and
tubes," as well as bottles for Leyden jars that Benjamin Franklin had
urged him to attempt in the early 1750's.[57]
_Delaware_
George Crow (ca. 1725-1771/72) of Wilmington, Delaware, was apparently
well established as a clockmaker in the community by the time of his
marriage in 1746 to Mary Laudonet. They had four children, and Crow's
two sons followed his trade. George Crow was active in civic affairs,
and in addition to clocks, he produced surveying compasses, several of
which have survived.[58]
_Maryland and Virginia_
Brief mention has already been made of the Chandlee family of
clockmakers and instrument makers of the 18th century. The founder of
the line and first of interest was Benjamin Chandlee, Sr., who migrated
in 1702 from Ireland to Philadelphia, where he was apprenticed to Abel
Cottey, clockmaker, and eventually married his daughter. His son
Benjamin Chandlee, Jr. (1723-1791), worked as a clockmaker in
Nottingham, Maryland, where he produced instruments as well as clocks. A
fine example of a brass surveying compass--inscribed with his name, and
which is believed to have been made for the Gilpin family in about
1761--is on exhibition in the Chester County Historical Society. He had
four sons, and a few years before his death he established the firm of
Chandlee & Sons, the name of which was changed to Ellis Chandlee &
Brothers a year before he died.
The oldest of Benjamin Jr.'s four sons was Goldsmith Chandlee
(c.1746-1821). After serving an apprenticeship with his father,
Goldsmith moved to Virginia and worked near Stephensburg (now Stephens
City). He eventually established himself at Winchester and built a brass
foundry and a shop where he produced clocks, surveying compasses,
sundials, apothecary and money scales, surgical instruments, compasses,
telescopes, and other items in metal. Numerous examples of his clocks
and instruments have survived. Their fine quality attests to the claim
that he was one of the foremost craftsmen of the 18th century. Several
of his surveying compasses exist in modern collections. An instrument
(fig. 26) that he made about 1794 for a surveyor named Robert Lyle is in
the writer's collection; an almost identical instrument that Chandlee
made for Lawrence Augustine Washington, George Washington's nephew, is
exhibited in the library at Mount Vernon, Virginia.
[Illustration: Figure 26.--The label of Goldsmith Chandlee. In the
collection of Ohio Historical Society, Ohio State Museum.]
Ellis Chandlee (1755-1816) also was apprenticed to his father, and he
worked with his brothers in the shop. He established the firm of Ellis
Chandlee & Brothers, in 1790, shortly before his father's death. The
firm was dissolved in 1797 when the youngest brother, John Chandlee,
left the firm. Ellis continued in partnership with his other brother,
Isaac Chandlee (1760-1813), until about 1804, producing clocks,
surveying instruments, and other metal articles. Their products were
signed "Ellis and Isaac Chandlee, Nottingham," or, in the case of a
surveying compass in the collection of the Chester County Historical
Society, "E. & I. Chandlee, Nottingham." Isaac Chandlee also produced
clocks and instruments under his own name only, for there are a number
of surviving clocks and surveying compasses signed in such manner (see
fig. 28).[59]
[Illustration: Figure 27.--Brass surveying compass with outkeeper made
by Goldsmith Chandlee (c. 1746-1821) of Winchester, Virginia, for Robert
Lyle. Over-all length, 14-1/2 in.; diameter, 7 in. Instrument, in
original wooden case, bears ink signature of Robert Lyle. In collection
of the writer.]
One of the most important craftsmen of Maryland was Frederick A. Heisely
(1759-1839). A native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, he served an
apprenticeship there with John Hoff, the master clockmaker, from 1777 to
1783. Heisely served in the Revolution. In 1783, presumably upon the
completion of his apprenticeship, he married Catherine Hoff, the
clockmaker's daughter. He moved to Frederick, Maryland, where he
established his own clockmaking shop and where he specialized in making
mathematical instruments. A tower clock made in Frederick is in the
collection of the U.S. National Museum. Heisely returned to Lancaster to
become Hoff's partner, and worked with him until 1802. He then moved his
shop to Harrisburg and worked there until 1820. He moved once more, this
time to Pittsburgh where he advertised himself as a "Clock, Watch and
Instrument Maker," with a shop at No. 6 St. Clair Street.
[Illustration: Figure 28.--Brass surveying compass made by Goldsmith
Chandlee for Laurence Augustine Washington in about 1795. In the library
at Mount Vernon. Photo courtesy the Mount Vernon Ladies Association of
the Union.]
George Heisely (1789-1880), Frederick's son, who was born at Frederick,
Maryland, achieved note in his own right as a maker of clocks and
instruments. He worked at Second and Walnut Streets in Harrisburg. He
is credited with being the person who selected the melody of "To
Anacreon in Heaven" for "The Star-Spangled Banner," while he was serving
as a member of the Pennsylvania State Militia.[60]
_Pennsylvania_
A number of instrument makers worked in Philadelphia, which was one of
the important shipping centers during the 18th century and consequently
one of the important markets for nautical instruments.
Probably the earliest Philadelphia instrument maker of record was Thomas
Godfrey (1704-1749) who was born in Bristol Township. After serving an
apprenticeship, Godfrey developed his own business as a glazier and
plumber. He is stated to have done the major part of the glazing of the
State House in 1732, as well as similar work on Christ Church. He also
worked for Andrew Hamilton and for James Logan.
Godfrey had a natural inclination and interest in science and
mathematics, which may have been further encouraged by his friendship
with Benjamin Franklin, who resided in the same house. Godfrey was also
a fellow member of Franklin's Junto.
In 1730 Godfrey invented an improved backstaff or Davis quadrant, and
loaned the instrument to Joshua Fisher to be used in the latter's survey
of Delaware Bay. It is claimed that the location of Cape Henlopen was
established on Fisher's map (published in London in 1756) by means of
Godfrey's instrument. James Logan became interested in the improved
backstaff invented by Godfrey and at Logan's request, the instrument was
taken on a voyage to the West Indies by a Captain Wright for the purpose
of testing it.[61]
At the same time Logan sent a description of the instrument to London to
the Royal Astronomer, Edmund Halley. No acknowledgment was made, and in
1734 Logan sent a second description to Sir Hans Sloane and to Peter
Collison for forwarding to the Royal Society. The arrival of this
description coincided with the submission of the description of a
similar instrument to the Society by its vice president, James Hadley.
The Royal Society decided in favor of both inventors, and Godfrey was
awarded the equivalent of 200 pounds in household furniture.
[Illustration: Figure 29.--Brass surveying compass made by Isaac
Chandlee (1760-1813) of Nottingham, Maryland. Photo courtesy Ohio State
Museum.]
Godfrey is often confused with his son, also named Thomas Godfrey
(1736-1763), who worked as a watchmaker in Philadelphia, and
subsequently became active in literary arts.
Benjamin Condy (fl. 1756-1792, d. 1798) was an instrument maker with a
shop on South Front Street in Philadelphia. As early as 1756 he worked
for most of the merchant shippers of the port, supplying them with a
considerable number of sand glasses that ranged from the quarter-minute
to the two-hour varieties. Although he made his own mathematical
instruments, it is likely that he imported the sand glasses. According
to Customs House clearances of 1789, he had imported from London on the
ship _Pigou_ "three cases of merchandise" valued at £160/17/6 with a
duty of $32.19, which may have included sand glasses.[62]
When Condy retired in 1792 he was succeeded in business by Thomas Biggs
at the same address. Biggs had originally served an apprenticeship with
Condy, and then fought for the American cause in the Revolution for five
years. Following the termination of his military service he had engaged
in instrument making in New York for eight years before returning to
Philadelphia, his native city. Biggs prospered and his advertisements
continued until early in 1795.
Thomas Pryor made instruments in a shop on Chestnut Street in 1778, but
he evidently retired from business in the 1790's because the city
directory of 1795 listed him merely as "gentleman." He is reported to
have been one of those who, from the State House Yard, witnessed the
transit of Venus.[63]
Among the early makers of mathematical instruments in Philadelphia
was William Dean (?-1797), who is believed to have been working in that
city as early as 1778. His name first appears in local directories in
June 1792, where his shop address was listed as No. 43 South Front
Street. Later he advertised that he made and sold "Surveying
instruments--Telescopes, Sextants, Quadrants--and every article
requisite for navigation, surveying, levelling, &c...."
According to details which were noted in his last will, which was dated
June 1, 1797, and filed and proved in the following month, Dean's death
appears to have been preceded by a long illness. He designated his two
sisters as his executrices, and the fact that his will specified the
appointment of a Mr. Thomas Yardley, Jr., as guardian of his three
children indicates that he may have been a widower at the time of his
death.
A surveying compass by this maker was recently brought to light in, the
Clark County Historical Society, Springfield, Ohio, by Dr. Donald A.
Hutzlar of the Ohio State Museum. The instrument is a plain compass in
brass without levels, 13-1/2 inches in length, and with a 5-inch needle.
The dial is marked "DEAN PHILAD^a." The wooden cover for the instrument
is marked with the names of previous owners and dates, as follows:
Jno. C. Symes, Aug. 10, 1778
I. Ludlow, 1791
Henry Donnel, July 24, 1794
Jonathan Donnel, 1796
John Dyherty
Thomas J. Kizer, 1838
David J. Kizer, '78.
A description of this instrument in "_The History of Clark County,
Ohio_" by A. P. Steele, published in 1881 by the W. H. Beers Co. of
Chicago, adds considerably to its interest as a historical record of
American scientific instruments and their use: "Col. Thomas Kizer, the
veteran surveyor, has in his possession a compass made by Dean of
Philadelphia; this instrument was owned and used by his father, David
Kizer, who obtained it from John Dougherty about 1813; Dougherty got it
from Jonathan Donnel. This relic is marked I. Ludlow, 1791; Henry
Donnel, 1794; J. Donnel, 1796, John Dougherty, 1799; these marks are
rudely scratched upon the cover of the instrument, and bear every
evidence of being genuine; there is no doubt but that this old compass
was used in making the first surveys in this county, or that it is the
identical instrument used by John Dougherty, in laying off Demint's
first plat of Springfield, and by Jonathan Donnel on the survey of 'New
Boston.'" It is to be noted that some discrepancies exist in the listing
of names and dates of the previous owners between Steele's _History_ and
those which actually appear on the cover of the instrument. Steele
apparently made the changes he deemed necessary in his account of the
instrument.
Between 1791 and 1795 the same address was also occupied by a cooper
named Michael Davenport, and from 1797 to 1801 by "the Widow Davenport,"
presumably widow of Michael. From 1802 to 1804 the same address is
listed for William Davenport, "Mathematical Instrument Maker,"
apprentice to William Dean, and believed to be the son of Michael.
During the next ten years Davenport's address was 45 South Front Street,
and then, to 1820, was 25 South Front Street.[64] Several brass
surveying compasses bearing his name have survived.
Another maker of mathematical instruments about whom nothing further is
known is Charles Taws, who was listed in this manner in the Philadelphia
directory of 1795.
[Illustration: Figure 30.--Brass surveying compass marked "F. Heisely
Fred:*town." In collection of Ohio Historical Society, Ohio State
Museum.]
The making of instruments in glass appears to have been a specialized
business in the Colonies, because those who worked in this field do not
appear to have produced instruments in other materials. One of these
makers of glass instruments--specifically barometers, thermometers and
"Glass Bubbles to prove spirits, of different kinds"--was Alloysius
Ketterer. He maintained a shop in the house of a Charles Kugler at "the
sign of the Seven Stars," corner of Race and Fourth Streets in
Philadelphia, in 1789. He moved to another address in Race Street in
1790 and was eventually succeeded in business by Martin Fisher, who
increased the number of types of glass instruments made and sold at the
shop.[65]
Henry Voight (1738-1814) was a man with a varied career. Of German
ancestry, he was trained as a clock-and watchmaker, and he was a skilled
mechanic. He operated a wire mill in Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1780 and
moved shortly thereafter to Philadelphia, where he established a
clockmaker's shop on Second Street. He became a close friend of the
inventor John Fitch in about 1786, and in the following year he became a
shareholder in Fitch's company for producing steamboats. In 1792 he
entered into a short-lived partnership with Fitch to manufacture steam
engines. In 1793 he invented a process for making steel from bar iron.
In the same year President Washington appointed Voight to the position
of chief coiner of the Philadelphia Mint, and he continued in that
position until his death in 1814. He was closely associated with David
Rittenhouse, Andrew Ellicott, Edward Duffield, and others.
Although there is no record of Voight's career as an instrument maker,
there is nevertheless some evidence that he worked in that field. In the
collection of the U.S. National Museum there is a brass equal-altitude
telescope (fig. 31) made about 1790, that is signed "Henry Voigt." His
name was spelled "Voigt" and "Voight" interchangeably.
Henry's son Thomas Voight worked as a clockmaker on North Seventh Street
in Philadelphia around 1811. He was the maker of a tall case clock,
ordered by Thomas Jefferson, that Jefferson's daughter presented in 1826
to her father's physician, Dr. Dunglison, for settlement of medical
services.[66]
There were several instrument makers in provincial Pennsylvania, but the
majority of such craftsmen worked in Philadelphia. Dr. Christopher Witt
(1675-1765), an emigrant from England, worked in Germantown from about
1710 to 1765. He was well known locally as a medical doctor, scientist,
"hexmeister", clockmaker, and teacher. It is traditionally claimed that
he produced mathematical instruments in addition to timepieces. He
described the great comet of 1743 and built his own 8-foot telescope.
One of his apprentices may have been Christopher Sower (1693-1740), of
Germantown and Philadelphia, who achieved renown as a doctor, farmer,
author, printer, papermaker, and clockmaker. He also produced
mathematical instruments.[67]
George Wall, Jr., of Bucks County, was the author of a pamphlet on the
subject of "a newly invented Surveying Instrument, called the
Trigonometer." The instrument was described and illustrated in the
pamphlet, which was published in Philadelphia in 1788. Washington's own
copy, bearing the inscription "To the President of the United States
from the Author" is in the collection of the Boston Athenaeum.
George Ford of Lancaster maintained a shop on West King Street, probably
from the end of the 18th century until 1840. There he made tall case and
other clocks, surveying compasses, and other instruments for the retail
trade. However, he "did not push the business of Watchmaking and
Clockmaking so hard, for the manufacture of nautical instruments and
surveyors instruments was a more important part of his business."[68]
Upon his death in 1842 he was succeeded by his son George Ford II.
Thomas Mendenhall repaired clocks and mathematical instruments in a shop
on King and Queen Streets in the borough of Lancaster in 1775.[69]
John Wood of Philadelphia was a wholesale supplier of parts for
clockmakers and watchmakers. According to a notice in the May 7, 1790,
issue of _Pennsylvania Packet_, he had "pocket compasses, steel magnets,
Surveying compass needles, surveyors chains, etc." Since no mention was
made of making or mending instruments, it is probable that Wood was
merely importer and wholesaler.
Another instrument maker of Philadelphia about whom little is known is
Bryan Gilmur, who worked at the close of the 18th century making
instruments and, possibly, clocks.[70]
James Jacks (also listed as James Jack) first worked as clockmaker and
watchmaker in Charleston, South Carolina, in the 1780's; he later moved
to Philadelphia where he maintained a shop on Market Street where he
sold a variety of instruments. In the June 5, 1797, issue of _The
Federal Gazette_ he announced that, in addition to jewelry, clocks and
watches, he "also had for sale mathematical instruments in cases very
compleat; Surveyors Compasses and Theodolites; ship's Quadrants; Fishing
Rods and Reels; Billiard Balls and sheet ivory; silver and plated coach,
chaise and chair Whips."
[Illustration: Figure 31.--Equal altitude telescope, 17 in. long, made
and signed by Henry Voight (1738-1814) of Philadelphia. USNM 311772.]
_Instruments of Wood_
The Use of Wood
An interesting fact concerning the instruments produced by 18th-century
craftsmen is the relatively high incidence of instruments constructed of
wood instead of brass or other metals. A significant reference to this
use of wood is found in Alexander Hamilton's "Report on the Subject of
Manufactures," published in 1821,[71] which refers to such items of wood
as "Ships, cabinet-wares and turnery, wool and cotton cards, and other
machinery for manufactures and husbandry, mathematical instruments," ...
and "coopers' wares of every kind."
Most common of these mathematical instruments is the surveying compass,
possibly the instrument most needed and produced in America. Recorded in
public and private collections are 31 known examples of such compasses
made of wood, a rather large number. Furthermore, a substantial number
of these were being produced simultaneously by skilled craftsmen who at
the same time were making similar instruments in brass.
Finally, from a study of the surviving examples of wooden surveying
compasses comes the interesting and perhaps significant fact that all
the known makers were from New England. The towns and cities in which
they worked were Boston and Plymouth in Massachusetts, Windsor and New
Milford in Connecticut, and Walpole and Portsmouth in New Hampshire. A
careful study of the advertisements and works of the instrument makers
in the other large cities of the Colonies, such as New York, Baltimore,
and Philadelphia, reveals no examples of wooden scientific instruments.
Excluded, of course, are those instruments normally made of wood, such
as the octant and the mariners quadrant.
Two possible exceptions are instrument makers of New York City. The
first is James Ham, a maker of mathematical instruments "at the house
wherein the Widow Ratsey lately lived near the Old Dutch Church on
Smith Street" who advertised in the May 27, 1754, issue of _The New York
Mercury_ that he made and sold
mathematical instruments in wood, brass, or ivory, theodolites,
circumferentors, sectors, parallel rules, protractors, plain
scales, and dividers, the late instrument called an Octant, Davis'
quadrants, gauging rods, sliding and gunter's scales, amplitude
wood box and hanging and pocket compasses, surveying chains,
japanned telescopes, dice and dice boxes, mariners compasses and
kalenders, etc.[72]
Ham subsequently moved his business to Philadelphia where he first
advertised in 1764, stating that he worked at the sign of "Hadley's
Quadrant" at Front and Water Streets in Philadelphia and sold all forms
of instruments in silver, brass, and ivory as well as "large brass
pocket dials, fitted to the latitude of Philadelphia." In 1780 his son
James Ham, Jr., advertised from the same address as a maker of
mathematical instruments, specializing in "Hadley and Davis
Quadrants."[73]
The second exception is William Hinton, who advertised in _The New York
Gazette and the Weekly Mercury_ of May 4, 1772, as follows:
WILLIAM HINTON, Mathematical Instrument Maker, at Hadley's
Quadrant, facing the East Side of the New Coffee House, Makes and
sells all sorts of Mathematical Instruments, in Silver, Brass,
Ivory or Wood, viz. Hadley's Quadrants, Davis's do. Crostaf's
Nocturnals, Gunters Scales, Plotting do. Cases of Instruments,
Surveyors Chains, Dividers with and without Points, Protractors,
paralelled Rulers, Rods for Guaging, Amplitude, hanging and common
Wood Compasses, Pocket do. three Foot Telescopes, Pocket do.
Backgammon Tables, Dice and Dice Boxes, Billiard Balls and Tacks,
Violin Bows and Bridges; with a Variety of other Articles too
tedious to mention: And as he is a young Beginner, he flatters
himself, he shall meet with Encouragement; and all those who please
to favour him with their Custom, may depend upon having their Work
done in the neatest and best Manner, and at reasonable Rates.
It is mentioned that both Ham and Hinton worked in wood in addition to
other materials, but it appears very likely that the use of wood
referred specifically to those instruments normally made of wood, such
as quadrants and octants, and not to other instruments.
Any attempt to relate the making of wooden scientific instruments with
the production of wooden clocks in New England has no conclusive result,
yet there appears to be some relationship between the two. Wooden
clocks were made as early as the 17th century in Germany and Holland,
and they were known in England in the early 18th century. In the
Colonies the wooden clock was first produced in Connecticut, and the
earliest type was associated with Hartford County. This form was quite
common in East Hartford in 1761, and its first production may have had
some association with Ebenezer Parmele (1690-1777), since an association
between Parmele and all of the earliest makers of wooden clocks can be
traced.[74] Little is known about Parmele. His father was a cabinetmaker
in Guilford, Connecticut, and Ebenezer practiced the same craft, in
addition to being a boat builder. He was a man of means, held various
town offices, and served as town treasurer. For a while he operated a
cargo sloop on Long Island Sound. In 1726 he built the first tower clock
in Connecticut for the Guilford meeting house. He was a versatile worker
in wood, and it is believed that he served an apprenticeship in New York
City with a Dutch clockmaker from 1705 to 1710, where he may have
learned to make wooden clocks.
This early type of wooden clock is associated with Benjamin Cheney
(1725-1815), a clockmaker of East Hartford. The early or "Cheney" type
of wooden clock was produced in Connecticut as late as 1812. A later
form of the wooden movement began to appear about 1790, and was probably
introduced by Gideon Roberts (1749-1813) of Bristol. Roberts had lived
in the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania before 1790, and it is conjectured
that he became familiar with the wooden clocks produced by the German
settlers of that region.[75]
It is not surprising that the wooden clock had its colonial origins in
Connecticut, so completely was it adaptable to the pioneer conditions in
that colony. The materials were the abundant native woods-cherry, apple,
oak, and laurel. The parts were made with simple carpenter tools and a
wooden foot lathe, using the methods of the cabinetmaker. Although it
has been suggested that some relationship may have existed between the
makers of wooden instruments in England, and the makers of wooden clocks
and scientific instruments in the New England Colonies,[76] a careful
study has failed to reveal any connection, and there appears to be
little if any parallel between the two groups. Basically, the use of
wood for making some mathematical instruments in New England resulted
from the native familiarity with this material, which was also employed
to a considerable degree for the construction of domestic and
agricultural implements, and from the fact that many of the early
clockmakers had been trained as or by cabinet makers, carpenters, and
even dish turners. Random examples of a few of the more prominent
clockmakers are Joseph Hopkins, a wood turner; Chauncey Jerome, who had
been apprenticed to a wood turner; and Silas Hoadley, who had worked
with a cabinet maker.
Perhaps a basis for the prevalence of wood in these trades is to be
found in the lines from a familiar poem:
The Yankee boy, before he's sent to school,
Knows well the mystery of that magic tool,
The Pocket knife.[77]
But, from the technical point of view, it should be noted that those
craftsmen who produced clocks and instruments and did not have their own
brass foundries probably found that a good piece of straight-grained
hardwood was as stable for holding its dimensions with the grain as a
piece of brass. Shrinkage was at right angles to the grain; hence, for
fixed linear stability wood was as good as brass. For rigidity per unit
weight, wood was better than brass; and for availability and ease of
working, wood was superior to brass.
It has often been ventured that wooden clocks were first produced in
Connecticut, because of the scarcity of brass for this purpose during
the years between the beginning of the Revolution to the end of the War
of 1812. The claim is made that brass was not being produced in the
Colonies and that it was imported exclusively from England during this
period. Certainly, the wholesale price index of metal and metal products
shows a steady increase during this period, and a considerable jump
during the period of the War of 1812, making brass an extremely
expensive material. This may explain why the makers of clocks and
instruments who made and sold brass clocks and instruments were
producing the same products at the same time in wood which, as we have
seen, was both plentiful and a satisfactory substitute.
It can be surmised, therefore, that surveying instruments, as well as
instruments for other purposes, were produced in both brass and wood
simultaneously by many of the New England makers in order to provide
suitable instruments in a flexible price range to meet the demands of
the trade. Whereas today modern manufacturing methods make it possible
to produce instruments in a wide variety, both in quality and price, to
suit the needs and capabilities of every prospective purchaser, the
production facilities of the 18th century were much more limited. The
constant factor of skilled hand labor was costly. Metal was expensive.
As evidenced in the records of Daniel Burnap, for instance, it was
possible to produce surveying compasses in brass in two grades,
presumably one more elaborate than the other. Yet Burnap's prices ranged
between six pounds and four pounds for the metal instruments, making
them still well out of reach of many of the would-be surveyors.
Accordingly, Burnap--and presumably numerous other instrument makers of
the period--produced from wood an economy model that sold for not more
than two pounds, thus placing the item within the reach of the
nonprofessional surveyor.
This theory is supported amply by the discovery that several of the
instrument makers who worked in brass also made instruments of wood
during the same periods. In addition to the evidence in the records of
Daniel Burnap, there are the surviving surveying instruments in brass
and wood made by Samuel Thaxter, Thomas Greenough, and John Dupee,
leaving little if any doubt that the reason for producing surveying
compasses and similar items of wood during the 18th century was to
satisfy the need for reasonably accurate yet inexpensive instruments.
Surviving Instruments
The fact that the surviving examples of the wooden instruments were
produced only in New England seems to indicate merely that the New
England instrument makers were more familiar with the use of wood as a
material, and had greater facility in working with it.
Undoubtedly other instruments produced by the 18th-century American
makers have survived in addition to those already found. Quite likely
examples of these wooden instruments still remain hidden in unexplored
attics and other repositories. Yet, if the few thus far discovered is
any criterion, the number ultimately recoverable will probably be but a
fraction of the great number produced by the 18th-century makers during
the half century or more in which they worked. Even allowing for those
probably destroyed in the natural course of events, one cannot help but
wonder what has happened to the remainder.
[Illustration: Figure 32.--Wooden graphometer used by Rev. Eleazar
Wheelock (1711-1779) about 1769 for surveying the area of Dartmouth
College in Hanover, New Hampshire. The hardwood block is covered with a
brass plate with brass sighting bars mounted on a swivel and a spirit
level under a brass strip on edge of instrument. The instrument is 8-5/8
in. long, 4-5/8 in. wide, and 7/16 in. thick. In collection of Dartmouth
College Museum.]
A list of the surviving wooden instruments is given in the Appendix (p.
153). Many of these wooden instruments bear signatures or other marks
that permit identification of their makers, but a number of specimens
have been found that are not signed. In most instances they show
evidence of professional workmanship, and they may have been the work of
known craftsmen. One or two examples are obviously homemade by unskilled
amateur practitioners.
[Illustration: Figure 33.--Wooden surveying instrument, maker not known.
Compass dial is of metal, painted green, with degrees marked to 90° with
metal punches and the letter "N" to designate the north point. The
instrument is 12 in. long; diameter is 8 in. In collection of Dartmouth
College Museum.]
Several unsigned wooden instruments of professional quality are in the
collection of the Dartmouth College Museum. Of particular interest is a
semicircumferentor (fig. 32) that belonged to the Reverend Eleazar
Wheelock (1711-1779) who founded Moor's Indian Charity School at
Lebanon, Connecticut, which subsequently developed into Dartmouth
College. It is claimed that it was with this instrument that the area of
the college was surveyed when it moved to Hanover, N.H. The instrument
is actually a graphometer consisting of a block of hard wood faced with
a brass plate with a trough compass; it is tentatively dated about 1769.
The identity of the maker is unknown, but it may have been the product
of Hagger, who made a similar instrument, illustrated here, or it may
have been produced by any one of the other makers noted. The type of
instrument is an old one. It is described in John Love's _Geodaesia, Or
the Art of Surveying and Measuring Land_, published in London in 1688.
Abel Flint[78] also commented on this semicircle as being sometime used,
as well as the plane table and perambulator--
... but of these instruments very little [use] is made in New
England; and they are not often to be met with. For general
practice none will be found more useful than a common chain and a
compass upon Rittenhouse's construction.
Another of the unusual wooden surveying instruments in the collection of
the Dartmouth College Museum is a wooden surveying compass (fig. 33) in
which the sighting bars appear relatively close to the dial. A metal
plate, painted green, is stamped with the degrees marked to 90°. A
single N for the north point is stamped into it, presumably with steel
punches. The instrument is relatively primitive, and is sufficiently
different from the other examples noted to merit mention. There is no
maker's name, nor any clue to the date or place or period of origin.
An unsigned semicircumferentor made of wood is owned by Mr. Roleigh Lee
Stubbs of Charleston, West Virginia. The instrument measures 3-3/4 in.
by 7-1/2 in. by 1 in., and there are sighting bars 3 in. high on a
swinging brass bar pinned at the center of the base. It has a trough
compass, and the gradations around the edge of the semicircle are marked
with tiny brass pins. The date "1784" is stamped into the wood with the
same type of figures as appear in the degree markings, probably with
small steel punches.
A surveying compass of the conventional type, also made of wood, is in
The Farmer's Museum at Cooperstown, New York. The wood is ash or oak,
12-3/4 in. long and 6-1/2 in. in diameter, with the sighting bars 5 in.
high. The compass card consists of cut-out printed letters pasted upon a
printed compass rose, and the fleur-de-lis at North is inked-in by hand.
This may be a homemade replacement of the original card. The instrument
is believed to date between 1760-1775.
[Illustration: Figure 34.--18th-century semicircumferentor. Inscribed
brass plate is mounted on a mahogany block; brass sighting bars are
mounted on a swivelling bar. The trough compass is on a silvered dial.
In collection of the writer.]
Of equal interest is a large semicircumferentor made by an unknown
American instrument maker in the second half of the 18th century. The
instrument (fig. 34) consists of a plate of hammered brass attached to a
quarter circle block of mahogany, with a glass covered trough compass
within a silvered opening, and the gradations stamped into the brass.
The brass sighting bars are attached to a swivelling bar that can be
fixed in place with a set screw underneath the block. The instrument,
which is in the collection of the writer, is not signed with a maker's
name. Its workmanship is excellent, and professional.
On the basis of a comparison of these instruments with those produced by
known professional makers, it becomes apparent that all of them were
made professionally. The possibility that some of these wooden surveying
compasses may have been produced by the farmer or local surveyor for his
own use is extremely unlikely. Homemade instruments such as those
described below were unquestionably the exception instead of the
rule.
[Illustration: Figure 35.--Homemade wooden surveying compass carved from
block of maple entirely with a jackknife; painted in red. In collection
of Preston R. Bassett, Ridgefield, Connecticut.]
An exception to this generalization, and an extremely fine example of
the whittler's art, is a surveying compass (fig. 35) in the collection
of Mr. Preston R. Bassett of Ridgefield, Connecticut. This is a
comparatively small instrument made of maple; the body was painted red.
It is carved entirely by means of a jackknife, and the sighting bars are
also whittled to shape and mortised permanently into the frame. A lid
covering the dial is carved from soft pine. The compass dial is
handdrawn in black ink, and the North point is painted in the form of a
decorative fleur-de-lis in red and green. A homemade ring of pewter
surrounds the compass rose at needle level. This is graduated in
degrees, with every 10° marked, stamped with steel punches. The ring is
set into the base by means of wooden pegs. The steel needle is nicely
cut, and it is probably the only part purchased by the maker.
This is unquestionably a homemade instrument produced by a skillful
whittler early in the 18th century.
Compass Cards
A fact that becomes apparent in a comparison of the surviving examples
of wooden surveying compasses made in New England is the similarity of
the compass cards used by makers in the seaport cities (see fig. 36).
The compass card in each of these instances is the type designed for a
mariner's compass, bearing a star of 32 rays to mark the 32 points of
the heavens. The North point is designated with an elaborate
fleur-de-lis, and the East is emphasized with scrollwork. These are
features which were not designed primarily for land surveying.
Presumably, these makers had a quantity of engraved or printed compass
cards that they used in both marine and land surveying compasses. This
is true in the case of the compasses made by James and Joseph Halsy,
Greenough, Clough, Warren, Thaxter, Dupee, Breed, and Bowles. On the
other hand, the dial of Huntington's compass was painted directly on the
wood, and the semicircumferentors do not utilize the marine compass
card. Obviously these makers resorted to this practice for reasons of
economy--to reduce costs of engraving and printing, and using the same
card for both types of instruments that they produced.
Trade Signs
An interesting sidelight in the study of the makers of scientific
instruments is the advertising they used, particularly the design of
their signboards. The most popular symbol appears to have been the
quadrant, as the phrase "At the Sign of the Quadrant" is found
repeatedly in advertising in several of the seaport cities of the 18th
century.
[Illustration: Figure 36.--Unsigned wooden surveying compass, with an
interesting example of a mariner's compass card.]
In Providence, William Hamlin used the designation in the first part of
the 19th century, while Philadelphian John Gould featured the sign at
the end of the 18th century. During an even earlier period, William
Hinton designated his address to be "At Hadley's Quadrant" in New York
City. Both Gould and Hinton were English, which may have had some
bearing on their selection of the quadrant as a symbol of their
merchandise.
Other signboards were as colorful, such as Jonathan Dakin's "Sign of the
Hand and Beam," James Youle's "Sign of the Cross-Knives and Gun," and
Charles Kugler's house in Philadelphia with its "Sign of the Seven
Stars" (that is, Great Bear), which housed the shops of several
instrument makers.
The two most interesting and significant of the instrument makers' trade
signs were those advertising the shop of Samuel Thaxter. The first of
these was the carved wooden figure of "The Little Admiral," which was a
favorite landmark at No. 1 Long Wharf in Boston for almost a century and
a half. It was the handiwork of John Skillin, the 18th-century
woodcarver of Boston, upon whose death on January 24, 1800, the
_Chronicle_ commented that "he was for many years the most eminent of
his profession." John Skillin and his brother Simeon worked in Boston
from about 1777 and produced most of the figureheads that issued from
that port during that period, as well as a number of other notable
ornamental wooden figures.
[Illustration: Figure 37.--"The Little Admiral," trade sign used for
almost a century and a half in Boston, first by William Williams and
later by Samuel Thaxter. Reputed to have been carved by John Skillin of
Boston. In collection of the Bostonian Society.]
According to Mrs. H. Ropes Cabot of the Bostonian Society, the figure of
"The Little Admiral" (fig. 37) had been carved for William Williams, who
brought it with him to Boston from Marblehead in 1770 when he
established his shop. The figure was installed in front of the Crown
Coffee House, and Williams's shop was thereafter designated by this
symbol. The trade sign survived through the years of the Revolutionary
War. When the original building of the Coffee House was burned, the
carving was saved and installed on the new building erected in its
place. In an account of Boston landmarks, Porter[79] related the figure
to the Admiral Vernon Tavern at the eastern corner of Merchants Row. He
was proved to have been in error, however, since the trade sign of that
public-house was a portrait bust of Admiral Vernon and the place was
known as the Vernon Head Tavern for half a century, even after the end
of the Revolution.
When Samuel Thaxter purchased the business from Williams's estate he
acquired the figure as well, and he moved it to each new location for
his shop. The figure of "The Little Admiral" continued to designate the
firm even after Thaxter's death, until the firm finally went out of
existence at the beginning of the 20th century. When the old store was
torn down in 1901, the figure was preserved, presumably by the last
owner's family. In 1916 it was acquired for the Bostonian Society by
several of its members, and the figure has been preserved in the
Society's Council Chamber since that time.
The other interesting trade sign utilized by Samuel Thaxter is a carved
figure of Father Time that is credited to John Skillin (see fig. 38).
The figure is believed to have been commissioned by Thaxter during the
last decade of the 18th century and installed by him in the interior of
his shop. It is an important example of the American woodcarver's art,
and is equivalent to the best work of the Skillin brothers.
[Illustration: Figure 38.--"Father Time" trade sign used by Samuel
Thaxter in his shop in 18th and 19th centuries. Made of wood, it was
carved by John Skillin of Boston. In collection of the Bostonian
Society.]
The Makers
Surprisingly, the names of the craftsmen who produced wooden instruments
are not noted among the instrument makers. With only one or two
exceptions, their names are hitherto unknown in the history of American
science, and for that reason it has been considered advisable to present
all available information that could be accumulated about them.
_Joseph Halsy_
The earliest known maker of wooden scientific instruments of Boston was
Joseph Halsy. He appears to have been one of the sons of the James
Halsie I, who was mentioned in a land deed of 1674 as a mathematician.[80]
The land records indicate that James I was the father of several
children, including Rebecca, a spinster; John Halsey, a mariner who died
before 1716; Sarah, who later became Mrs. Dorsan; another daughter, name
unknown, who became the wife of a Joseph Gilbert and the mother of two
daughters and a son who inherited her share of her father's estate;
Nathaniel Halsie; and probably Joseph Halsy. James Halsie I appears to
have owned property consisting of land, a wooden house, and wharves on
the North End, on North Street between Sun Court and Fleet Street.[81]
The date of birth of Joseph Halsy of Boston has not been found, but
mention is made of the fact that on January 29, 1697, he was married to
Elizabeth Eldridge, the daughter of a mariner named Joseph Eldridge, and
that five children resulted from the marriage, three sons and two
daughters.[82] One son, Joseph, died in infancy and a daughter,
Elizabeth, died at an early age.
On February 26, 1704/5 Halsy purchased from Rebecca Halsey, the spinster
daughter of James, her share in the house and land of her late father on
North Street between Sun Court and Fleet Street.
On April 19, 1714, Halsy and his wife deeded a house and land on North
End, at the corner of Hanover and Salutation Streets, to a shipwright
named Joseph Hood. Two years later, on March 2, 1716, he purchased from
Jane, his sister-in-law, who was the widow of the mariner John Halsy,
her share of the house and land of James Halsie, being the same property
on North Street. On March 27 of the same year he purchased the share in
the same property belonging to Sarah Dorsan, his widowed sister. In
August 1719 he was forced to mortgage some of the property to a merchant
named John Frizell, but the mortgage was cancelled in 1741.
Halsy was married for a second time on January 10, 1731, to Mrs. Anna
Lloyd, a widow.[83]
[Illustration: Figure 39.--Wooden surveying compass "Made and sold by
Joseph Halsy, Boston, New England." The instrument, made of maple, is 11
in. long and has a diameter of 5-3/4 in. In the collection of New
Hampshire Historical Society, Concord.]
During the 1730's, Halsy continued to buy out the heirs of James Halsie.
On March 6, 1730, he acquired the share of Mary Gilbert, a
granddaughter, and on the same date he purchased from the James Halsey
heirs their inheritance "part to land, wharf, house, shop and buildings
on North Street." Other heirs remained, for in June 9, 1732, he bought
out the share of Marty Partridge, another granddaughter, and on June 27
the share of Joseph Gilbert, Jr., a grandson. In October 1740 he was
forced to mortgage as security to James Bowdoin a house and land on the
southwest side of North Street, but this was cancelled when on August
26, 1751, Joseph Halsey and his wife, Anna, deeded to James Noble the
land, wooden house, and wharves near Fish Street on North Street between
Sun Court and Fleet Street, which apparently was formerly the property
of James Halsey that Joseph had acquired with so much trouble over a
period of 40 years.[84]
The following advertisement relating to instruments sold by Halsy
appeared in the issues of _The Boston Gazette_ for the months of
September and October 1738:
Made and sold by Joseph Halsey jun. Hadley's New Invented Quadrant
or Octant the best and exacted Instrument for taking the Latitude
or Other Altitudes at Sea, as ever yet Invented.[85]
The last dated record relating to Joseph Halsy which has been found is a
letter dated February 3, 1762, that he wrote to Robert Treat Paine
concerning legal matters.
Only one complete instrument produced by Joseph Halsy appears to have
survived--an especially fine wooden surveyors compass (fig. 39) in the
collection of the New Hampshire Historical Society. It is made of maple.
The compass card, probably the most interesting of any found in the
wooden instruments, is hand-colored in black, blue, red, and gold. A
fleur-de-lis marks the North point, and triangular pointers indicate the
other compass directions. Inside the pointers are crudely painted female
figures representing the seven arts: NW, Grammar; W, Logick; SW,
Geometry; S, Arithmetick; SE, Astronomy; E, Rhetorick; and NE, Musick.
Within a medallion at the center of the compass card is depicted a
sailing vessel at sea; surrounding the medallion is a riband inscribed
"Made and Sold by JOSEPH HALSY Boston--New England."[86]
Another, but much less elaborate, compass card used by Joseph Halsy, is
an engraved example (fig. 40) found glued in Thomas Paine's own
manuscript copy of Charles Morton's _Compendium Physicae_, which is
preserved in the collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society.
John Halsy (fl. 1700-1750), also a mathematical instrument maker, had a
shop on Green Street, in Boston, according to the Record Commissioner's
"Report of the City of Boston." He was married on December 10, 1700, by
the Reverend Cotton Mather. He probably was a brother of Joseph Halsy
who worked in the same period.
John Halsy subsequently abandoned his instrument-making business to
become a pirate. He went out to Madagascar, where it is reported that he
died in his own bed. He was buried with the rites of the Church of
England in his own watermelon patch.
[Illustration: Figure 40.--Compass card of Joseph Halsy found glued into
Thomas Paine's personal copy of Charles Morton's _Compendium Physicae_.
In collection of Massachusetts Historical Society.]
_James Halsy II_
James Halsy II (1695-1767), a mathematical instrument maker, was born in
Boston on April 10, 1695, the son of Nathaniel and Hannah (Gross)
Halsie. The parents had been married by the Reverend Cotton Mather in
June 1693.[87] In 1716 young James Halsy was a member of the Artillery
Company, and by 1720 he had the rating of 4th sergeant. He held town
offices and was one of the founders of the New Brick Church of Boston.
On May 30, 1717, he married Anna Gutridge (Goodrich). Ten years later,
on September 22, 1727, he bought a house and land on North Bennett and
Tileston Streets from Hugh Hall, a merchant; at the same time he deeded
to Hall some land and a house adjacent to the latter on the southwest
side of Green Street. On January 5, 1837, he deeded to his aunt(?), a
single woman named Huldah Gross, a house and land on Ann Street that he
had inherited from Thomas Gross, his grandfather. Several more real
estate negotiations were recorded in the course of the next few years.
In October 1740 he purchased a house and land on the north side of North
Bennet Street from John Endicott; in January 1741 land on the east side
of North Bennett Street; and in November 1748 half of the house and land
of Edward Pell, adjacent to Huldah Gross, on Cross Street; finally, in
October 1753, he purchased land on Tileston and North Bennett Streets
from John Grant.[88]
Halsy died on January 2, 1767, at the age of 72. In his will dated May
1, 1766, and probated January 2, 1767, by which his wife Anna was the
executrix of his estate, he left her the income of his real and personal
estate. He apparently was survived by three daughters and a son, also
named James Halsy. He divided his real estate in Boston amongst his
daughters, and to his son he left land in New Hampshire.[89]
The only known surviving instrument bearing James Halsy's name is a
wooden surveying compass (fig. 41) in the collection of the Peabody
Museum in Salem. The engraved compass card is quite similar to the one
used by Thomas Greenough. In the central medallion is an elaborate royal
crown, and in the circle around the medallion is inscribed "Made and
Sold by JAMES HALSY near Ye Draw Bridge in Boston."[90]
[Illustration: Figure 41.--Wooden surveying compass made by James Halsy
(1695-1767) of Boston. The instrument is 11 in. long. In collection of
East India Marine Hall, Peabody Museum, Salem, Massachusetts.]
_Thomas Greenough_
Contemporary with James Halsy II was Thomas Greenough (1710-1785), who
was born in Boston in 1710, the son of John and Elizabeth (Gross)
Greenough. His father was a shipwright in the North End of Boston, and
one of Thomas's brothers, Newman Greenough, became a sailmaker. Thomas
also had a sister named Jerusha, who later figured in his real estate
negotiations.
The earliest known record relating to Greenough is of his marriage in
1734 to Martha Clarke, daughter of William and Sarah Clarke of Boston.
Nine children resulted from this marriage over the course of the next 16
years; four of these were sons. On January 27 of the year of his
marriage he purchased a house on the northwest side of North Street,
between Mill Creek and Union Street, from John White and Nathaniel
Roberts. On August 1, 1736, Greenough purchased the house and land of
his father-in-law, William Clarke, on the south side of Portland Street.
On October 28 he mortgaged to his mother his house on Ann Street (which
appears to have been the house he had purchased on North Street), and at
the same time he deeded to his brother Newman all his right and title in
his father's estate at the North End. Greenough was only 24 at the time
of his marriage, and he apparently became involved in real estate, by
choice or by necessity, to a considerable degree.
Greenough, in 1744, was a member of a militia company in Boston,[91] and
three years later, in 1747, he was listed as third sergeant. He was a
firm patriot, held a town office, and was a founder and deacon of the
New Brick Church in Boston.
Greenough had a substantial interest in the holdings of his late
father-in-law. For example, on August 11, 1744, he and his wife deeded
to a merchant named James Pitts the seawall, or new wharf, "before the
Town of Boston in the front and rear lying to the northward of King
Street Pier, North Wharf and flats of James Bowdoin," all of which was
part of the estate of his deceased father-in-law that apparently had
been inherited by his wife. In the following year, on November 1, 1745,
he purchased a house and land on Portland Street from his widowed
mother-in-law and then on March 31, 1746, he and his wife deeded the
same house and land to a merchant named Stephen Hall. Numerous other
negotiations of the same nature are on record.
At some time between 1748 and 1750 Greenough's first wife, Martha, died,
and in 1750 he married Sarah Stoddard. Three more children, all sons,
resulted from this second marriage. His real estate negotiations
continued full pace during the second marriage as during the first.[92]
Greenough's second wife preceded him in death, and Greenough died in
1785 at the age of 75. His will, probated on August 23, 1785, had been
made on May 21, 1782;[93] it contained some interesting bequests:
Executors: my two sons, David S. and William Greenough. Legatees:
to the children of my son Thomas, deceased, Rachel, Ann, and Sally
Greenough, £13.6.8 each. To their sister Betty £5. To the children
of my son John deceased, 200 acres of land. I also give his eldest
son John my silver can, fellow to the one I gave his father. To his
sons Wm. and David, and to his daughters, Sarah, Abigail, and
Mehitible £5 each and the house they live in. My daughter, Sarah
Edwards, £10 and a silver chafing dish. My daughter Martha Stone
all my lands in the County of York, Cape Porpoise, and Wells, and
my silver salver, and her son Thomas £5 and a silver porringer. My
daughter Elizabeth Brooks £10 and a silver tea pot. My daughter
Mary Savage £40 and to her son Thomas one silver porringer. To the
children of my daughter Jerusha, deceased, Martha Clark Lepear and
Sally Lepear each of them, £50, and a pair of salt shovels, and a
pepper box, silver. All the rest of my estate to my two sons, David
Stoddard Greenough, and Wm. Greenough. The late Shute Shrimpton
Yeoman, Esq., left an estate to my late spouse Sarah, and to her
children, in the Island of Antigua. In case my son David should
have a legal possession of same, and Wm. no part, in that case I
give my son David £100 and sundry pieces as per schedule amount to
£63.11.3. All the rest of my estate to my son, William Greenough.
Of particular interest with relation to Greenough's business in
instruments is the following advertisement that appeared on May 11,
1742, in _The Boston Gazette_:
To be sold by Capt. Cyprian Southack at his House near the Orange
Tree and at Mr. Tho. Greenough's Mathematical Instrument Maker near
the Draw Bridge, said Southack's Char[t]s of the Coast from Sandy
Point of New York to Canso.
Invaluable for this study are Thomas Greenough's manuscript accounts
that have survived in the collections of the Massachusetts Historical
Society. The following itemized entries are selected from Greenough's
business accounts over a period of two decades to provide data on the
prices current in the second half of the 18th century for new
instruments and for repairing others:
In Account with Thomas James Gruchy:
1754, April 27: 1 Compass for the Schooner _Sea Flour_ £0.8.0.
1758, Nov. 28: 1 Spyglass £1.13.8.
1759, Jan. 25: Mending 3 Compasses for the Schooner
_Susanna_ £0.6.0.
In Account with Nathaniel Bethune:
1760, August: A gauging rod £0.6.0.
Mending a telescope £0.3.0.
In Account with Captain McAndrew Mirick of Nantucket:
1772, March 21: For 2 compasses, 1 leaded £0.16.8.
In Account with Captain Roberson Crockett:
1773, April: For mending 2 Compasses £0.6.2.
For mending 1 Hanging Compass £0.3.2.
In Account with Captain Reworth of the Brig _Fortune_:
1774, March 30: For mending 2 compasses & Glasses £0.7.0.
In Account with Captain Thomas Godfrey:
1774, April 7: For 1 Telescope £0.8.0.
Other documents in the same collection indicate that Greenough's
business interests were substantial and not limited merely to the
construction of instruments. On July 31, 1769, Greenough's name appeared
on the Boston Citizens' Non-Importation Agreement. Subsequently, on
December 14, 1774, there is Greenough's signed receipt, with the amount
left blank, stating that he had "REC'D. of Capt. Thomas Godfrey the Sum
of ---- in full for my Negro man Cuffes Shair in the Whaling Voige
----."
[Illustration: Figure 42.--Brass surveying compass made by Thomas
Greenough (1710-1785) of Boston. Compass face is mounted on main blade
with two copper rivets. Screws for vanes and tripod mounting are hand
cut, with wing nut ends. Sighting bars are 1/16 in. wide and 5-1/4 in.
high; over-all length is 11-7/8 in. and diameter is 5-1/4 in. Owned by
Greenough family of Boston. Photo courtesy of Dr. Thomas Greenough.]
Greenough apparently was succeeded in business by his son William
Greenough. Mr. Lawrence B. Romaine of Middleboro, Massachusetts, in 1939
described a wooden surveying compass with its own hand-whittled tripod
made of oak which bore a compass card inscribed "Made by William
Greenough, Boston, N.E."[94] The compass was protected by a pine cover
that fitted closely between the sights. The present location of this
instrument is not known, but it appears to be the only known example by
William Greenough made of wood.[95]
[Illustration: Figure 43.--Wooden surveying compass, made and sold by
Thomas Greenough. The instrument is made of gumwood and has a paper
compass card; it is 13-1/4 in. long and has a diameter of 5-3/4 in. In
collection of Franklin Institute, Philadelphia.]
In the Greenough family at the present time is a brass surveying compass
(fig. 42) of fine quality and of the period before or during the
American Revolution. The dial is finely engraved with a Tudor rose at
its center, and around it is the inscription "THOMAS GREENOUGH BOSTON
Fecit." The compass face is mounted to the main blade with two copper
rivets. The holding screws for the vane and tripod mounting are rather
crudely hand cut with wing-nut ends.[96]
[Illustration: Figure 44.--Wooden surveying compass made and sold by
Thomas Greenough. Made of hickory, it is 11 in. long and has a diameter
of 5-1/2 in. Compass card is of paper. Allegedly, this compass was used
by Joseph Frye for surveying his land grant in what is now Fryeburg,
Maine, in 1762. Loaned to the U.S. National Museum by Laurits C. Eichner
of Clifton, New Jersey. USNM 315001.]
Five other surveying compasses made by Thomas Greenough are known, and
all are made of wood: the one in the Franklin Institute is made of gum
(fig. 43), one in Old Sturbridge is made of maple, one in the Bucks
County Historical collection at the Mercer Museum is made of cherry, one
owned by this writer is made of basswood, and one on loan to the U.S.
National Museum from Mr. Laurits C. Eichner is made of hickory (fig.
44).
The compass at the Mercer Museum forms part of the surveyor's gear used
to lay out the town of Weymouth, Massachusetts. The example in hickory
on loan to the U.S. National Museum, as is usually the case with the
compass cards of the Thomas Greenough instruments, has the central ring
printed in gilt, and the inscription has turned black, making the
inscription almost illegible. This specimen was owned by Joseph Frye,
who was given a land grant in what is now Fryeburg, Maine, in 1762. He
allegedly used this compass for surveying that land. In 1783 he
assembled a manuscript book of tables (see fig. 45) for use in
surveying for his son Joseph Frye, Jr. This manuscript also is part of
the loan to the U.S. National Museum.[97]
[Illustration: Figure 45.--Pages from a booklet of "Tables Useful in
Surveying Land, Made and presented by Joseph Frye to his son, Joseph
Frye, Jr., November 18, A.D. 1783." Loaned to the U.S. National Museum
by Laurits C. Eichner of Clifton, N.J. USNM 315062.]
[Illustration: Figure 46.--Compass card from a wooden surveying compass
"Made by Thomas Greenough, Boston, New England." In collection of the
writer.]
The compass card in each of these five instruments is identical,
designed for use in the mariner's compass (see fig. 46). A gentleman in
the dress of about 1740 stands on the shore using a Davis quadrant.
Offshore in the harbor is a schooner of the 1750 period. Minor features
of the scene are touched up in red, presumably printed, since they are
consistent in all of the cards.
_William Williams_
Although not one of the earliest instrument makers in Boston, but
certainly one of the more significant, was William Williams
(1737/8-1792). He was the son of Capt. John Williams, a shopkeeper who
died on March 22, 1748, at the age of 41, and who was buried in King's
Chapel Burial Ground.[98]
William Williams was born in 1737 or 1738. He was ten years of age when
his father died, and he had two brothers and two sisters. His father
left a substantial estate of £6,575, of which £4,544/9/4 was for the
inventory of the shop merchandise. One of the appraisers for his estate,
Jotham Maverick, married the widowed Mrs. Williams less than a year
later, on January 20, 1748/9.[99]
In 1770 William Williams established himself as a mathematical
instrument maker and clockmaker at No. 1 Long Wharf, at the Crown Coffee
House, as it was then known. The shop was located on the corner of State
and Chatham Streets, on premises owned by Robert Shillcock.
[Illustration: Figure 47.--Quadrant, showing signature of Thomas
Greenough. Photo courtesy Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford.]
Williams may have worked as an instrument maker in Marblehead before
returning to his native Boston. According to Felt,[100] an instrument
maker named William Williams at Marblehead advertised in the Salem
newspapers in the early 1770's. However, in 1768 Williams was producing
instruments from an address in King Street, Boston. (See figure 48.) An
advertisement inserted by Williams appeared in the March 12, 1770, issue
of _The Boston Gazette_. It was this same issue that reported the Boston
Massacre. One of the victims was Williams' step-brother Samuel Maverick,
the son of his stepfather Jotham Maverick by a first marriage.
In 1773 Williams married Joyce Shillcock, the daughter of his landlord.
During the Revolutionary War, Williams saw active service as a private
in Captain Mills' company, of Col. Jeduthan Baldwin's regiment of
artificers, during the years 1777-1779. In 1780 he served in Captain
Pattin's company of General Knox's artillery, which was stationed at
West Point.[101]
With the conclusion of the war Williams returned to the craft of
instrument-making in his shop, at No. 1 Long Wharf. In 1782 his wife,
Joyce, inherited the property from her mother, the widow Hannah
Shillcock, following the latter's death in that year. In the following
May it is recorded that Williams purchased the warehouse and land on the
north side of State Street from Benjamin Brown, a trader. By a separate
deed, he and his wife released to Brown the warehouse and land which had
been the property of his father-in-law in exchange for a clear title to
one-half share of the store and land under it "which is next to the
street called King Street." On February 7, 1784, he bought a share of
the lower division at Long Wharf, No. 7, from Arnold Welles. On May 17
of the same year he succeeded in buying out Brown's half share of the
lower division of Long Wharf at Nos. 1 and 7, and at the same time he
deeded to Brown one-half share of No. 7 Long Wharf, together with all
its dockage and wharfage. Finally, on January 20, 1785, Williams and his
wife deeded to Brown all rights to land of No. 7 Long Wharf, reserving
for himself his rights in the flats, wharfage, and dockage.
On March 23, 1787, Williams deeded to Joseph Helyer, a blockmaker, the
store and land under same, and half the wharfage properly belonging to
Lot No. 1. On October 20 of the same year he sold to Brown a part or
share of No. 7 Long Wharf, and on March 24, 1788, he purchased land with
a wooden store at State Street and Long Wharf from Benjamin Brown. On
June 26 he bought the land and store of Joseph Helyer on the north side
of Long Wharf.
[Illustration: Figure 48.--Advertisement of William Williams in _The
Boston Gazette_, March 12, 1770. Photo courtesy Harvard University
Library.]
Williams engaged in only two more transactions before his death. On
March 28, 1790, he mortgaged to Joseph Greene, a merchant, the land with
wooden store at the head of Long Wharf on the northeast side of State
Street; this mortgage was cancelled on May 29, 1793. On October 1, 1791,
he deeded to Benjamin Brown a one-half share or 1/48th of all the
dockage and wharfage of Long Wharf that appertained to one-half of Lot
No. 1, which he had previously purchased from Welles as noted, as well
as 1/48th of the proprietor's purchase of Gordon's lands and buildings
adjoining the Wharf.
Williams died on January 15, 1792, at age 44. The administrator of his
estate was a merchant named Abraham Quincy. By order of the Supreme
Court, in order to settle his estate, Williams' store building at No. 1
Long Wharf was ordered sold at public auction. Although on the site of
the Crown Coffee House, it was a new building erected in 1780 after the
Coffee House had burned. The purchaser appears to have been John Osborn,
a merchant, because on May 10, 1793, Quincy, Williams' administrator,
deeded to Osborn the land with wooden store at Long Wharf on State
Street.[102]
The only instrument made by Williams which appears to have survived is a
Davis backstaff (fig. 49) marked "By Wm. Williams, King Street, Boston,
for Malachi Allen, 1768"; this instrument is now in the collection of
the Peabody Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. It is to be noted from this
inscription that this instrument was an early example of Williams' work,
produced at the age of 20, prior to the opening of his shop at the Crown
Coffee House.
In 1770, when Williams opened his shop, the carved sign of "The Little
Admiral" (fig. 37) was installed in front of the Crown Coffee House, and
Williams' establishment was thereafter designated by this symbol.[103]
In his shop at No. 1 Long Wharf, Williams exercised his crafts of
instrument-and clockmaking, and he made and sold a large assortment of
instruments, as well as time glasses which measured from one quarter
minute to two hours.
[Illustration: Figure 49.--Detail of wooden Davis quadrant inscribed
"Made by William Williams in King Street Boston" for "Malachi Allen
1768." In collection of East India Marine Hall, Peabody Museum, Salem,
Massachusetts.]
The name of Williams appears also in the Day Books of Paul Revere. Under
date of April 16, 1792, there is the following entry:
Mr. William Williams Dr
To Engravg plate for hatt bills 0-18-0
To 2 hund prints 0-6-0.
From June 24, 1792, to January 28, 1797, Revere entered 12 charges
against Williams for 8,500 hat bills for the total amount of
£14/15/0.[104]
_Samuel Thaxter_
Closely associated with the name of William Williams is that of another
instrument maker of Boston, Samuel Thaxter (1769-1842). Thaxter was born
in Hingham, Massachusetts, on December 13, 1769, the son of Samuel and
Bathsheba (Lincoln) Thaxter. His father, who had been born in Hingham in
1744, was married on December 27, 1768, and he became the father of six
children, of whom Samuel was the eldest. Samuel Thaxter, Sr., was
apparently a man of means, for he is listed as a "Gentleman" and a loyal
subject of King George. He resided on North Street in Hingham, near Ship
Street. He died on the island of Campobello at the age of 44 years on
May 27, 1788.[105]
Samuel Thaxter, as well as several generations of his family before him,
was born in the old Thomas Thaxter mansion that was built by the settler
of that name in 1652. During the Revolution Samuel's father, Maj. Samuel
Thaxter, concealed Tories from the Committee of Safety in a blind
passage with a secret door in the old house. From there he smuggled them
to Boston. At the massacre of Fort William, Major Thaxter was one of
those captured by the Indians. While tied to a tree, he saw two French
officers, and demanded whether this was the treatment they gave to
commissioned officers. They allowed him to go free and he dragged
himself to Fort Edward. Meanwhile, his comrades had reported him missing
in action, and Dr. Gay preached his funeral sermon in Hingham shortly
before Thaxter's return. The old Thaxter mansion was torn down in
1864.[106]
Young Samuel Thaxter moved from Hingham to Boston, where he is first
heard of in 1792. On June 14, 1792, Thaxter married Polly Helyer, the
niece of William Williams.
Within a month after the sale of Williams' property at public auction,
Thaxter acquired the instrument-making business. Apparently the new
owner of the premises required the business to move, and Thaxter
established himself at No. 9 Butler's Row. A month after the Williams
auction Thaxter announced his new location in an advertisement (fig. 50)
in _The Columbia Centinel_ of May 22, 1793.
Thaxter's new location was a wooden store structure, on the north side
of Butler's Row that was owned by Andrew Hall and Eunice Fitch in 1798.
It was in the rear of the north side of State Street, running from
Merchants Row to the water.
By 1796 Thaxter had moved from this location to No. 49 State Street, on
the north side opposite to Broad Street, a brick store owned by Joseph
Lovering & Sons, tallow chandlers. He continued to do business at this
address until 1815, when he moved to 27 State Street, on the opposite
side of the street. The new location was in a brick dwelling, opposite
Merchants Row, that was owned by Joseph Clough, a housewright.
[Illustration: Figure 50.--Advertisement of Samuel Thaxter in _The
Columbia Centinel_, May 22, 1793. Photo courtesy Harvard University
Library.]
In about 1825 Thaxter moved his business once more, to 125 State Street,
the east corner of Broad Street. This building was occupied by Charles
Stimpson, Jr., a stationer who was one of the publishers of the _Boston
Annual Advertiser_, which was annexed to the Boston Directory of 1826.
The building was owned by Jonathan Phillips, the first mayor of Boston.
In the cellar of the building was a victualler named Augustus
Adams.[107]
The dominating feature of Thaxter's shop from the time it was opened was
the carved figure of "The Little Admiral," the trade sign first used by
Williams.
The firm of Samuel Thaxter eventually became Samuel Thaxter & Son, and
it continued with that name until past the middle of the 19th century.
Samuel Thaxter died in April 1842 at the age of 72 years. The entry for
the firm in the 1843 City Directory listed S. T. Cushing as the new
owner. From the initials, it seems likely that his full name was
Samuel Thaxter Cushing, and that he was the grandson of the original
Samuel Thaxter. S. T. Cushing continued to be listed as the owner of the
firm until 1899, when he was succeeded by A. T. Cushing, presumably a
son of the former. The old store was finally demolished in 1901.[108]
Comparison of a photograph of the building just before its demolition
with a copy of Thaxter's trade card (fig. 51) of the mid-19th century
shows that the building underwent little change in the period. The
"Little Admiral" is barely visible in both views.
[Illustration: Figure 51.--19th-century trade card in collection of the
Bostonian Society.]
[Illustration: Figure 52.--Mahogany surveying compass made by Samuel
Thaxter of Boston. Length, 13 in.; diameter, 7-1/2 in. Wooden frame
slides off to permit removal of glass and adjustment of needle. Sighting
bars are of boxwood. In collection of the writer.]
In 1796, shortly after his marriage, Thaxter made his home on
Fish Street (now North Street), but in 1800 he was living at 54 Middle
Street (Hanover Street). By 1807 he had moved to a new home on Fleet
Street. His last home address, at the time of his death, was 41 Pinckney
Street.[109]
[Illustration: Figure 53.--Compass card from earlier form of wooden
surveying compass made by Samuel Thaxter of Boston. From an instrument
in the collection of the writer.]
In the collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society there is a
receipted bill (fig. 55) from Samuel Thaxter dated July 1, 1801, to Sam
Brown, for touching up and repairing nine compasses for the French
corvelle _Berceau_.
[Illustration: Figure 54.--Brass surveying compass made and sold by S.
Thaxter & Son, Boston, in late 18th or early 19th century. Over-all
length, 14 in.; diameter of dial, 6 in.; length of needle, 5-1/8 in.;
height of sighting bars, 6-1/2 in. In collection of the writer.]
[Illustration: Figure 55.--Receipted bill from Samuel Thaxter to Sam
Brown, Boston, August 4, 1801. In collection of Massachusetts Historical
Society.]
_John Dupee_
John Dupee of Boston apparently was another instrument maker of the
pre-Revolutionary period actively engaged in producing wooden surveying
compasses. Three wooden instruments with his compass card exist in
private and public collections. The instruments are quite similar: the
wood in each case is walnut or applewood, with an engraved paper
mariner's compass card; a schooner at sea is figured within the central
medallion, and inscribed within the riband enclosing it are the words
"Made and Sold by JOHN DUPEE Ye North Side of Swing Bridge Boston New
Eng." One of the instruments is owned by the South Natick
[Massachusetts] Historical Society; a second example is in the
collection of the Bostonian Society; and a third is owned by a private
collector.
There is no record of a maker of scientific instruments or clocks by the
name of Dupee, although the name John Dupee occurs in the city records
of Boston during the early decades of the 18th century. An advertisement
in the February 9, 1761, issue of _The Boston Gazette_ states that
ISAAC DUPEE, Carver, Advertises his Customers and others, that
since the late Fire (on Dock Square) he has opened a shop the North
side of the Swing-Bridge, opposite to _Thomas Tyler's_, Esq.; where
Business will be carried on as usual with Fidelity and Dispatch.
The natural assumption would be that the three instruments were produced
in Isaac Dupee's shop after 1761, perhaps by the carver's son. The use
of an engraved compass card indicates that the instruments were not
unique, and that a number of others were produced or contemplated. On
the other hand, it is likely that the maker produced other types of
instruments utilizing such a card, such as mariner's compasses.
_Jere Clough_
Another instrument maker, presumably of Boston, is Jere Clough. The only
instrument bearing his name known at present is a surveying compass
(fig. 56), made of wood, in the Streeter Collection of Weights and
Measures at Yale University. Clough's name does not appear on any of the
lists of instrument makers or clockmakers, yet it is a name that is
fairly prevalent in Boston. In 1741, for instance, one Joseph Clough of
Boston was a maker of bellows. He produced bellows of all types--for
furnaces, refiners, blacksmiths, braziers, and goldsmiths.[110]
[Illustration: Figure 56.--Wooden instrument made by Jere Clough. In
Streeter Collection of Weights and Measures, Yale University.]
[Illustration: Figure 57.--Wooden surveying compass made by Andrew
Newell (1749-1798) of Boston. It is made of mahogany, is 11-1/2 in.
long, and has a diameter of 5 in. The engraved compass card is signed by
Nathaniel Hurd, goldsmith, silversmith, and engraver of Boston. In
collection of Yale University Art Gallery.]
_Andrew Newell_
An instrument of considerable significance is another wooden surveyor's
compass, in the collection of the Yale University Art Gallery. This
compass (fig. 57) is made of rich brown San Domingo mahogany with
sighting bars of boxwood. A mariner's card, set into the opening with a
metal vernier scale, is in the usual form of the mariner's compass card
of the 18th century; it is executed as a line engraving. A ship and the
Boston harbor lighthouse are featured in the central medallion. On a
riband encircling the medallion is the inscription "Made by ANDW. NEWELL
East End of the MARKET BOSTON," Engraved in script at the southern tip
of the star is the signature "N. Hurd Sct."
Relatively little is known about Andrew Newell (1749-1798) except that
he was a maker of mathematical instruments. An entry in the first Boston
directory, in 1789, listed "Andrew Newell, instrument maker, 61 State
Street." The directory of 1796 mentioned Newell as having a shop on the
"East side of the Market," the address that appears on the surveying
compass.
Two years later the Boston directory listed Andrew Newell and Son, and
in 1800 the listing included only the name of Joseph Newell, who may
have been the son. Another mathematical instrument maker named Charles
Newell may have been another son of Andrew Newell; his name does not
appear in the city Directory until in the 19th century. An instrument
with the signature "Newell & Son, Makers, East End of Faneuil Hall,
Boston" is in the collection of the Bostonian Society.
An important feature of the Newell instrument is the fact that the
engraver of the compass card was Nathaniel Hurd (1729-1777), the peer of
goldsmiths and engravers of the colonial period. This compass card is a
previously unrecorded example of Hurd's work, and constitutes a work of
art, making the compass a historic scientific instrument.[111] The
compass was presented to the Yale University Art Gallery by a Yale
alumnus, Mr. Henry G. Schiff of New York City. No other examples have
thus far been found.
_Aaron Breed_
Aaron Breed (1791-1861) is a relatively unknown maker of mathematical
instruments who worked in Boston into the 19th century. He specialized
in nautical, mathematical and optical instruments, with an address at
173 Broad Street, and another at No. 2 Rowe's Wharf, "At the Sign of the
Quadrant." Breed made surveying instruments in brass and in wood. A
brass instrument is in the Henry Ford Museum, and a wooden instrument is
in the collection of Old Sturbridge Village. The latter is fashioned
from walnut with an engraved compass card inscribed "Aaron Breed
Boston."
_Charles Thacher_
The name of Charles Thacher appears on the compass card of a wooden
surveying compass (fig. 58) in the collection of the Mariners' Museum,
Norfolk, Virginia. No record of this maker has been found, but the
engraved compass card indicates that he probably worked in New England.
[Illustration: Figure 58.--Wooden surveying compass made by Charles
Thacher. It is made of cherry or maple; sighting bars are of oak.
Over-all length, 13-5/8 in. Photos courtesy Mariners Museum, Newport
News, Virginia.]
_Benjamin King Hagger_
Benjamin King Hagger (c. 1769-1834) was the scion of two well-known
families of instrument makers in New England, so it is not surprising
that he worked in the same craft.
It is believed that Hagger was born in Newport, Rhode Island, about
1769, the son of William Guyse Hagger and of a sister of Benjamin King.
Although his father made instruments--at first in partnership with
Benjamin King, and then working alone--in Newport at least as late as
1776, the family appears to have moved after the Revolution. William
Guyse Hagger's name did not appear in the 1790 census of Newport, and it
is presumed that he moved with his family to Boston.
Benjamin King Hagger was listed in the first city directory of Boston in
1789 as "a mathematical instrument maker" with an address on Ann Street;
he was only 20 years of age at this time.
On November 10, 1793, Benjamin King Hagger, "mathematical instrument
maker," purchased land with buildings on Prince Street near Snow Hill
Street from one Peter Greene. Two years later, on December 1, 1795,
Hagger, now listed simply as a "merchant," purchased a brick house, a
wooden house, and a shed with land from William Ballard, a tailor of
Framingham and an heir of Samuel Ballard. The property was located on
the east side of North Street, south of Mill Creek. At the time of
purchase, Hagger mortgaged the property to Ballard, and also mortgaged
to him the house and land previously purchased from Greene.
Hagger was listed as a ship chandler in the following year when on March
24, 1796, he deeded part of his land on Prince Street to William and
George Hillman, minors.
On June 22, 1796, three months later, Hagger, now listed as
"mathematical instrument maker, and ship-chandler" deeded to a mariner
named Thomas Wallis a house and land that formed part of his original
purchase near Copp's Hill from Peter Greene. Then on July 21, 1796, he
purchased from William Ballard all his right to the brick house and land
on North Street (Ann Street), at the same time mortgaging the property
to William Ballard, Jr., of Framingham. This mortgage was cancelled on
April 11, 1798.[112]
These negotiations took place before marriage. A report of the Record
Commissioners of Boston, states that "William King Hagger of Boston and
Mehitable Ballard of Framingham were married October 6, 1796." The
entry appears to be in error because the marriage intentions had read
"Benjamin King Hagger." It is presumed that Mehitable was the daughter
of William Ballard, the tailor of Framingham, from whom Hagger had
bought his house on Ann Street, south of Mill Creek.[113]
Benjamin King Hagger is listed in the city directory of Boston for 1798
as a "mathematical instrument maker" on Ann Street. This, however, is
the last listing for his name in Boston, as his name does not appear in
the 1803 or subsequent directories.
Shortly after 1798 Hagger appears to have left Boston together with his
wife, and it is probable that he established himself as an instrument
maker in another Massachusetts community, at present unknown. In about
1816 Hagger moved with his family to Baltimore and continued his
instrument-making business.
The records of the 1850 Federal census of Baltimore indicate that two of
Hagger's sons, John W. and William G. Hagger, had been born in 1800 and
1806 respectively, in Massachusetts, presumably in the community to
which Hagger had moved from Boston before moving once more to Baltimore.
According to Matchett's Baltimore directory for 1824, Hagger was a
"mathematical and optical instrument maker" with a shop at 57 South
Street. His advertisement in the directory stated that he
Respectfully acquaints his fellow citizens that he executes all
orders in the line of his business with punctuality and confidently
professes to give satisfaction to his employers, from the
experience of a regular apprenticeship and 37 years practice.
This indicates that Hagger completed his apprenticeship in 1787, when he
was 18, and since then had been established in his own business or had
worked for another as a journeyman instrument maker. His first
advertisement in the Boston directory appeared in 1789, wherein his shop
was listed as being on Ann Street.
Hagger died in Baltimore on November 8, 1834, at the age of 65, after a
residence of 18 years in that city.[114]
Thus far only one instrument by Hagger has been found--a wooden
surveying instrument or semicircumferentor (fig. 59). It is in the
possession of the writer.
[Illustration: Figure 59.--Wooden graphometer made by Benjamin King
Hagger (c. 1769-1834) of Boston and Baltimore. Made of yellow birch,
with the name and gradations and lines incised into the wood by means of
tiny punches, and filled. Trough compass; sighting bars mounted on a
swivelling brass bar; collapsible tripod made of maple. In collection of
the writer.]
_Benjamin Warren_
[Illustration: Figure 60.--An advertisement of Benjamin Warren in _The
Plymouth Journal & Massachusetts Advertiser_. Photos courtesy The
American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts.]
Production of wooden surveying compasses was not limited to Boston.
Another instrument maker who produced them was Benjamin Warren (c.
1740-?) of Plymouth, Massachusetts. The name of Benjamin Warren was a
fairly common one in Plymouth, being a name handed down in the family
from father to son for at least five generations before 1800. The first
Benjamin Warren at Plymouth was married in 1697, and his son Benjamin
(2) was born in 1698. Benjamin (2) was married in due course, and his
son Benjamin (3) was born in 1740. The third Benjamin was the father of
Benjamin (4), who was born in 1766. In 1789 Benjamin (4) married Sarah
Young, the daughter of Daniel Young, and their son Benjamin (5) was born
in 1792. The Benjamin Warren who operated the shop in Plymouth probably
was Benjamin Warren (3), who was then about 45 years of age.[115]
A search of _The Plymouth Journal & Massachusetts Advertiser_ has
revealed several advertisements and notices (fig. 60) about Benjamin
Warren from which some information can be derived about the man and his
business during this period. The first known notice dated March 19,
1785, probably is the most important one. Later in the same year, on
August 16, 1785, Warren published the following notice:
WHEREAS on Friday Morning of the 5th inst. eloped from the House of
the subscriber, _Inholder_ in Plymouth, JOHN MOREY, of NORTON, of
tall stature, & round shoulder'd. Had on when he absconded, a
shabby claret coloured coat, adorned with patches, and a pair of
dirty smoak'd coloured breeches; without knee-buckles; and an old
flopped hatt, defaced with grease.
As he appeared to be an enterprising genius, without abilities,
politeness or honesty, and went off in an abrupt and clandestine
manner; a reward of _Sixpence_ will be paid, to any person or
persons, who will persuade or induce the said Morey to make his
appearance once more to the subscriber.
It is obvious that Warren was not considerably concerned about the
return of John Morey, for the reward offered was scarcely conducive to
obtain the public's cooperation. Warren's first ventures with public
sales must have been successful, for early in the next year, in the
issue of January 3, 1786, he announced that
_Benjamin Warren_,
PROPOSES to open a convenient AUCTION-ROOM, over the Shop he now
trades in, next week. Any Gentlemen that will furnish him with
goods of any kind for Public or Private sale, on Commission, shall
be served with fidelity, and the smallest favours in that way
gratefully acknowledged.
The next notice of the auction-room appeared on February 21, 1786, when
the newspaper advertised that
_To-morrow_ will be SOLD, by Public Vendue, At WARREN'S Auction
Room,
A VARIETY of articles, _viz_. Nails, Bar Lead, Glass Pewter,
Buttons, Buckles, Chairs, Stands, &c, &c, &c.
*** The SALE to begin at 10 o'Clock, A.M.
No other notices of public sales appeared in the _Journal_ for the next
several months. The last notice of this period was another announcement
of a sale, which was published in the issue of May 30, 1786:
_Publick Vendue_,
_At_ WARREN's Auction Room, in PLYMOUTH: at Ten o'clock this
morning. WILL be Sold, a quantity of bar lead, boxes of glass, 6 ×
8. English Shovels and Tongs, bridle-Bits, and a variety of other
articles of Hard-Ware. Also, a few Anvils at private sale.
Only one instrument signed by Warren is known to survive; it is a wooden
surveying compass (fig. 61) in the Streeter Collection of Weights and
Measures at Yale University. The instrument, which appears to have been
made from walnut, has a compass card with the following inscription
around the central medallion: "Made and sold by BENJAMIN WARREN Plymouth
New Eng^d."
[Illustration: Figure 61.--Wooden surveying compass made by Benjamin
Warren (c. 1740-c. 1800) of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and detail of the
compass card. The compass, made of cherry wood, is 12 in. long and has a
diameter of 6 in. In Streeter Collection of Weights and Measures, Yale
University.]
[Illustration: Figure 62.--Detail of card, Warren surveying compass
shown in figure 61.]
The medallion (fig. 62) encloses a harbor scene with a brigantine of the
1740 period off a promontory on which is prominently situated a
lighthouse with a smaller building partly visible at the left. The
lighthouse is unusual in construction in that it features twin towers
rising from a large rectangular wooden building.
As far as can be determined from available records, the only lighthouse
in America of this period having such construction was the noted Gurnet
Light, which was built at the tip of Duxbury Beach in Plymouth Bay in
1768. D. Alan Stevenson[116] relates that the Governor's Council of
Massachusetts, when it decided in 1768 to erect the Gurnet Lighthouse
at Plymouth, adopted a novel plan to distinguish it from other American
lighthouses. "This consisted of double lights set horizontally in the
same structure. A timber house built at a cost of £660, 30' long and 20'
high, had a lanthorn at each end to contain two four-wick lamps.
"In 1802 fire destroyed the house but the merchants of the town promptly
subscribed to replace it by temporary lights, as the Government had no
immediate funds at its disposal. An Act of Congress of 1802 allotted
$2500 for building another set of twin lights and reimbursing the
merchants for their expenditure.
"Though the idea of twin lights at Plymouth seemed an excellent
distinction from a single navigation light shown at Barnstable harbor in
the vicinity, they proved not entirely advantageous and a sea captain
blamed them for causing his shipwreck. He had seen the light from only
one tower and identified it with confidence as the Barnstable light;
apparently, from a particular direction one tower hid the other. But
local prejudice in favor of retaining the twin lights as a distinction
prevailed until 1924 when, at last, opposition ceased to the
recommendation which the Lighthouse Board expressed frequently that a
single light would be preferable."
It seems quite likely that the compass card bears one of the very few
surviving contemporary representations of the first Gurnet Light in
Plymouth Bay. A search of the archives of the historical societies in
Plymouth, Boston, and Worcester and the files of the U.S. National
Archives has failed to reveal any illustration of this famous
lighthouse.
Quite by coincidence, the name of Benjamin Warren was discovered among
the entries of the day books of Paul Revere, the famous patriot,
silversmith, and engraver. The entry[117] (fig. 63) appears as follows:
1786 March 13. Benjm Warren Dr. Plimouth
To printing one hundred Compass Cards 0-18-0.
Whether the compass card on the Warren instrument was produced by Revere
is difficult to determine. Authorities on Revere's engravings agree that
it could have been engraved by Revere but are unable to state it
positively. It has been suggested that the entry in Revere's day book
indicates that he merely printed the compass cards for Warren and that
he did not engrave a plate. The charge for the work bears out this
supposition; and furthermore, Revere's bills seemed to make a definite
distinction between the engraving of plates and actual prints. Whether
or not Revere was responsible for making the original engraving remains
to be determined, but it is very probable that he printed the compass
card of the instrument in the Streeter Collection of Weights and
Measures at Yale.
[Illustration: Figure 63.--Page from the "day books" of Paul Revere with
entry for the printing of compass cards for Benjamin Warren of Plymouth.
In collection of Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston.]
_Daniel Burnap_
One of the best known and most respected names among Connecticut
clockmakers is that of Daniel Burnap (1759-1838) of East Windsor. Burnap
was born in Coventry in 1759 and served an apprenticeship with Thomas
Harland, clockmaker of Norwich. In about 1780 Burnap opened his own
establishment, where he combined the crafts of clockmaking,
cabinetmaking, and engraving of brass, in all of which he was greatly
skilled. One of his apprentices was Eli Terry, who later achieved fame
in the craft in his own right.[118]
Burnap's business included clients in Windsor, Hartford, and Coventry,
as well as some of the leading merchants and cabinetmakers of the nearby
cities and towns. Although clockmaking was the primary business in which
Burnap engaged, he also had a large trade for his surveying instruments,
silver spoons, gold beads, harness and saddlery hardware, and shoe
buckles.
Burnap prospered, and in about 1800 he moved back to his native town,
Coventry. There he purchased a large farm and erected a shop and a
sawmill, and in due course became the leading citizen of the community.
He died in 1838, leaving a valuable technological record in the
completeness of his journals and account books. A study of the entries
of his day books and ledgers (see fig. 64) reveals that Burnap did a
substantial amount of business in surveying compasses, chains, and
protractors. Among his shop equipment after his death there was found an
unfinished protractor, but no examples of his instruments are known
except for a compass dial, inscribed with his name, that was discovered
recently in the collection of a midwestern historical society.[119]
It is significant to note that Burnap made instruments of varying
quality. For instance, he charged three different prices for his
surveyor's compasses. The highest-priced compasses cost £6; they were
made of brass, and were of the more elaborate conventional type used by
surveyors. A few examples that appeared in his records cost £4; these
also were made of brass, but probably were of a simpler form. Several
entries list surveying compasses priced at £2 and £2/8. One of these was
made for Capt. Solomon Dewie (1750-1813) in September 1790 for £2/8. At
the same time, Burnap charged him £0/1/6 for touching the needle of
another compass.[120] The entries in Burnap's account books do not state
that these inexpensive compasses were constructed of wood, but it seems
to be sufficiently conclusive that they were.
_Gurdon Huntington_
Gurdon Huntington (1763-1804) was not primarily a maker of scientific
instruments, but he was established as a goldsmith and clockmaker. He
was born in Windham, Connecticut, on April 30, 1763, the son of
Hezekiah and Submit (Murdock) Huntington.[121]
[Illustration: Figure 64.--Entry in the manuscript ledgers of Daniel
Burnap (1759-1838) of East Windsor and Coventry, Connecticut, for sale
of surveying compass in 1790. Reproduced from the Burnap shop records in
the collection of Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford.]
The Huntington family was one of the most important in Connecticut
colonial history. Gurdon's father, Hezekiah, was in service during the
Revolutionary War, going to Boston as a major with the first troops
raised in Connecticut. When in Boston he witnessed the miserable
condition of the arms then in the hands of the soldiers. Major
Huntington went immediately to Philadelphia, where Congress was in
session, and proposed to the Congress that he would return to his home
in Windham and that there he would open a manufactory for repairing
muskets and other arms. He claimed to have been the first man to have
made a gun in the Colonies.
Gurdon was too young to have served in the Revolution, but he
undoubtedly worked in his father's gun manufactory as a boy. In due
course he learned the trades of goldsmith and clockmaker and established
his own shop in Windham, which, according to an advertisement (fig. 65)
in _The Connecticut Gazette_ of June 11, 1784, was "a few rods north of
Major Ebenezer Backus' store."
On Christmas Day, 1785, Gurdon was married in New London to Temperance
Williams of Groton. In 1789 their first child, Marvin, was born, and in
October of the same year the Huntingtons moved from Windham to Walpole,
New Hampshire. No reason can be found for the move, other than the
possibility that Gurdon might have anticipated greater opportunity in
the new community. There he applied himself to his trade as goldsmith
and clockmaker, but apparently he was not very successful. His family
grew, and by the time of his death there were eight children. Possibly
in an effort to supplement his income, Huntington served as postmaster
of the community. In about 1797, seven or eight years after he had moved
to Walpole, his father and mother joined him there, and it is believed
that Major Hezekiah may have worked as a gunsmith during that period.
Eventually the senior Huntington returned to Windham, Connecticut, where
he died in 1807.[122]
Meanwhile Gurdon Huntington struggled on until his death on July 26,
1804. He died insolvent, which created a considerable problem in view of
the large family he left behind him. Huntington's estate was
administered by Asa Sibley, a clockmaker in Walpole. Sibley had moved
to Walpole from his home in Woodstock, Connecticut, in the 1790's and he
remained there until 1808, when he again returned to Woodstock. Gurdon
Huntington's widow removed to Bloomfield, Ohio, with her children, and
she died there on May 25, 1823. Most of her children settled in
Bloomfield, but several of them moved to New Hartford, New York.
[Illustration: Figure 65.--Advertisement of Gurdon Huntington
(1763-1804) in _The Connecticut Gazette_, June 11, 1784. In collection
of Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford.]
[Illustration: Figure 66.--Views of wooden surveying compass made by
Gurdon Huntington, clockmaker in Walpole, New Hampshire, between
1789-1804. Made of cherry with folding brass sighting bars, the
instrument is 14 in. long and 5-1/2 in. wide. In collection of the
writer.]
Several examples of Huntington's clocks are known to exist in private
collections in the United States. However, only one example of his
scientific instruments appears to have survived. This is a surveying
compass (fig. 66) made of wood, with brass sighting bars and a painted
dial under glass with a steel needle. The dial is inscribed "G.
HUNTINGTON/WALPOLE." The instrument, which is in the collection of the
writer, is made of cherry wood, with a riveted ball-and-socket joint of
brass for insertion on a tripod.
[Illustration]
_Jedidiah Baldwin_
Jedidiah Baldwin (fl. 1790's) was another early New England clock and
instrument maker, but little is known of his early life. He was a
brother of Jabes Baldwin (c. 1777-1829), who worked as a clockmaker in
Salem and Boston after serving an apprenticeship with Thomas Harland in
Norwich, Connecticut.
Jedidiah Baldwin also served an apprenticeship with Harland. In 1791 he
was working in Northampton, Massachusetts, as a member of the firm of
Stiles and Baldwin, and from 1792 to 1794 he was a member of the firm of
Stiles and Storrs, in partnership with Nathan Storrs.[123] In about 1794
Baldwin moved to Hanover, New Hampshire, where he became the local
postmaster, and where Dartmouth College records his death.
Only one existing instrument is known to have been made by Baldwin; it
is a wooden surveying compass with a brass dial having two scales, one
for degrees and one for eight divisions per 90°. The dial is inscribed
"JED BALDWIN/HANOVER." According to its present owner, Mr. Worth
Shampeny of Rochester, Vermont, the compass was used for surveying in
Vermont during the early 1800's.
Another Jedidiah Baldwin worked as a clockmaker in Morrisville, New
York, from 1818-1820 and then in Fairfield, New York; he appears also in
the city directory of Rochester, New York, as a clockmaker during the
years 1834-1844. He may have been a son or grandson of the first
Jedidiah, or a nephew.
_Thomas Salter Bowles_
Thomas Salter Bowles (c. 1765-?) is another elusive New England
instrument maker about whom little information is available. He is
believed to have been the son of Deacon Samuel and Hannah (Salter)
Bowles, born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, probably between 1765 and
1770. His father was born in 1739; his mother, who was the daughter of
Captain Titus Salter, was born in 1748 and died in 1831.[124] Deacon
Bowles was clerk of the Brick Market in Portsmouth from 1801 to the time
of his death, November 3, 1802. There is a minimum of information
available from church and city records in the community, but it is
believed that he was a member of one of the offshoots of the established
Puritan Church, and hence he would not appear in its records. He kept
the lower school in the Brick School House on State Street for a number
of years.
It is believed that the Bowles family first came to Portsmouth during
the few years immediately before the beginning of the Revolutionary War.
It is known that a Thomas Bowles and a Samuel Bowles both signed the
Association Test on August 14, 1776, promising to oppose the hostile
proceedings of the British fleets and armies. Furthermore, one of the
principal taxpayers in Portsmouth in 1770 was a firm named Griffith and
Bowles, which paid £17 in taxes in 1770. The name of the Bowles who
formed part of this firm is not known, but it was either Samuel or the
first Thomas Bowles. The other partner was Nathaniel S. Griffith, a
watchmaker. It is possible that a tradition of instrument making existed
in the Bowles family even then.[125]
On file in the office of the City Clerk in Portsmouth are two
certificates of marriage made out by Thomas Salter Bowles. The first is
for his marriage to Hannah Ham, a ceremony performed on September 21,
1809, by Joseph Walton, one of the pastors of a church dissenting from
the Puritan regime. Hannah was the daughter of William Ham, a brother of
Supply Ham (1788-1862), a noted local clockmaker. Bowles may have served
an apprenticeship in that shop before he married Hannah. Two other
members of the Ham family--George Ham and Henry H. Ham--worked as
watchmakers in Portsmouth in the same period.
A search of the cemeteries has indicated that Hannah Ham Bowles died in
1811, age 20. She is buried with her infant son in North Cemetery.[126]
Thomas Bowles's second marriage certificate in Portsmouth is for his
marriage on September 29, 1813--two years after Hannah's death--to Abiah
Emerly Bradley of Haverhill, Massachusetts.
Little is known about the work of Bowles as an instrument maker except
through a few of his instruments. He is listed in the first Portsmouth
directory, of 1821, as a "mathematical instrument maker" with a place of
business on Daniel Street; his home was given as Austin Street in
Portsmouth. He did not appear in the city's directories of 1827 and
1834. It is assumed that he may have left Portsmouth in the interim,
possibly to settle in his wife's home town of Haverhill.
Three instruments signed by Bowles have survived, and all show signs of
considerable wear. They are surveying compasses made of walnut, having
maple sighting bars and a silvered brass vernier set under the glass.
Two examples, one in the Streeter Collection of Weights and Measures at
Yale University and one owned by this writer are almost identical in
size, form, and details. The only variation is that the Yale example
(fig. 67) has a bubble level under a brass strip set into one end, an
item lacking in the other example (fig. 68).
The compass card, made from a line engraving, is identical in each of
the three examples. A floriated fleur-de-lis on the North point has a
compass and square at its base, and the name T. S. BOWLES is on a riband
over it. Adorning the East point is an American eagle bearing a shield
with stars and stripes and clutching arrows in one claw and a laurel
twig in the other. In a ring within the central medallion is inscribed
(see fig. 68), "* T. S. BOWLES * PORTSMOUTH, N.H. *"
[Illustration: Figure 67.--Wooden surveying compass made by Thomas
Salter Bowles of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. With spirit level. Made of
birch, the compass is 13 in. long and has a diameter of 6 in. In the
Streeter Collection of Weights and Measures, Yale University.]
The most interesting of the three instruments was acquired by the
Dartmouth Museum as part of a collection of the late Frank C. Churchill,
an inspector in the Indian Service. The instrument (fig. 69) is a
quarter circle with a compass in its center and sighting bars mounted on
a swinging arm that reads the angle of the brass scale on the arc by
means of a vernier. It is mounted on a wooden tripod with the customary
ball-and-socket joint, which permits it to be placed on a vertical
plane. A built-in plumb bob at the side helps to establish the
vertical.[127]
Interesting features of this instrument are two inscriptions engraved on
the brass strip on the top of the dial. One states that it was "INVENTED
BY P. MERRILL ESQ." and the other relates that it was "MADE BY JOHN
KENNARD NEWMARKET." No information about P. Merrill has been found, and
it is presumed that it was he who conceived the idea of combining the
various elements into a single instrument and that it was made under his
direction by Kennard.
[Illustration: Figure 68.--Wooden surveying compass made by Thomas
Salter Bowles (1765/70-post 1821) of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Made of
walnut, it is 12 in. long and has a diameter of 5-3/8 in. With walnut
sighting bars. In collection of writer.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Figure 69.--Wooden surveying instrument inscribed
"Invented by P. Merrill, Esq." and "Made by John Kennard, Newmarket."
Made of walnut, 7-3/4 in. long; in its original pine case, with cover.
The compass card and dial (see opposite) were made by Thomas Salter
Bowles of Portsmouth. In Frank C. Churchill Collection, Dartmouth
College Museum, Hanover, New Hampshire.]
Some data on Kennard is available in a history of Newfields (formerly
Newmarket) by Reverend Fitts. John Kennard was born in Kittery, Maine,
in 1782. He learned the trade of clockmaker in Portsmouth, New
Hampshire, presumably working with the members of the Ham family or
others. On July 3, 1806, he married Sarah Ewer. He lived for various
periods in Nashua and Concord before moving to Newfields in 1812. He
lived in the Palmer house (which was burned in September 1899), and he
kept a store in the little community and also served as its postmaster
from 1822 to 1824. The post office was the only public office in the
town until the cotton mills were built on the Lamprey River in 1823.
Kennard later built and occupied the Kennard house on Piscassic Street,
which was subsequently owned by Jeremiah Towle and has since been
burned. In December 1830 he established an iron foundry together with
Temple Paul and the Drake family, but in 1834 he sold his interest to
Amos Paul and others. He was the father of six children and he died in
1861. During his lifetime he had specialized in making tall case and
banjo clocks.[128]
_The New Era_
The beginning of the 19th century saw increased trading and shipping
resulting from the economic development of the new republic, and the
westward surge brought increased preoccupation with the settlement of
communities and the development of land areas. As a consequence, the
demand for instruments likewise increased.
Whereas during the 18th century and until some time after the end of the
Revolutionary War probably not more than a dozen instrument makers and
dealers are known to have emigrated from England or elsewhere to make
their homes and careers in the American Colonies, the beginning of the
19th century saw substantial numbers of English and French instrument
makers and dealers immigrate to the United States, to establish shops in
the major centers of trade.
And whereas the names of scarcely a hundred mathematical-instrument
makers who worked in the American Colonies during the 18th century are
known today, the names of hundreds of similar 19th-century craftsmen and
dealers are to be found.
As Derek Price[129] has so cogently stated: "For scientific instrument
makers, one need only examine the nineteenth century city directories of
Boston, Philadelphia and New York to find hundreds of names of craftsmen
and firms. It is, to be sure, an antiquarian research, for one does not
expect to find great discoveries coming from these people. But just as
in Europe, it is a populous trade, influential in the growth of science
and highly effective in spreading and intensifying the itch for
ingenious instruments and devices. It is by these men that the basic
skills of the Industrial Revolution were populated...." By such means
did American science and technology come of age.
_The National Collection_
_Early American Scientific Instruments and Related Materials in the
United States National Museum, Listed by Makers and Users_
ADAMS, GEORGE; Fleet Street, London. (See Ellicott, Andrew; Surveying
Instrument.)
BARDIN, W. & T. M.; 16 Salisbury Square, Fleet Street, London. (See
Priestley, Joseph: Globes.)
BENNET, N. (fl. 1777); Middleboro, Mass., or Middleboro, Pa. _Alidade_,
plane table, scale 7-7/8 in. radius, compass 5-3/8 in. long. Brass scale
and sights with compass in wooden box. Instrument inscribed "N.
Bennet--Middlebor 1777." Although the name of this instrument maker does
not appear on list of English or American makers, it is believed that he
was American. USNM 319076.
ELLICOTT, ANDREW (1754-1820); Baltimore, Md. _Instrument Box_ for
astronomical instruments. Made of rosewood, with a hinged top, green
felt underlining, brass lock, size 3 in. by 3 in. by 11 in. Owned and
used by Andrew Ellicott for storage and transportation of small
astronomical equipment.
Gift of John E. Reynolds, Ellicott's great-grandson, of Meadville, Pa.,
in 1932. USNM 310418.
_Journal_ and _Astronomical Notebook_, manuscript written by Andrew
Ellicott while locating the U.S. boundary line between the United States
and the Spanish territory of Florida, 1797-1801. Contains day-by-day
entries of experiences, field notes, and calculations made by Ellicott.
The major part of the manuscript was published in _The Journal of Andrew
Ellicott_.[130] Bound volume with brown leather covers, end opening,
marked "And. Ellicott," 6-1/2 in. by 8 in. by 2 in. First page has
signature "Andrew Ellicott 1788."
[Illustration: Figure 70.--Pages from manuscript "Journal and
Astronomical Notebook" (USNM 310417) written by Andrew Ellicott while
locating the boundary between the United States and the Spanish
territory of Florida. These pages relate to the observations made in
1799 at the cord of the guide line on Mobile River for determining the
latitude.]
[Illustration: Figure 71.--Folding plate from Andrew Ellicott's "Journal
and Astronomical Notebook" (USNM 310417), relating the results of
observations made in February 1800 with the large and small sectors for
determining Ellicott's position on St. Mary's River.]
Formerly the property of Ellicott's eldest daughter, Jane Judith
Ellicott, from whom it passed to her youngest son, William Reynolds. It
was inherited by the latter's son, John Reynolds of Meadville, Pa., who
presented it as a gift to the U.S. National Museum in 1932. USNM 310417.
FIGURES 70, 71.
_Pocket Slate_ 7-1/4 in. long and 4 in. wide, with wooden frame 7-1/4
in. long and 4 in. wide. Slate 5-3/4 in. long and 2-1/2 in. wide. Part
of field equipment used by Ellicott.
Gift of Charles Ellicott of Dansville, N.Y., in 1960. USNM 318292.
_Quadrant_ of brass made and used by Ellicott. Quadrant has a radius of
12 in., is on a stand 17 in. high, and has the original lenses. Simple
construction with easy adjustment, accomplished by means of two plumb
lines. A tangent screw for slow motions was designed and added in 1885
by Andrew Ellicott Douglass, Ellicott's grandson. Instrument was made by
Ellicott about 1790 and was used in running the southern boundary of the
United States in 1796 and 1800, and on other surveys.
Deposit of Andrew Ellicott Douglass of Tucson, Ariz., in 1931. USNM
152081. FIGURE 72.
_Surveying Instrument_, with brass disk 10-1/2 in. in diameter laid off
in degrees, minutes, and seconds with vernier points. Two telescopes,
one fixed and the other revolving. The instrument is mounted on a tripod
or Jacob's staff by means of a socket on the underside. Complete with
original painted pine case. The name of the maker, "G. Adams London," is
engraved on the dial.
George Adams (1704-1773) was mathematical instrument maker to King
George III. After serving an apprenticeship from 1718, he made
instruments for the East India Company in 1735 and 1736, and established
a shop at "Tycho Brahe's Head" at the corner of Raquet Court, Fleet
Street. He specialized in terrestrial and celestial globes and
microscopes. Following his death he was succeeded in business by his son
George Adams the Younger (1750-1795), who also served as
mathematical-instrument maker to the king.
This instrument is believed by the donor to have been used by either
Andrew Ellicott or by his son-in-law David Bates Douglass.
Gift of Charles B. Curtis of Litchfield, Conn., in 1945. USNM 312932.
[Illustration: Figure 72.--Brass quadrant made by Andrew Ellicott about
1790 and used for running the southern boundary of the United States
about 1796 and 1800, and on later surveys. USNM 152081.]
_Telescope_, consisting of a brass tube 3-1/2 in. long with an aperture
of 2-3/4 in.; on its original brass tripod, with a serviceable
altazimuth mounting. Late 18th century. Made by "W. & S. Jones/135
Holborn/London."
The firm of "W. & S. Jones" was a partnership of two brothers, Samuel
and William Jones, opticians, who worked at 30 Lower Holborn and at 135
Holborn in London, from 1793. They bought the copyright to the books of
George Adams, and subsequently largely carried on the original business
of the Adams instrument makers.
In _The Journal of Andrew Ellicott_ its author describes this instrument
as the first of "Two Acromatic Telescopes for Taking signals, with
sliding tubes, one of them drew out to upwards of 4 feet, and the other
to about 15 inches, the latter for its length is remarkably good, it
shows the satellites of Jupiter very distinctly."
Deposit of Andrew Ellicott Douglass of Tucson, Ariz., in 1899. USNM
152082. FIGURE 73.
_Telescope_, draw type, made of brass with acromatic lens, length 11 in.
Incomplete, and maker not known. The second of the instruments described
in _The Journal of Andrew Ellicott_ as an acromatic telescope. Used for
taking signals, with sliding tubes, which draw out to about 15 in. It
was considered to be remarkably good for its length, and showed the
satellites of Jupiter very distinctly.
Gift of Andrew Ellicott Douglass of Flagstaff, Ariz., in 1931. USNM
152085.
_Transit and Equal Altitude Instrument_, made entirely of brass, with
original lens now broken. The instrument is described by Ellicott in the
following extract from _The Journal of Andrew Ellicott_:
Preparatory to beginning the ten mile square [of Washington] a
Meridian was traced at Jones' Point on the West of the Potomac.
From this Meridian an angle of 45 degrees was laid off North
Westerly and a straight line continued in that direction ten
miles.... From the termination of this second line a third making a
right angle with it was carried South-Easterly ten miles: and from
the beginning on Jones' Point a fourth was carried ten miles to the
termination of the third. These lines were measured with a chain
which was examined and corrected daily, and plumbed whenever the
ground was uneven, and traced with a transit and equal altitude
instrument which I constructed and executed in 1789 and used in
running the Western boundary of the State of New York. This
instrument was similar to that described by Le Monnier in his
preface to the French "Histoire Celeste." ... All the lines in this
city in which I have been concerned were traced with the same
instrument which I used on the lines of the ten mile square but as
the Northern part was not finished when I left that place, I cannot
pretend to say what method has since been pursued.
Deposit of Andrew Ellicott Douglass of Flagstaff, Ariz., in 1931. USNM
152080. FIGURE 10.
[Illustration: Figure 73.--Telescope used by Andrew Ellicott for his
survey of the boundary between the United States and the Spanish
territory of Florida. The instrument is signed "W. & S. Jones, 135
Holborn, London." USNM 152082.]
ELLIS, ORANGE WARNER (18th century). _Theodolite_, about 1780, brass;
horizontal circle 5 in., vertical circle 5 in., telescope 7-1/2 in.,
compass 3 in.; spirit level set into compass card; spirit level attached
to telescope; fixed vertical circle; unsigned. Used by Orange Warner
Ellis about 1780 in the surveying of the boundary between the United
States and Canada, the area which is now Vermont.
Acquired from Miss Mary N. Ellis of Chicago, Ill., in 1929. USNM 309596.
FIGURE 74.
FRYE, JOSEPH (fl. 1762-1783), Fryeburg, Maine. _Manuscript Booklet_ of
"Tables Useful in Surveying Land, made and presented by Joseph Frye to
his son, Joseph Frye, Jr., November 18, A. D. 1783." Size 6-1/4 in. by
3-7/8 in., 16 pages, paper covers, marked "Fryeburg Joseph Frye AD
MDCCLXXXIII."
Loan from Laurits C. Eichner of Clifton, New Jersey, in 1957. USNM
315062. FIGURE 45.
(See Greenough, Thomas, for surveying compass used by Joseph Frye.)
[Illustration: Figure 74.--Theodolite used by Orange Warner Ellis about
1780 for surveying boundary between the United States and Canada in the
area which is now Vermont. USNM 309596.]
GREENOUGH, THOMAS (1710-1785), Boston, Mass. _Surveying Compass_, made
of hickory with engraved paper compass card. Over-all length 11 ft.;
dial 5-1/2 in. in diameter. Central medallion on card depicts man along
shoreline using a Davis quadrant with a schooner offshore, with touches
of red. Inscribed in gilt in band around central medallion: "Made and
Sold by THOMAS GREENOUGH, Boston, New Eng." Used by Joseph Frye in 1762
for surveying his land grant in what is now Fryeburg, Maine. Loan from
Laurits C. Eichner, Clifton, N.J., in 1957. USNM 315001. FIGURE 44.
(See also, Frye, Joseph, manuscript booklet of "Tables Useful for
Surveying Land ...")
HAGGER, WILLIAM GUYSE, (C. 1748?-1830?), Newport, R.I. _Backstaff_, or
_Davis Quadrant_, about 1760-1770, made of dark wood with scales and
sights of boxwood, 25 in. long, 14 in. wide at large arc and 5 in. wide
at small arc. Inscribed as follows: "W^m G. Hagger Newp^t R. Island/For
M^r----." The name of the original owner has been blocked out by the
insertion of a piece of ivory. This quadrant was acquired from Mrs.
Carola Paine of Bethel, Conn., in 1961. USNM 319029. FIGURE 59.
Davis quadrants signed by Hagger are in the Comstock Memorial Collection
of the Rhode Island Historical Society (dated 1776); in the Shepley
Library in Providence, R.I. (dated 1768); and in the Peabody Museum at
Salem, Mass. (dated 1775).
Also in the U.S. National Museum is an unsigned quadrant (USNM 178975)
that is almost identical in detail to the one signed by Hagger. It is
the gift of A. R. Crittenden, Middletown, Conn. Another almost identical
instrument, in the collection of the Franklin Institute, is signed "C.
Elliott, New London, 1764"; it differs from the other two only in that a
lens is combined in the middle sight.
HOLBECHER, JOHN, (fl. 1738). _Backstaff_, or _Davis Quadrant_, of dark
wood with boxwood scales and vanes. Length 25-1/2 in.; large arc 15 in.
Inscribed "Made by John Holbecher/ For Capt. Joseph Swan--1738."
Holbecher is not listed as an English or American instrument maker, but
it is believed that the instrument is American.
Acquired from Bern C. Ritchie & Co., Chicago, Ill., in 1960. USNM
318439.
JOHNSON, JOHN, Surveyor, 1818. (See Rittenhouse & Evans, surveying
compass.)
JONES, W. & S., 135 Holborn, London. (See Ellicott, Andrew, telescope.)
PIERCE, ABNER, (c. 1790). _Surveying Compass_ with Jacob's staff. Made
of brass; 12 in. long; 5 in. in diameter; with needle lift. Jacob's
staff 4 ft. high and with wood shaft about 1-1/2 in.; brass head.
Unsigned. Used about 1790 by Abner Pierce, who built Pierce's Mill in
Rock Creek, District of Columbia.
Gift of Mrs. Francis D. Shoemaker of Washington, D.C., in 1930. USNM
309826.
PRIESTLEY, JOSEPH (1733-1804), Northumberland, Pa.
_Chemical Apparatus_ that formed part of the laboratory of Joseph
Priestley at his home. It includes the following specimens: 3 chemical
retorts, 6 bell jars, 1 gas collecting flask, 6 flasks, 4 funnels, 23
miscellaneous metal and glass objects, and 1 eudiometer. A special
exhibition of some of this chemical apparatus was held in the U.S.
National Museum in 1958 (see fig. 69).
Gift of Miss Frances D. Priestley of Northumberland, Pa., in 1958. USNM
315341-315358. FIGURE 75.
_Globes_, one terrestrial (fig. 76) and one celestial (fig. 77), that
formed part of the equipment used by Dr. Joseph Priestley. The
terrestrial globe, of 26 in. diameter, has a Sheraton mahogany tripod
stand and is inscribed--
To the Rt. Honorable/Sir Joseph Banks, Bart. K.B./President of the
Royal Society/containing all the latest Discoveries and
Communications from the most/correct surveys to the year 1798/by
Capt. Cook and more recent Navigators. Engraved upon an accurate
degree by Mr. Arrowsmith, Geographer/Respectfully Dedicated/by
his most obedient servant/W. & T. M. Bardin/Manufactured and Sold
Wholesale and Retail by W. & T. M. Bardin/16 Salisbury Square/Fleet
Street, London.
[Illustration: Figure 75.--Special exhibition of chemical laboratory
apparatus used by Dr. Joseph Priestley. USNM 315341-351358.]
[Illustration: Figure 76.--Terrestrial globe made by W. & T. M. Bardin
of London and used by Dr. Joseph Priestley. Diameter, 26 in. USNM
53253.]
The celestial globe, also with a Sheraton mahogany tripod stand, has a
diameter of 23 in. and is inscribed--
To the Rev./Nevil Maskelyne, D. D. F. R. S./Astronomer Royal/This
New British Celestial Globe/containing the positions of nearly
6,000 stars, clusters, nebulae, Planetary Nebulae/& correctly
computed & laid down for the year 1800 from the latest observations
and discoveries by Dr. Maskelyne, Dr. Herschel, the Rev. Mr.
Wollaston, etc., etc./Is respectfully dedicated by his most
obedient hmbl Servants W. & T. M. Bardin, Manufactured and sold
Wholesale & Retail by W. & T. M. Bardin/16 Salisbury Square/Fleet
Street, London.
Gifts of Mrs. Eliza R. Lyon of Williamsport, Pa., in 1893. USNM 53253,
53254. FIGURES 76, 77.
_Orrery_, mounted on three legs 31 in. high, round top 22-1/2 in. in
diameter. The planets shown are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Earth, Jupiter,
and Saturn. The base is not original. Maker not known; English, 18th
century.
Gift of Miss Frances Priestley of Northumberland, Pa., in 1958. USNM
315353. FIGURES 76, 77.
RITTENHOUSE, BENJAMIN (1740-c. 1820).
_Surveying Compass_, about 1796, of brass, 13-1/2 in. long over-all and
6-1/2 in. diameter. Supported on a tripod by means of a ball-and-socket
joint and screw-tightening device. The name "A. Ellicott" is inscribed
on one arm outside the bezel of the dial, and the name "B. Rittenhouse"
is inscribed on the other arm. The number "10" is marked on the reverse
of this instrument, which is listed in the _Journal of Andrew Ellicott_
as Item 9: "A Surveying Compass made by Mr. Benjamin Rittenhouse upon
the newest and most approved plans."
Gift of Henry B. Douglass of Newton, N.J., in 1934. USNM 310815. FIGURE
78.
RITTENHOUSE, DAVID (1732-1796), Philadelphia, Pa.
_Surveying Compass_, brass, over-all length 14 in., diameter 6-1/2 in.,
silvered dial marked with eight-pointed star indicating the cardinal and
intermediate points, glazed. Inscribed "Rittenhouse, Philadelphia."
Fitted with a ball-and-socket joint for mounting on a tripod, and
complete with wooden field case.
[Illustration: Figure 77.--Celestial globe made by W. & T. M. Bardin of
London and used by Dr. Joseph Priestley. Diameter, 23 in. USNM 53254.]
[Illustration: Figure 78.--Brass surveying compass made by Benjamin
Rittenhouse for Andrew Ellicott and inscribed with both names. The
instrument is described in _Journal of Andrew Ellicott_ (Philadelphia,
1803). USNM 310815.]
Stated to have been used by General Washington for laying out the
estate of Mount Vernon, according to family manuscripts. It was made by
David Rittenhouse and presented by him to General Washington, who
subsequently gave it to Capt. Samuel Duvall.
A manuscript consisting of 14 letters relating to the surveying compass
is filed in the U.S. National Museum (USNM 92542). The letters were
written in 1851 and 1852 by George Washington Parke Custis, Anthony
Kimmel, and other Washington descendants.
Gift of Anthony Kimmel to the U.S. Government, and transferred to the
U.S. National Museum in 1883. USNM 92538. FIGURE 79.
_Zenith Sector_ for measuring the angle between a star at its zenith and
the vertical. Made of brass, with focal length of 6 ft. and an aperture
of 2-1/2 in. The original lens was made in London about 1780. The
instrument was made in the old pattern with brass tube and mountings and
a wooden supporting post. The tube is suspended by trunnions at the top
and swings against a graduated arc extending north and south for
measuring zenith distances in the meridian. It is adjusted in the
vertical by a plumb line whose errors are eliminated by reversing the
whole mounting about the supporting post. Constructed principally by
David Rittenhouse, with some modifications by Andrew Ellicott.
[Illustration: Figure 79.--Surveying compass made by David Rittenhouse
for Gen. George Washington, inscribed "Rittenhouse, Philadelphia." This
instrument was used by Washington in making a complete survey of his
estate at Mount Vernon, 1796-1799. The survey was assisted by Capt.
Samuel Duval, surveyor of Frederick County, Maryland. Washington gave
the instrument to Captain Duval, from whom it descended to the Hon.
Anthony Kimmel, who donated it to the U.S. National Museum. USNM 92538.]
In the _Journal of Andrew Ellicott_ its author referred to this sector
as follows:
The boundary line to the North of Pennsylvania was fixed by Dr.
Rittenhouse and Captain Holland in the year 1774 and completed in
1786 and 1787. We commenced operations by running a guide line west
from the point mentioned on the Delaware 20-1/4 miles and there
corrected by the following Zenith distances taken at its West
termination by a most excellent sector constructed and executed by
Dr. Rittenhouse.
The zenith sector is again mentioned in the appendix of the _Journal_:
"One Zenith Sector of nearly six feet radius similar to the one made by
Mr. [George] Graham for Dr. Bradley and Mr. Molyneux, with which the
aberrations of the stars and mutation of the earth's axis were
discovered, and the quantities determined."
Gift of Andrew Ellicott Douglass, Tucson, Ariz., in 1931. USNM 152078.
FIGURE 11.
_Zenith Sector_, made of brass, original lens broken. Constructed by
David Rittenhouse with some additions made by Andrew Ellicott. In The
_Journal of Andrew Ellicott_ the instrument is described as a Zenith
Sector of 19 inches radius to be used when the utmost accuracy was not
necessary, and where the transportation of the large one could not be
effected without great expense and difficulty. These instruments were
principally executed by my late worthy and ingenious friend, Mr.
Rittenhouse, except some additions which I have made myself. The plumb
lines of both Sectors are suspended from a notch above the axis of the
instruments in the manner described by the Rev. Dr. Maskelyne, the
present Astronomer Royal at Greenwich, in the introduction to the first
volume of his Astronomical Observations. A particular description of
those instruments is rendered unnecessary by being accurately done in a
number of scientific works, particularly by M. de Maupertius in his
account of the measurement of a degree of the meridian under the Arctic
Circle--The Sector is of all instruments the best calculated for
measuring zenith distances which come within its arc. The large one
above mentioned [large Zenith Sector] extends to 5 degrees North, and
South of the Zenith. Stars when so near the Zenith are insensibly
affected by the different refractive powers of the Atmosphere arising
from its different degrees of density. Add to this that the error of the
visual axis is completely corrected by taking the Zenith distances of
the stars with the plane, or face of the instrument both East and West.
USNM 152079. FIGURE 80.
RITTENHOUSE & EVANS, Philadelphia, Pa., 18th century.
_Surveying Compass_, about 1780, made of brass, overall length 13-3/4
in., diameter of dial 5-1/4 in., silvered bubble level, vernier on
alidade. The glazed dial, engraved "Rittenhouse & Evans," is fitted with
a brass cover.
This instrument was made during a brief partnership between David
Rittenhouse and David Evans, a clock- and watchmaker of Philadelphia and
Baltimore. It was one of several owned and used by John Johnson in 1818
for surveying the boundaries between Canada and Maine.
The survey, made in compliance with the Treaty of Ghent, is described in
_The Collections of the Maine Historical Society_ (Portland: Hoyt, Fogg
& Donham, 1881, vol. 8, p. 20):
Thomas Barclay, of whom we have heard more than once before, as a
Commissioner under the treaty, on the part of Great Britain, and
Cornelius P. Van Ness, on the part of the United States, were
appointed Commissioners to ascertain and run the line. An actual
survey was arranged, and surveyors appointed, to wit: Charles
Turner, Jr., on the part of the United States, and Colin Campbell
on the part of Great Britain. About twenty miles of the line was
surveyed, then the work was discontinued, never to be resumed; but
an exploring survey was commenced by Colonel Bouchette, on the part
of Great Britain, and John Johnson, on the part of the United
States. These gentlemen made an exploring line in 1817, extending
ninety-nine miles from the monument at the head of the river St.
Croix, and made separate reports of their doings. In 1818 Mr.
Johnson, with Mr. Odell, who had taken the place of Col.
Bouchette, finished running the exploring line to the Beaver or
Metis River....
[Illustration: Figure 80.--Zenith sector, with a radius of 19 in.,
constructed by David Rittenhouse for Andrew Ellicott. USNM 152079.]
[Illustration: Figure 81.--Brass surveying compass marked "Rittenhouse &
Evans," about 1780. Over-all length, 13-3/4 in.; diameter of dial, 5-1/4
in. This instrument, made about 1780, was owned and used by John Johnson
in 1818 for surveying the boundaries between Canada and Maine. USNM
309543.]
Gift of John Johnson Allen of Burlington, Vt., in 1927. USNM 309543.
FIGURE 81.
THOMPSON, Captain SAMUEL ROWLAND (18th century); Lewes, Del. _Octant_
made of dark wood and with lignum vitae; brass fittings. This
harbormaster's instrument, used by Captain Thompson during the second
half of the 18th century, is without numerical designations on the arc.
The eighth part of a circle is connected to an apex by two side pieces
with a swinging arm hinged at the apex, with a blade at its end that
moves along a checkered scale on the arc.
Gift of George Andrews Thompson of Baltimore, Md., in 1926. USNM 308473.
VOIGHT, HENRY (1738-1814), Philadelphia, Pa.
_Equal Altitude Telescope_ of brass, 17 in. long, on wooden tripod about
46 in. high. Objective lens is missing. Signed "Henry Voigt." Made about
1790 and used for determining meridian lines and time observation of the
sun's noon transit. This form of instrument was originally invented
about 1716 by Roger Cotes, professor of astronomy at Cambridge, as a
simple instrument for the determination of time.
Deposited in the U.S. National Museum by the Smithsonian Institution in
1939. USNM 311772. FIGURE 31.
WASHINGTON, GENERAL GEORGE (1732-1799), Mount Vernon, Va.
_Compass Sundial_ described by the donor as having been presented to
Gen. George Washington by General Braddock on the retreat through Paris
Gap, Fairfax County, Va. Gift of Samuel Keese in 1902. USNM 9842.
_Field Glass_, brass tube in three sections, length closed 9 in., opened
22-1/2 in. Diameter of object lens 1-3/4 in., of ocular lens 1-1/8 in.
With original case of russet leather, which is 9-1/2 in. long and 2-1/2
in. in diameter. Maker not known. Stated to have been used by Washington
during the Revolutionary War at the campaign of Valley Forge.
According to related correspondence, when not in use the instrument was
carried by the General's body servant, Billy Lee. The General presented
the field glass to Major Lawrence Lewis, his favorite nephew, in 1799,
the last year of his life.
Purchased by the U.S. Government from the Lewis heirs in 1878 and
transferred to the U.S. National Museum in 1883. USNM 92424, 92425.
FIGURE 82.
_Spyglass or Telescope_, made of wood, 9-sided, wrapped throughout with
twine, 62 in. long. Brass mountings for object and ocular lenses made by
"Cole, Fleet Street, London." Diameter of object lens 2-3/4 in.,
diameter of ocular lens 1 in.
[Illustration: Figure 82.--Brass field glass in case of russet leather,
stated to have been used by General George Washington at Valley Forge.
USNM 92424, 92425.]
The maker, Benjamin Cole (1725-1813), was the third generation of
instrument makers of the same name. Other instruments by this maker are
in the National Maritime Museum and the Whipple Museum, Cambridge.
[Illustration: Figure 83.--Telescope, 62 in. long, made of wood wrapped
with twine. It was made by Benjamin Cole of London and was owned and
used by Gen. George Washington at Mount Vernon. USNM 92423.]
This telescope, used by General Washington at Mount Vernon, "was kept
behind the hall door and his favorite amusement was to look out over the
river with it." According to Mrs. Lewis, the General used it to observe
life on the river and especially to discover guests approaching Mount
Vernon, as many of their visitors arrived by boat. Benjamin Latrobe, the
architect, on a visit to Mount Vernon made an amusing sketch of his host
looking anxiously up the stream for some belated dinner guests.
Part of the collection purchased from the Lewis heirs in 1878 by the
U.S. Government and transferred to the U.S. National Museum in 1883.
USNM 92423. FIGURE 83.
_Survey of Land_, drawn and documented by George Washington on April 2,
1751 for Thomas Loftan of Frederick County, Va. Paper, 12 in. wide by
7-3/4 in. high.
This survey was made by Washington when he was 19 years of age, and it
is believed to be the only such document relating to his earliest period
as a surveyor. Washington was licensed as a surveyor by the President
and Masters of William and Mary College in 1749. On July 20th of the
same year he was appointed surveyor in Culpepper County, Va., by
Governor Dinwiddie.
Acquired in 1961. USNM 238367. FIGURE 84.
WHITE, PEREGRINE (1747-1834), Woodstock, Conn.
_Surveying Compass_, about 1790, made of brass, complete with original
case, tripod, and gunter's chain. The instrument measures 12-1/4 in.
overall. The dial, with a diameter of 5-5/8 in. and a pewter vernier
ring, is inscribed "PEREGRINE WHITE/Woodstock." Tripod is 57-1/2 in.
long and has walnut legs and a brass universal socket joint. Gift of Dr.
and Mrs. Arthur M. Greenwood.
USNM 388993. FIGURE 23.
[Illustration: Figure 84.--Survey of land drawn and documented by George
Washington for Thomas Loftan of Frederick County, Va., in 1751. Size: 12
in. wide, 7-3/4 in. high. USNM 238367.]
WHITNEY, THOMAS (fl. 1798-1821), Philadelphia, Pa.
_Pocket Compass_ of brass encased in brassbound mahogany box with
separate carrying case. Paper dial is inscribed "T. Whitney/ Phil^a."
Carried by Capt. William Clark on the Lewis and Clark Expedition to the
Pacific Coast in 1803-1806.
USNM 38366. FIGURE 85.
[Illustration: Figure 85.--Pocket compass made and signed by Thomas
Whitney of Philadelphia. With original carrying case. Carried by Capt.
William Clark on the Lewis and Clark expedition to the Pacific Coast,
1803-1806. USNM 38366.]
Appendix
SURVIVING WOODEN SURVEYING COMPASSES
(Asterisk denotes information unavailable)
_Length
_Height of _Maker
_Collection_ _Type _Length _Width of bars needle and
of (in.)_ (in.)_ (in.)_ (in.)_ period_
wood_
Preston R. Maple 9 5 3-1/4 * Unsigned (18th
Bassett century)
Bucks County Cherry 11 5-1/2 6-5/8 2-3/8 Thomas Greenough
Historical of Boston
Society (1710-1785)
Bostonian Apple or 13-7/8 * * 4-3/4 John Dupee of
Society walnut Boston (after
1761)
Dartmouth Walnut 7-3/4 * * * Thomas S. Bowles
College Museum of Portsmouth,
N.H. (c.
1765-1821)
* 12 8 * * Unsigned (18th
century)
* 8-3/8 4-5/8 * * Unsigned (18th
century)
L. C. Eichner Hickory 11 5-1/2 3 4 Thomas Greenough
(U.S. National of Boston
Museum) (1710-1785)
Farmer's Museum Oak 12-3/4 6-1/2 5 * Unsigned (18th
century)
Franklin Gum 13-3/4 5-3/4 4 5 Thomas Greenough
Institute of Boston
(1710-1785)
Mariner's * * * * * Charles Thacher
Museum (18th century)
Old Sturbridge Maple 13 4 * * Unsigned (18th
century)
Maple 11-5/8 5-7/8 * * Thomas Greenough
of Boston
(1710-1785)
Walnut 18 8 * * Aaron Breed of
Boston (1791-1861)
New Hampshire Maple 11 5-3/4 2-1/2 4-5/8 Joseph Halsy of
Historical Boston (fl.
Society 1697-1762)
N. Parker Walnut 13-1/2 4-7/8 5 * John Dupee of
Boston (after
1761)
Peabody Museum * 11 * * 3 James Halsy II of
Boston (1695-1767)
Worth Shampeny * * * * * Jedidiah Baldwin
of Hanover, N.H.
(c. 1777-1829)
South Natick Apple or 13-16 * * 4-7/8 John Dupee of
Historical walnut Boston (after
Society 1761)
Streeter Coll., Birch 13 6 * 4 Thomas S. Bowles
Yale University of Portsmouth,
N.H. (c.1765-1821)
Cherry 11-5/6 6 4 * Jere Clough of
Boston (18th
century)
Cherry 12 6 3-1/2 * Benjamin Warren of
Plymouth, Mass.
(fl. 1740-1790)
Roleigh L. Cherry 7-1/2 3-3/4 3 * Unsigned
Stubbs
Silvio A. Walnut 12 5-3/8 5 4 Thomas S. Bowles
Bedini of Portsmouth,
N.H. (c.
1765-1821)
Pine 5-3/4 3-1/2 2-1/2 * Unsigned (18th
century)
Mahogany * * * * Unsigned (18th
century)
Basswood 12 5-3/4 2-3/4 4 Thomas Greenough
of Boston
(1710-1785)
Birch 18 7-1/2 7-1/2 6 Samuel Thaxter of
Boston (1769-1842)
Mahogany 13 7-1/4 4-1/4 6 Samuel Thaxter of
Boston (1769-1842)
Yellow 8-1/4 4 * 4-1/4 Benjamin K. Hagger
birch of Boston and
Baltimore (c.
1769-1834)
Cherry 14 5-1/2 6-3/8 4-3/4 Gurdon Huntington
of Windham, Conn.
and Walpole, N.H.
(1763-1804)
Yale Gallery Mahogany 11-1/2 5 * * Andrew Newell of
of Fine Art Boston (1749-c.
1798)
MATHEMATICAL PRACTITIONERS AND INSTRUMENT MAKERS
_Alphabetical List_
(Asterisk denotes information unavailable.)
_Name_ _Period_ _Place_ _Types of
instruments_
Bailey, John fl. 1778 Fishkill, N. Y. Surveying; surgical
Bailey, John, II 1752-1823 Hanover and Lynn, Surveying
Mass.
Baily, Joel 1732-1797 West Bradford,
(practitioner) Pa.
Baldwin, Jedidiah c. 1777-1829 Salem, Boston, Surveying
and Northampton,
Mass.; Hanover,
N. H.
Banneker, Benjamin c. 1734-1806 Baltimore
(practitioner)
Benson, John fl. 1793-1797 * Optical
Biddle, Owen 1737-1799 Philadelphia
(practitioner)
Biggs, Thomas fl. 1792-1795 New York and Surveying
Philadelphia
Blakslee, Ziba 1768-1834 Newtown, Conn. Surveying
Blundy, Charles fl. 1753 Charleston, S. C. Thermometric;
watches
Bowles, Thomas S. c. 1765-1821 Portsmouth, N. H. Surveying
Breed, Aaron 1791-1861 Boston Surveying
Brokaw, Isaac fl. 1771 Philadelphia *
Bulmain & Dennies fl. 1799 New York Nautical
Burges, Bartholomew fl. 1789 Boston Scientific
Burnap, Daniel 1759-1838 East Windsor and Surveying; clocks
Coventry, Conn.
Caritat, H. fl. 1799 New York Astronomical
Chandlee, Benjamin, 1723-1791 Nottingham, Md. Surveying; clocks
Jr.
Chandlee & Bros. fl. 1790-1791 Nottingham, Md. Clocks; surveying
Chandlee, Ellis 1755-1816 Nottingham, Md. Surveying; clocks
Chandlee, Ellis & fl. 1791-1797 Nottingham, Md. Clocks; surveying
Bros.
Chandlee, Goldsmith c. 1751-1821 Winchester, Va. Surveying;
astronomical;
clocks
Chandlee, Isaac 1760-1813 Nottingham, Md. Surveying; clocks
Clark, Robert fl. 1785 Charleston, S.C. Nautical; surveying
optical
Clough, Jere 18th century Boston Surveying
Condy, Benjamin fl. 1756-1798, Philadelphia Mathematical; sand
d. 1798 glasses
Crow, George c. 1726-1772 Wilmington, Del. Surveying; clocks
Dabney, John, Jr. fl. 1739 Boston Mathematical
Dakin, Jonathan fl. 1745 Boston Mathematical;
balances
Davenport, William 1778-1829 Philadelphia Mathematical;
surveying
Dean, William (?-1797) Philadelphia Surveying; nautical
Devacht, Joseph and fl. 1792 Gallipolis, Ohio Watches; compasses;
Francois sundials
Donegan (or fl. 1787 New York Glass;
Denegan), John philosophical
Donegany, John (see
Donegan)
Doolittle, Enos 1751-1806 Hartford, Conn. Surveying;
clocks nautical;
Doolittle, Isaac 1721-1800 New Haven, Conn. Clocks; scientific
Doolittle, Isaac, 1759-1821 New Haven, Conn. Surveying; clocks
Jr.
Dupee, John fl. after 1761 Boston Surveying
Ellicott, Andrew 1754-1820 Baltimore Surveying;
(also practitioner) astronomical
Emery, Samuel 1787-1882 Salem, Mass. Mathematical
Evans, George fl. 1796; d. Philadelphia Mathematical
1798
Fairman, Gideon 1774-1827 Newburyport, Mathematical
(See Hooker and Mass.
Fairman)
Fisher, Martin fl. 1790 Philadelphia Glass
Folger, Peter 1617-1690 Nantucket
(practitioner?)
Folger, Walter, Jr. 1765-1849 Nantucket Astronomical;
surveying
Ford, George fl. late 18th Lancaster, Pa. Surveying; nautical
century to
1842
Ford, George, II fl. 1842 Lancaster, Pa. Surveying; nautical
Fosbrook, W. fl. 1786 or New York Surgical; dental
earlier
Gatty, Joseph fl. 1794 New York and Glass;
Philadelphia philosophical
Gilman, Benjamin C. 1763-1835 Exeter, N.H. Mathematical;
clocks
Gilmur, Bryan fl. end of Philadelphia Mathematical;
18th century clocks
Godfrey, Thomas 1704-1749 Philadelphia Improved reflecting
backstaff
Gould, John fl. 1794 Philadelphia Nautical; surgical;
optical
Grainger, Samuel fl. 1719 Boston
(practitioner)
Greenleaf, Stephen 1704-1795 Boston Mathematical
Greenough, Thomas 1710-1785 Boston Mathematical;
surveying;
nautical;
astronomical
Greenough, William fl. 1785 Boston Surveying
Greenwood, Isaac, fl. 1726 Boston Surveying
Sr. (practitioner)
Greenwood, Isaac, 1730-1803 Boston Mathematical
Jr.
Grew, Theophilus fl. 1753 Philadelphia
(practitioner)
Hagger, Benjamin c. 1769-1834 Boston and Mathematical;
King Baltimore surveying
Hagger, William c. 1744-1830? Newport, R.I. Nautical
Guyse
Halsie, James, I fl. 1674 Boston
(practitioner)
Halsy, James, II 1695-1767 Boston Mathematical;
surveying
Halsy, John fl. 1700 Boston Mathematical
Halsy, Joseph fl. 1697-1762 Boston Surveying; nautical
Ham, James fl. 1754-1764 New York and Mathematical
Philadelphia
Ham, James, Jr. fl. 1780 Philadelphia Mathematical
Hamlin, William 1772-1869 Providence, R. I. Mathematical;
nautical;
astronomical
Hanks, Benjamin 1755-1824 Mansfield and Surveying
Litchfield, Conn.
Hanks, Truman fl. 1808 Mansfield and Surveying
Litchfield, Conn.
Harland, Thomas 1735-1807 Norwich, Conn. Surveying; clocks
Heisely, Frederick 1759-1839 Frederick, Md.; Mathematical;
A. Lancaster, surveying; clocks
Harrisburg, and
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Heisely, George 1789-1880 Harrisburg, Pa. Clocks;
mathematical
Hinton, William fl. 1772 New York Mathematical
Hoff, George 1740-1816 Lancaster, Pa. Clocks; surveying
Holcomb, Amasa 1787-1875 Southwick, Mass. Surveying;
(also practitioner) astronomical
Hooker & Fairman before 1810 Newburyport, Mathematical
(William Hooker and Mass.
Gideon Fairman)
Houghton, Rowland c. 1678-1744 Boston Surveying
Huntington, Gurdon 1763-1804 Windham, Conn., Surveying and
and Walpole, N.H. other; clocks
Jacks, James fl. 1780's Charleston, S.C. Mathematical;
surveying
Jayne, John late 18th Salem, Mass. Mathematical
century
Kennard, John 1782-1861 Newmarket, N.H. Surveying; clocks
Ketterer, Alloysius fl. 1789 Philadelphia Glass
King & Hagger 1759 or 1760 Newport, R.I. Mathematical;
(Benjamin King and until early nautical
William Guyse 1760's
Hagger)
King, Benjamin 1707-1786 Newport, R.I. Mathematical;
nautical
King, Benjamin 1740-1804 Salem, Mass. Nautical
King, Daniel 1704-1790 Salem, Mass. Mathematical
King, Samuel 1748-1819 Newport, R.I. Mathematical
Lamb, A. & Son 1780's New York Mathematical
Lamb, Anthony 1703-1784 England; Mathematical;
Virginia; surveying; nautical
Philadelphia; New
York; Hunter's
Key, N.Y.
Lamb, John 1735-1800 New York Mathematical
Mendenhall, Thomas fl. 1775 Lancaster, Pa. Mathematical;
clocks
Miller, Aaron fl. 1748-1771 Elizabethtown, Surveying; clocks;
N.J. compasses
Morris, M. fl. 1785 New York Protractors
Newell, Andrew 1749-1798 Boston Mathematical;
compasses
Newell, Joseph fl. 1800-1813 Boston Surveying
Pease, Paul fl. 1750 Probably Rhode Quadrant
Island
Platt, Augustus 1793-1886 Columbus, Ohio Mathematical;
surveying
Platt, Benjamin 1757-1833 Danbury, Compasses;
Litchfield, and surveying; clocks
New Milford,
Conn.; Lanesboro,
Mass.; Columbus,
Ohio
Pope, Joseph 1750-1826 Boston Scientific; clocks
Potter, John fl. 1746-1818 Brookfield, Mass. Surveying
Potts, W. L. late 18th Bucks County, Pa. Surveying
century
Prince, John 1751-1836 Salem, Mass. Scientific
(practitioner)
Prince, Nathan fl. 1743 Boston
(practitioner)
Pryor, Thomas fl. 1778 Philadelphia Mathematical
Revere, Paul 1735-1818 Boston Gunnery
Rittenhouse, 1740-c.1820 Philadelphia Astronomical;
Benjamin surveying
Rittenhouse, David 1732-1796 Philadelphia and Astronomical;
(practitioner) Norriton, Pa. surveying
Rittenhouse & Evans fl. 1770's Philadelphia Surveying
Sibley & Marble late 18th New Haven, Conn. Mathematical;
(Clark Sibley and century clocks; watches
Simeon Marble)
Smith, Cordial fl. 1775 Connecticut Surveying
Sommer, widow fl. 1753 New York Optical
Balthaser
Sower, Christopher c. 1724-1740 Germantown and Mathematical;
Philadelphia, Pa. clocks
Stiles & Baldwin fl. 1791 Northampton, Surveying
(Jedidiah Baldwin) Mass.
Stiles & Storrs fl. 1792 Northampton, Surveying
(Nathan Storrs and Mass.
Jedidiah Baldwin)
Taws, Charles fl. 1795 Philadelphia Mathematical
Thacher, Charles 18th century Probably Boston Surveying
Thaxter, Samuel 1769-1842 Boston Nautical;
mathematical
surveying
Voight, Henry 1738-1814 Philadelphia Astronomical;
clocks; watches
Wall, George, Jr. fl. 1788 Bucks County, Pa. Surveying
Walpole, Charles fl. 1746 New York Mathematical
Warren, Benjamin fl. 1740-1790 Plymouth, Mass. Surveying; nautical
White, Peregrine 1747-1834 Woodstock, Conn. Surveying; clocks
Whitney, John fl. 1801 Philadelphia Mathematical;
optical
Whitney, Thomas fl. 1798-1823 Philadelphia Mathematical;
optical; surveying
Williams, William 1737 or Boston Mathematical;
1738-1792 nautical
Willis, Arthur fl. 1674 Possibly
(practitioner) Massachusetts
Wilson, James 1763-1855 Bradford, Vt. Globes
Wistar, Richard fl. 1752 Wistarburg, N.J. Glass
Witt, Christopher fl. 1710-1765 Germantown, Pa. Mathematical;
(practitioner) clocks
Wood, John fl. 1790 Philadelphia Compasses
Youle, James 1740-1786 New York Surgical
Youle, John fl. 1786 New York Surgical
MATHEMATICAL PRACTITIONERS AND INSTRUMENT MAKERS
_Geographical Listing_
CONNECTICUT
Coventry: Daniel Burnap (1759-1838); surveying instruments and
clocks.
Danbury: Benjamin Platt (1757-1833); compasses and clocks.
East Windsor: Daniel Burnap (1759-1838); surveying instruments and
clocks.
Hartford: Enos Doolittle (1751-1806); surveying and navigational
instruments, compasses, and clocks.
Litchfield: Benjamin Hanks (1755-1824); surveying instruments and
clocks.
Truman Hanks (fl. 1808); surveying instruments.
Benjamin Platt (1757-1833); compasses and clocks.
Mansfield: Benjamin Hanks (1755-1824); surveying instruments.
Truman Hanks (fl. 1808); surveying instruments.
New Haven: Isaac Doolittle (1721-1800); clocks and scientific
instruments.
Isaac Doolittle, Jr. (1759-1821); surveying instruments
and clocks.
Sibley & Marble (late 18th century); clocks and
mathematical instruments.
New Milford: Benjamin Platt (1757-1833); compasses and clocks.
Newtown: Ziba Blakeslee (1768-1834); surveying instruments.
Norwich: Thomas Harland (1735-1807); surveying instruments and
clocks.
Windham: Gurdon Huntington (1763-1804); clocks and surveying
and other instruments.
Woodstock: Peregrine White (1747-1834); surveying instruments and
clocks.
----: Smith, Cordial (fl. 1775); surveying instruments.
DELAWARE
Wilmington: George Crow (c. 1726-1772); surveying instruments
and clocks.
MARYLAND
Baltimore: Benjamin Banneker (c. 1734-1806), practitioner.
Andrew Ellicott (1754-1820), practitioner; surveying
and astronomical instruments.
Benjamin K. Hagger (c. 1769-1834); mathematical and
surveying instruments.
Frederick: Frederick A. Heisely (1759-1839); clocks and
mathematical instruments.
Nottingham: Benjamin Chandlee, Jr. (1723-1791); clocks and
surveying instruments.
Chandlee & Bros. (fl. 1790-1791); clocks and surveying
instruments.
Ellis Chandlee (1755-1816); surveying instruments and
clocks.
Ellis Chandlee & Bros. (fl. 1791-1797); clocks and
surveying instruments.
Isaac Chandlee (1760-1813); surveying instruments and
clocks.
MASSACHUSETTS
Boston: Jedidiah Baldwin (c. 1777-1829); surveying instruments.
Aaron Breed (1791-1861); surveying instruments.
Bartholomew Burges (fl. 1789); scientific instruments.
Jere Clough (18th century); surveying instruments.
John Dabney, Jr. (fl. 1739); mathematical instruments.
Jonathan Dakin (fl. 1745); mathematical instruments
and balances.
John Dupee (fl. after 1761); surveying instruments.
Samuel Grainger (fl. 1719), practitioner.
Stephen Greenleaf (1704-1795); mathematical instruments.
Thomas Greenough (1710-1785); mathematical, surveying,
astronomical, and nautical instruments.
William Greenough (fl. 1785); surveying instruments.
Isaac Greenwood, Sr. (c.1725-1750), practitioner.
Isaac Greenwood, Jr. (1730-1803); mathematical
instruments.
Benjamin K. Hagger (c. 1769-1834); mathematical and
surveying instruments.
James Halsie I (fl. 1674), practitioner.
James Halsy II (1695-1767); mathematical and surveying
instruments.
John Halsy (fl. 1700); mathematical instruments.
Joseph Halsy (fl. 1697-1762); surveying instruments.
Rowland Houghton (1678-1744); surveying instruments.
Andrew Newell (1749-1798); surveying instruments.
Joseph Newell (fl. 1800-1813); surveying instruments.
Joseph Pope (1750-1826); scientific instruments and
clocks.
Nathan Prince (fl. 1743), practitioner; scientific
instruments.
Paul Revere (1735-1818); gunnery instruments.
Charles Thacher (18th century); surveying instruments.
Samuel Thaxter (1769-1842); surveying, nautical, and
mathematical instruments.
William Williams (1737/8-1792); mathematical and
nautical instruments.
Brookfield: John Potter (1746-1818); surveying instruments.
Hanover: John Bailey II (1752-1823); surveying instruments.
Lanesboro: Benjamin Platt (1757-1833); surveying instruments,
clocks, and compasses.
Lynn: John Bailey II (1752-1823); surveying instruments.
Nantucket: Peter Folger (1617-1690), practitioner(?).
Walter Folger (1765-1849), practitioner; clocks and
astronomical instruments.
Newburyport: Gideon Fairman (1774-1827); mathematical instruments.
Hooker & Fairman (before 1810); mathematical
instruments.
Northampton: Jedidiah Baldwin (c.1777-1829); surveying instruments.
Stiles & Baldwin (fl.1791); surveying instruments.
Stiles & Storrs (fl.1792); surveying instruments.
Plymouth: Benjamin Warren (fl.1740-1790); surveying and nautical
instruments.
Salem: Jedidiah Baldwin (c.1777-1829); surveying instruments.
Samuel Emery (1787-1882); mathematical instruments.
John Jayne (late 18th century); mathematical
instruments.
Benjamin King (1740-1804); nautical instruments.
Daniel King (1704-1790); mathematical instruments.
John Prince (1751-1836), practitioner; scientific
instruments.
Southwick: Amasa Holcomb (1787-1875); surveying and mathematical
instruments.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Exeter: Benjamin C. Gilman (1763-1835); mathematical
instruments and clocks.
Hanover: Jedidiah Baldwin (c.1777-1829); surveying instruments.
Newmarket: John Kennard (1782-1861); surveying instruments.
Portsmouth: Thomas S. Bowles (c.1765-1821); surveying instruments.
Walpole: Gurdon Huntington (1763-1804); clocks and surveying
and other instruments.
NEW JERSEY
Elizabeth: Aaron Miller (fl. 1748-1771); surveying instruments,
clocks, and compasses.
Wistarburg: Richard Wistar (fl. 1752); glass and thermometric
instruments.
NEW YORK
Fishkill: John Bailey (fl. 1778); surveying and surgical
instruments.
New York: Thomas Biggs (fl. 1792); surveying instruments.
Bulmain & Dennies (fl. 1799); nautical instruments.
H. Caritat (fl. 1799); astronomical prints.
John Donegan (fl. 1787); barometers, thermometers,
and philosophical instruments.
W. Fosbrook (fl. 1786); surgical and dental
instruments.
Joseph Gatty (fl. 1794); barometers, thermometers and
philosophical instruments.
James Ham (fl. 1754-1764); mathematical instruments.
William Hinton (fl. 1772); mathematical instruments.
A. Lamb & Son (fl. late 18th century); mathematical
instruments.
Anthony Lamb (1703-1784); mathematical instruments.
John Lamb (1735-1800); mathematical instruments.
M. Morris (fl. 1785); protractors.
Widow Balthaser Sommer (fl. 1753); optical instruments.
Charles Walpole (fl. 1746); mathematical instruments.
James Youle (1740-1786); surgical instruments.
John Youle (fl. 1786); surgical instruments.
OHIO
Columbus: Augustus Platt (1793-1886); mathematical instruments.
Benjamin Platt (1757-1833); surveying instruments and
clocks.
Gallipolis: Joseph (fl. 1792) and Francois Devacht; watches,
compasses, and sundials.
PENNSYLVANIA
Bucks County: W. L. Potts (late 18th century); surveying instruments.
George Wall, Jr. (fl. 1788); surveying instruments.
Germantown: Christopher Sower (c. 1724-1740); mathematical
instruments and clocks.
Christopher Witt (fl. 1710-1765); mathematical
instruments and clocks.
Harrisburg: Frederick A. Heisely (1759-1839); clocks and
mathematical instruments.
George Heisely (1789-1880); clocks and mathematical
instruments.
Lancaster: George Ford (late 18th century to 1842); surveying
and nautical instruments.
George Ford II (fl. 1842); surveying and nautical
instruments.
Frederick A. Heisely (1759-1839); clocks and
mathematical instruments.
George Hoff (1740-1816); clocks, surveying instruments.
Thomas Mendenhall (fl. 1775); mathematical instruments
and clocks.
Norristown: David Rittenhouse (1732-1796), practitioner;
astronomical and surveying instruments.
Philadelphia: Owen Biddle (1737-1799), practitioner.
Thomas Biggs (fl. 1792-1795); surveying instruments.
Isaac Brokaw (fl. 1771).
Benjamin Condy (fl. 1756, d. 1798); mathematical
instruments and sand glasses.
William Davenport (1778-1829); surveying and
mathematical instruments.
William Dean (?-1797); surveying and nautical
instruments.
George Evans (fl. 1796, d. 1798); mathematical
instruments.
Martin Fisher (fl. 1790); glass instruments.
Joseph Gatty (fl. 1794); barometers, thermometers,
and philosophical instruments.
Bryan Gilmur (end of 18th century); mathematical
instruments and clocks.
Thomas Godfrey (1704-1749); improved reflecting
backstaff.
John Gould (fl. 1794); nautical, surveying,
and optical instruments.
Theophilus Grew (fl. 1753), practitioner.
James Ham (fl. 1754-1764); mathematical instruments.
James Ham, Jr. (fl. 1780); mathematical instruments.
Alloysius Ketterer (fl. 1789); glass instruments.
Anthony Lamb (1703-1784); mathematical instruments.
Thomas Pryor (fl. 1778); mathematical instruments.
Benjamin Rittenhouse (1740-c.1820); surveying and
astronomical instruments.
David Rittenhouse (1732-1796), practitioner;
astronomical and surveying instruments.
Christopher Sower [Sauer] (c. 1724-1740); mathematical
instruments and clocks.
Charles Taws (fl. 1795); mathematical instruments.
Henry Voight (1738-1814); clocks, watches, and
astronomical instruments.
John Whitney (fl. 1801); mathematical and optical
instruments.
Thomas Whitney (fl. 1798-1823); mathematical and
optical instruments.
John Wood (fl. 1790); compasses.
Pittsburgh: Frederick A. Heisely (1759-1839); clocks and
mathematical instruments.
West Bradford: Joel Baily (1732-1797), practitioner.
RHODE ISLAND
Newport: William G. Hagger (c.1744-1830?); quadrants.
King & Hagger (1759/60); mathematical and nautical
instruments.
Benjamin King (1707-1786); mathematical and nautical
instruments.
Samuel King (1748-1819); mathematical instrument.
Paul Pease (fl. 1750); quadrants.
Providence: William Hamlin (1772-1869); mathematical,
astronomical, and nautical instruments.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Charleston: Charles Blundy (fl. 1753); thermometric instruments.
Robert Clark (fl. 1785); nautical, surveying, and
optical instruments.
James Jacks (fl. 1780's); mathematical and surveying
instruments.
VERMONT
Bradford: James Wilson (1763-1855); globes.
VIRGINIA
Winchester: Goldsmith Chandlee (c.1746-1821); surveying and
astronomical instruments and clocks.
Anthony Lamb (1703-1784); mathematical instruments.
TYPES OF INSTRUMENTS AND THEIR MAKERS
_(Categories based on specific designations noted in advertisements)_
ASTRONOMICAL
Caritat, H. (fl. 1799), New York.
Chandlee, Goldsmith (c.1746-1821), Winchester, Va.; also made surveying
instruments and clocks.
Ellicott, Andrew (1754-1820), Baltimore; also made surveying
instruments.
Folger, Walter, Jr. (1765-1849), Nantucket, Mass.; also made surveying
instruments.
Greenough, Thomas (1710-1785), Boston; also made mathematical,
surveying, and nautical instruments.
Hamlin, William (1772-1869), Providence, R.I.; also made mathematical
and nautical instruments.
Holcomb, Amasa (1787-1875), Southwick, Mass.; also made surveying
instruments.
Rittenhouse, Benjamin (1740-c.1820), Philadelphia; also made surveying
instruments.
Rittenhouse, David (1732-1796), Philadelphia and Norristown, Pa.; also
made surveying instruments.
Voight, Henry (1738-1814), Philadelphia; also made clocks and watches.
GLASS AND THERMOMETRIC
Blundy, Charles (fl. 1753), Charleston, S.C.; also made watches.
Donegan, Joseph (fl. 1787), New York and Philadelphia; also made
philosophical instruments.
Fisher, Martin (fl. 1790), Philadelphia.
Gatty, Joseph (fl. 1794), New York and Philadelphia; also made
philosophical instruments.
Ketterer, Alloysius (fl. 1789), Philadelphia.
Wistar, Richard (fl. 1752), Wistarburg, N.J.
HOROLOGICAL
Blundy, Charles (fl. 1753), Charleston, S.C.; also made thermometric
instruments.
Burnap, Daniel (1759-1838), East Windsor and Coventry, Conn.; also made
surveying instruments.
Chandlee, Benjamin (1723-1791), Nottingham, Md.; also made surveying
instruments.
Chandlee & Bros. (fl. 1790-1791), Nottingham, Md.; also made surveying
instruments.
Chandlee, Ellis (1755-1816), Nottingham, Md.; also made surveying
instruments.
Chandlee, Goldsmith (1751-1821), Winchester, Va.; also made astronomical
and surveying instruments.
Chandlee, Isaac (1760-1813), Nottingham, Md.; also made surveying
instruments.
Crow, George (c.1726-1772), Philadelphia; also made surveying
instruments.
DeVacht, Joseph and Francois (fl. 1792), Gallipolis, Ohio; also made
compasses and sundials.
Doolittle, Enos (1751-1806), Hartford, Conn.; also made surveying and
nautical instruments.
Doolittle, Isaac (1721-1800), New Haven, Conn.; also made scientific
instruments.
Doolittle, Isaac Jr. (1759-1821), New Haven, Conn.; also made surveying
instruments.
Gilman, Benjamin C. (1763-1835), Exeter, N.H.; also made mathematical
instruments.
Gilmur, Bryan (fl. end of 18th century), Philadelphia; also made
mathematical instruments.
Harland, Thomas (1735-1807), Norwich, Conn.; also made surveying
instruments.
Heisely, Frederick A. (1759-1839), Frederick, Md.; also made
mathematical and surveying instruments.
Heisely, George (1789-1880), Harrisburg, Pa.; also made mathematical
instruments.
Hoff, George (1740-1816), Lancaster, Pa.; also made surveying
instruments.
Huntington, Gurdon (1763-1804), Windham, Conn., and Walpole, N.H.; also
made surveying and other instruments.
Kennard, John (1782-1861), Newmarket, N.H.; also made surveying
instruments.
Mendenhall, Thomas (fl. 1775), Lancaster, Pa.; also made mathematical
instruments.
Miller, Aaron (fl. 1748-1771), Elizabethtown, N.J.; also made compasses
and surveying instruments.
Platt, Benjamin (1757-1833), Danbury, Litchfield, and New Milford,
Conn.; Lanesboro, Mass.; Columbus, Ohio; also made compasses and
surveying instruments.
Pope, Joseph (1750-1826), Boston; also made scientific instruments.
Sibley & Marble (Clark Sibley and Simeon Marble) (late 18th century),
New Haven, Conn.; also made mathematical instruments.
Sower, Christopher (c. 1724-1740), Germantown and Philadelphia, Pa.;
also made mathematical instruments.
Voigt, Henry (1738-1814), Philadelphia; also made astronomical
instruments.
White, Peregrine (1747-1834), Woodstock, Conn.; also made surveying
instruments.
Witt, Christopher (practitioner) (fl. 1710-1765), Germantown, Pa.; also
made mathematical instruments.
MATHEMATICAL (GENERAL)
Condy, Benjamin (fl. 1756-1792, d. 1798), Philadelphia.
Dabney, John, Jr. (fl. 1739), Boston.
Dakin, Jonathan (fl. 1745), Boston; also made balances.
Davenport, William (fl. 1800-1820), Philadelphia; also made surveying
instruments.
Doolittle, Isaac (1721-1800), New Haven, Conn.; also made clocks.
Emery, Samuel (late 18th century), Salem, Mass.
Evans, George (fl. 1796, d. 1798), Philadelphia.
Fairman, Gideon (1774-1827), Newburyport, Mass.
Gilman, Benjamin C. (1763-1835), Exeter, N.H.; also made clocks.
Gilmur, Bryan (end of 18th century), Philadelphia; also made clocks.
Greenleaf, Stephen (fl. 1745), Boston.
Greenough, Thomas (1710-1785), Boston; also made surveying,
astronomical, and nautical instruments.
Greenwood, Isaac, Jr. (1730-1803), Boston.
Hagger, Benjamin K. (c.1769-1834), Boston and Baltimore; also made
surveying instruments.
Halsy, James, II (1695-1767), Boston; also made surveying instruments.
Halsy, John (fl. 1700), Boston.
Ham, James (fl. 1754-1764), New York and Philadelphia.
Ham, James, Jr. (fl. 1780), Philadelphia.
Hamlin, William (1772-1869), Providence, R.I.; also made nautical and
astronomical instruments.
Heisely, Frederick (1759-1839), Frederick, Md., and Lancaster,
Harrisburg, and Pittsburgh, Pa.; also made clocks and surveying
instruments.
Heisely, George (1789-1880), Harrisburg, Pa.; also made clocks.
Hinton, William (fl. 1772), New York.
Hooker & Fairman (before 1810), Newburyport, Mass.
Jacks, James (fl. 1780's), Charleston, S.C.; also made surveying
instruments.
Jayne, John (late 18th century), Salem, Mass.
King & Hagger (1759/60 to early 1760's), Newport, R.I.; also made
nautical instruments.
King, Benjamin (1707-1786), Newport, R.I.; also made nautical
instruments.
King, Daniel (1704-1790), Salem, Mass.
King, Samuel (fl. 1786), Newport, R.I.
Lamb, A. & Son (1780's), New York.
Lamb, Anthony (1703-1784), Virginia, Philadelphia, New York, and
Hunter's Key, N.Y.; also made surveying and nautical instruments.
Lamb, John (1735-1800), New York; also made nautical and surveying
instruments.
Mendenhall, Thomas (fl. 1775), Lancaster, Pa.; also made clocks.
Newell, Andrew (1749-1798), Boston; also made compasses and surveying
instruments.
Platt, Augustus (1809-1886), Columbus, Ohio; also made surveying
instruments.
Pryor, Thomas (fl. 1778), Philadelphia.
Revere, Paul (1735-1818), Boston, Mass.
Sibley & Marble (late 18th century), New Haven, Conn.; also made clocks
and watches.
Sower, Christopher (c. 1724-1740), Germantown and Philadelphia, Pa.;
also made clocks.
Taws, Charles (fl. 1795), Philadelphia.
Thaxter, Samuel (1769-1842), Boston; also made surveying and nautical
instruments.
Walpole, Charles (fl. 1746), New York.
Whitney, John (fl. 1801), Philadelphia; also made optical instruments.
Whitney, Thomas (fl. 1798-1821), Philadelphia; also made optical and
surveying instruments.
Williams, William (1737/38-1792), Boston; also made nautical
instruments.
Witt, Christopher (fl. 1710-1765), Germantown, Pa.; also made clocks.
NAUTICAL
Bulmain & Dennies (fl. 1799), New York.
Clark, Robert (fl. 1785), Charleston, S.C.; also made surveying and
optical instruments.
Condy, Benjamin (fl. 1756-92, d. 1798), Philadelphia; also made
mathematical instruments.
Davenport, William (fl. 1800-1820), Philadelphia; also made mathematical
and surveying instruments.
Dean, William (?-1797), Philadelphia; also made surveying instruments.
Doolittle, Enos (1751-1806), Hartford, Conn.; also made surveying
instruments, directional compasses and clocks.
Emery, Samuel (1787-1882), Salem, Mass.
Fairman, Gideon (1774-1827), Newburyport, Mass.; also made mathematical
instruments.
Ford, George, I (late 18th century to 1840), Lancaster, Pa.; also made
surveying instruments.
Ford, George, II (fl. 1842), Lancaster, Pa.; also made surveying
instruments.
Godfrey, Thomas (1704-1749), Philadelphia.
Gould, John (fl. 1794), Philadelphia; also made surveying and optical
instruments.
Greenough, Thomas (1710-1785), Boston; also made mathematical and
surveying instruments.
Hagger, William G. (c.1744-1830?), Newport, R.I.
Ham, James (fl. 1754-64), New York and Philadelphia; also made
mathematical instruments.
Ham, James, Jr. (fl. 1780), Philadelphia; also made mathematical
instruments.
Hamlin, William (1772-1869), Providence, R.I.; also made mathematical
instruments.
Jayne, John (late 18th century), Salem, Mass.; also made mathematical
instruments.
King & Hagger (1759/60 to early 1760's), Newport, R.I.; also made
mathematical instruments.
King, Benjamin (1707-1786), Newport, R.I.; also made mathematical
instruments.
King, Benjamin (1740-1804), Salem, Mass.
King, Daniel (1704-1790), Salem, Mass.; also made mathematical
instruments.
King, Samuel (fl. 1786), Newport, R.I.; also made mathematical
instruments.
Lamb, A., & Son (1780's), New York; also made mathematical instruments.
Lamb, Anthony (1703-1784), Virginia, Philadelphia, New York, and
Hunter's Key, N.Y.; also made mathematical and surveying instruments.
Lamb, John (1735-1800), New York; also made surveying and mathematical
instruments.
Newell, Andrew (1749-1798), Boston; also made mathematical instruments.
Pease, Paul (fl. 1750), probably Rhode Island.
Thaxter, Samuel (1769-1842), Boston; also made mathematical and
surveying instruments.
Warren, Benjamin (fl. 1740-1790), Plymouth, Mass.; also made surveying
instruments.
Williams, William (1737/38-1792), Boston; also made mathematical
instruments.
OPTICAL
Benson, John (fl. 1793-1797).
Clark, Robert (fl. 1785), Charleston, S.C.; also made nautical and
surveying instruments.
Sommer, Widow Balthaser (fl. 1753), New York.
Whitney, John (fl. 1801), Philadelphia; also made mathematical
instruments.
Whitney, Thomas (fl. 1798-1821), Philadelphia; also made mathematical
and surveying instruments.
SURGICAL
Bailey, John (fl. 1778), Fishkill, N.Y.; also made surveying
instruments.
Fosbrook, W. (fl. 1786), New York; also made dental instruments.
Youle, James (1740-1786), New York.
Youle, John (fl. 1786), New York.
SURVEYING
Bailey, John (fl. 1778), Fishkill, N.Y.; also made surgical instruments.
Bailey, John, II (1752-1823), Hanover and Lynn, Mass.
Baldwin, Jedidiah (c. 1777-1829), Salem, Boston, and Northampton, Mass.,
and Hanover, N.H.
Biggs, Thomas (fl. 1792-1795), New York and Philadelphia.
Blakeslee, Ziba (1768-1834), Newtown, Conn.
Bowles, Thomas S. (c. 1765-1821?), Portsmouth, N.H.
Breed, Aaron (late 18th to mid-19th centuries), Boston.
Burnap, Daniel (1759-1838), East Windsor and Coventry, Conn.; also made
clocks.
Chandlee, Benjamin, Jr. (1723-1791), Nottingham, Md.; also made clocks.
Chandlee & Bros. (fl. 1790-1791), Nottingham, Md.; also made clocks.
Chandlee, Ellis (1755-1816), Nottingham, Md.; also made clocks.
Chandlee, Ellis & Bros. (fl. 1791-1797), Nottingham, Md.; also made
clocks.
Chandlee, Goldsmith (c.1746-1821), Winchester, Va.; also made clocks and
sundials.
Chandlee, Isaac (1760-1813), Nottingham, Md.; also made clocks.
Clark, Robert (fl. 1785), Charleston, S.C.; also made nautical and
optical instruments.
Clough, Jere (18th century), Boston.
Crow, George (fl. 1754-1772), Wilmington, Del.; also made clocks.
Davenport, William (fl. 1800-1820), Philadelphia; also made mathematical
instruments.
Dean, William (?-1797), Philadelphia; also made nautical instruments.
Doolittle, Enos (1751-1806), Hartford, Conn.; also made nautical
instruments and clocks.
Doolittle, Isaac, Jr. (1759-1821), New Haven, Conn.; also made clocks.
Dupee, John (after 1761), Boston.
Ellicott, Andrew (1754-1820), Baltimore; also made astronomical
instruments.
Ford, George, I (late 18th century to 1840), Lancaster, Pa.; also made
nautical instruments.
Ford, George, II (fl. 1842), Lancaster, Pa.; also made nautical
instruments.
Gould, John (fl. 1794), Philadelphia; also made nautical and optical
instruments.
Greenough, Thomas (1710-1785), Boston, also made nautical and
mathematical instruments.
Greenough, William (fl. 1785), Boston.
Halsy, James, II (1695-1767), Boston; also made mathematical
instruments.
Halsy, Joseph (fl. 1697-1762), Boston.
Hagger, Benjamin K. (c. 1769-1834), Boston and Baltimore; also made
mathematical instruments.
Hanks, Benjamin (1755-1824), Mansfield and Litchfield, Conn.
Hanks, Truman (fl. 1808), Mansfield and Litchfield, Conn.
Harland, Thomas (1735-1807), Norwich, Conn.; also made clocks.
Heisely, Frederick A. (1759-1839), Frederick, Md., and Lancaster,
Harrisburg, and Pittsburgh, Pa.; also made clocks and mathematical
instruments.
Heisely, George (1789-1880), Harrisburg, Pa.; also made clocks and
mathematical instruments.
Holcomb, Amasa (1785-1875), Southwick, Mass.; also made astronomical
instruments.
Houghton, Rowland (c. 1678-1744), Boston.
Huntington, Gurdon (1763-1804), Windham, Conn., and Walpole, N.H.; also
made clocks and other scientific instruments.
Jacks, James (fl. 1780's), Charleston, S.C.; also made mathematical
instruments.
Kennard, John (1782-1861), Newmarket, N.H.; also made clocks.
Lamb, A., & Son (1780's), New York; also made mathematical and nautical
instruments.
Lamb, Anthony (1703-1784), New York; also made mathematical and nautical
instruments.
Lamb, John (1735-1800), New York; also made mathematical and nautical
instruments.
Miller, Aaron (fl. 1748-1771), Elizabeth, N.J.; also made clocks and
directional compasses.
Newell, Andrew (1749-1798), Boston; also made mathematical instruments
and directional compasses.
Platt, Augustus (1809-1886), Columbus, Ohio; also made mathematical and
surveying instruments.
Platt, Benjamin (1757-1833), Danbury, Litchfield, and New Milford,
Conn.; Lanesboro, Mass.; and Columbus, Ohio; also made directional
compasses and clocks.
Potter, John (fl. 1785), Brookfield, Mass.
Rittenhouse, Benjamin (1740-c. 1820), Philadelphia; also made
astronomical instruments.
Rittenhouse, David (1732-1796), Philadelphia; also made astronomical
instruments.
Rittenhouse & Evans (fl. 1770's), Philadelphia.
Stiles & Baldwin (fl. 1791), Northampton, Mass.
Stiles & Storrs (fl. 1792), Northampton, Mass.
Thacher, Charles, probably Boston.
Thaxter, Samuel (1769-1842), Boston; also made nautical and mathematical
instruments.
Wall, George Jr. (fl. 1788), Bucks County, Pa.
Warren, Benjamin (fl. 1740-1790), Plymouth, Mass.; also made nautical
instruments.
White, Peregrine (1747-1834), Woodstock, Conn.; also made clocks.
Whitney, Thomas (fl. 1798-1821), Philadelphia; also made mathematical
and optical instruments.
Williams, William (1737/38-1792), Boston; also made nautical
instruments.
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FOOTNOTES:
[1] DEREK J. DE SOLLA PRICE, _Science Since Babylon_ (New Haven: Yale
University Press, 1961), pp. 62-64.
[2] JAMES SAVAGE, _A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of
New England_ (Boston, 1860), vol. 2, p. 341.
[3] _The Chronicle_ (Early American Industries Association), March 1936,
vol. 1, no. 16, p. 8; and personal correspondence with Mr. William L.
Warren, Connecticut Historical Society.
[4] R. F. SEYBOLD, "The Evening School in Colonial America," _Bureau of
Educational Research, Bulletin 31_ (University of Illinois, 1925), p.
28.
[5] H. H. SCHOEN, "The Making of Maps and Charts," _Ninth Yearbook of
the Council for the Social Studies_ (Cambridge, 1938), p. 83; also
EDMOND R. KIELY, _Surveying Instruments: Their History and Classroom
Use_ (New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1947), pp.
239-250.
[6] BROOKE HINDLE, _The Pursuit of Science in Revolutionary America
1735-1789_ (Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press,
1956), pp. 337-338.
[7] LEROY E. KIMBALL, "James Wilson of Vermont, America's First Globe
Maker," _Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society_ (April 1938),
p. 31.
[8] HINDLE, op. cit. (footnote 6).
[9] GEORGE H. ECKHARDT, _Pennsylvania Clocks and Clockmakers_ (New York:
Devin-Adair Co., 1955), p. 190.
[10] CATHERINE VAN C. MATHEWS, _Andrew Ellicott, His Life and Letters_
(New York, 1908).
[11] JOHN H. B. LATROBE, "Memoir of Benjamin Banneker," _Maryland
Colonization Journal_ (Baltimore, May 1845); PHILIP LEPHILLIPS, "The
Negro, Benjamin Benneker," _Records of the Columbia Historical Society_
(1916), vol. 20.
[12] ARTHUR E. JAMES, _Chester County Clocks and Their Makers_ (West
Chester, Pa.: Chester Historical Society, 1947), pp. 29-39;
_Transactions of the American Philosophical Society_, ser. I, vol. 1,
pp. 85-97.
[13] DIRK J. STRUIK, _Yankee Science in the Making_ (Boston: Little
Brown & Co., 1948), pp. 47, 70-71.
[14] ROBERT P. MULTHAUF, ed., "Holcomb, Fitz, and Peate; Three 19th
Century American Telescope Makers" (paper 26 in _Contributions from the
Museum of History and Technology_, U.S. National Museum Bulletin 228,
Washington, 1962), p. 162.
[15] _New York Gazette, Revived in the Weekly Post-Boy_, January 23,
1749.
[16] CARL BRIDENBAUGH, _The Colonial Craftsman_ (New York: New York
University Press, 1950), pp. 160-161; ISAAC Q. LEAKE, _Memoir of the
Life and Times of General John Lamb_ (Albany: Munsell, 1850); SILVIO A.
BEDINI, _Ridgefield in Review_ (New Haven: Walker-Rackliffe, 1958), pp.
71, 84.
[17] ALFRED COXE PRIME, _The Arts and Crafts of Philadelphia, Maryland
and South Carolina, 1786-1800_ (The Walpole Society, 1929), p. 230.
[18] PENROSE R. HOOPES, _Connecticut Clockmakers of the Eighteenth
Century_ (New York: Dodd Mead & Co., 1930), p. 86; _The Norwich
Courier_, February 10, 1802.
[19] HARROLD E. GILLINGHAM, "Some Early Philadelphia Instrument Makers,"
_The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography_ (1927), vol. 51,
no. 3, p. 303-305.
[20] Ibid., p. 304.
[21] _Charleston Evening Gazette_, July 24, 1785; PRIME, op. cit.
(footnote 17), p. 234.
[22] RITA S. GOTTESMAN, _The Arts and Crafts in New York, 1777-1799_
(New York: New York Historical Society, 1954), pp. 220-221.
[23] _The Pennsylvania Evening Herald_, March 17, 1787.
[24] GOTTESMAN, op cit. (footnote 22), pp. 311-312.
[25] _The Diary, or Evening Register_, November 3, 1794.
[26] GILLINGHAM, op. cit. (footnote 26), p. 306.
[27] EDWIN VALENTINE MITCHELL, _The Romance of New England Antiques_
(New York: A. A. Wyn, 1950), pp. 257-160; KIMBALL op. cit. (footnote 7).
[28] WILLIAM BENTLEY, _Diary of William Bentley, D. D._ (Salem, Mass.:
1905), vol. 1, p. 182, vol. 2, p. 414.
[29] Ibid., vol. 3, p. 130.
[30] _Boston Gazette_, June 18, 1745.
[31] Ibid., November 12, 1745.
[32] CLARENCE S. BRIGHAM, _Paul Revere's Engravings_ (Worcester, Mass.:
American Antiquarian Society, 1954), p. 118; BERNARD W. WIENBERGER,
_Introduction to the History of Dentistry_ (St. Louis, Mosby Co., 1948),
2 vols., vol. 2, pp. 119-134; ISAAC J. GREENWOOD, _The Greenwood
Family_, 1934, pp. 68-78.
[33] _Boston Gazette_, November 6-13 and November 20-27, 1738, March
26-April 2 and April 2-9, 1739.
[34] BROOKS PALMER, _The Book of American Clocks_ (New York: Macmillan
Co., 1950), pp. 141-142.
[35] _Massachusetts Magazine_ (1789), vol. 1, pp. 36, 37; _Boston
Gazette_, January 12, 1789; I. BERNARD COHEN, _Some Early Tools of
American Science_, (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1950), pp.
6465, 157; HARROLD E. GILLINGHAM, "The First Orreries In America,"
_Journal of the Franklin Institute_ (1940), vol. 229, pp. 92-97.
[36] WILL GARDNER, _The Clock that Talks and What It Tells_ (Nantucket
Whaling Museum, 1954), pp. 34-40, 97, 106.
[37] PALMER, op. cit. (footnote 34), p. 190.
[38] JOSEPH B. FELT, _Annals of Salem_ (Salem, Mass.: Ives, 1827), vol.
2, p. 173.
[39] HOWARD M. CHAPIN, "Davis Quadrants," _Antiques_ (November 1927),
vol. 12, no. 5, pp. 397-399; also RUFUS KING, _Pedigree of King of Lynn_
(Salem, Mass., 1891).
[40] CHAPIN, op. cit. (footnote 39), pp. 398-399.
[41] GLADYS R. LANE, "Rhode Island's Earliest Engraver," _Antiques_
(March 1925), pp. 133-137.
[42] CHAPIN, op. cit. (footnote 39), p. 399.
[43] HOOPES, op. cit. (footnote 18), pp. 70-72.
[44] _The Connecticut Journal_, June 7, 1781.
[45] Ibid., May 22, 1799.
[46] _The Connecticut Courant_, December 15, 1772, and October 22, 1787;
HOOPES, op. cit. (footnote 18), pp. 66-70.
[47] HOOPES, op. cit. (footnote 18), p. 122.
[48] Ibid., pp. 79-83.
[49] PALMER, op. cit. (footnote 34), p. 159.
[50] PENROSE R. HOOPES, _Early Clockmaking in Connecticut_ (New Haven:
Yale University Press, 1934), pp. 8-9.
[51] WILLIAM MCCABE, "Benjamin Platt of New Fairfield, Connecticut,"
_Timepieces Quarterly_ (November 1948), vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 26-28.
[52] Ibid.
[53] _New York Packet_, May 14, 1778.
[54] GOTTESMAN, op. cit. (footnote 22), p. 270.
[55] _New York Packet_, February 3, 1785, and February 27, 1786, and
_New York Daily Advertiser_, February 8, 1787.
[56] _The New York Gazette Revived in The Weekly Post-Boy_, January 4,
1748.
[57] BRIDENBAUGH op. cit. (footnote 16), p. 63; FREDERICK W. HUNTER,
_Stiegel Glass_ (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1914), pp. 157-161.
[58] HENRY C. CONRAD, "Old Delaware Clockmakers," _The Historical and
Biographical Papers of the Historical Society of Delaware_ (1897), vol.
3, chap. 20, pp. 4-34.
[59] EDWARD E. CHANDLEE, _Six Quaker Clockmakers_ (Philadelphia:
Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1943), pp. 70, 193, 212, 220-223.
[60] "Frederick A. Heisely, Watch and Clockmaker and His Recorded Years,
1759-1839," _Timepieces Quarterly_ (November 1948), vol. 1, no. 1, p.
33.
[61] HINDLE, op. cit. (footnote 6), pp. 22, 68.
[62] GILLINGHAM, op. cit. (footnote 19), pp. 293-294.
[63] Ibid., p. 303; _Royal Pennsylvania Gazette_, April 19, 1778.
[64] GILLINGHAM, op. cit. (footnote 19), p. 302.
[65] Ibid., pp. 305-306.
[66] ECKHARDT, op. cit. (footnote 9), p. 195; GEORGE EVANS, _Illustrated
History of the United States Mint_ (Philadelphia: Evans, 1890), p. 114.
[67] CAROLYN WOOD STRETCH, "Early Colonial Clockmakers in Philadelphia,"
_Pennsylvania Magazine_ (July 1932), vol. 56, pp. 225, 235; ECKHARDT,
op. cit. (footnote 9), pp. 18, 24, 198.
[68] D. F. MAGEE, "Grandfather's Clocks: Their Making and Their Makers
in Lancaster County," Papers read before the Lancaster (Pa.) Historical
Society, 1917, pp. 63-77.
[69] PRIME, op. cit. (footnote 17), p. 260.
[70] PALMER, op. cit. (footnote 34), p. 200.
[71] ALEXANDER HAMILTON, _Official Reports on Publick Credit, A National
Bank, Manufactures and a Mint_ (Philadelphia: Wm. McKean, 1821), pp.
208-209.
[72] RITA GOTTESMAN, _The Arts and Crafts in New York, 1726-1776_ (New
York: New York Historical Society, 1938), p. 307.
[73] GILLINGHAM, op. cit. (footnote 35), p. 295.
[74] HOOPES, op. cit. (footnote 50), p. 3; and HOOPES, op. cit.
(footnote 24), pp. 101-103.
[75] HOOPES, op. cit. (footnote 19), pp. 106-107.
[76] E. G. R. TAYLOR, _The Mathematical Practitioners of Tudor and
Stuart England_ (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1954), pp.
185-292.
[77] JOHN PIERPONT, "Whittling, A Yankee Portrait."
[78] ABEL FLINT, _System of Geometry and Trigonometry together with a
Treatise of Surveying_ (Hartford: Olive D. Cooke, 1804), p. 86.
[79] "Report of the Committee on the Rooms," _Proceedings of the
Bostonian Society_ (1917), no. 1, p. 16.
[80] SAVAGE, op. cit. (footnote 2), vol. 2, p. 341.
[81] "James Halsy," in Thwing Catalogue, Massachusetts Historical
Society.
[82] SAVAGE, op. cit. (footnote 2), vol. 2, p. 341.
[83] Ibid.
[84] "Joseph Halsy," in Thwing Catalogue, Massachusetts Historical
Society.
[85] _Boston Gazette_, September 18-25, October 2-9, and October 16-23,
1738.
[86] Description courtesy of Mr. Philip N. Guyol, director, New
Hampshire Historical Society.
[87] SAVAGE, op. cit. (footnote 2), vol. 2, p. 341; "Joseph Halsy," in
Thwing Catalogue, and "Cotton Mather" in Record of Marriages,
Massachusetts Historical Society.
[88] Land deeds listed in Thwing Catalogue, Massachusetts Historical
Society.
[89] Massachusetts Historical Society, Inventory L.450, S.P.R. 92.505.
[90] Description courtesy of Mr. M. V. Brewington, Peabody Museum,
Salem, Mass.
[91] Called the "r r Co.," which has not been further identified but is
believed to have been one of the many militia companies that were formed
in Boston during this period.
[92] "Thomas Greenough," in Thwing Catalogue, Massachusetts Historical
Society.
[93] M.S. identified as Folio 495, Massachusetts Historical Society.
[94] _The Chronicle_ (Early American Industries Association), December
1939, vol. 2, no. 12, p. 96.
[95] Ibid.
[96] Description courtesy of Dr. Thomas Greenough, Cooperstown, N. Y.
[97] ROBERT P. MULTHAUF, "Early Instruments in the History of Surveying:
Their Use and Invention," _Surveying and Mapping_ (October-December
1958), pp. 401, 403.
[98] "Report of the Committee on the Rooms," _Proceedings of the
Bostonian Society_ (1917), no. 1, p. 14.
[99] Ibid., p. 15.
[100] FELT, op. cit. (footnote 38), p. 173.
[101] "William Williams," in Thwing Catalogue, Massachusetts Historical
Society.
[102] Land record data from Thwing Catalogue, Massachusetts Historical
Society.
[103] "Report of the Committee on the Rooms," _Proceedings of the
Bostonian Society_ (1917), no. 1, p. 16.
[104] BRIGHAM, op. cit. (footnote 32), p. 121.
[105] _History of Hingham_ [Massachusetts], Hingham [n. d.], vol. 3, p.
236.
[106] KATHERINE M. ABBOTT, _Old Paths and Legends of New England_ (New
York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1909), pp. 341-342.
[107] _Proceedings of the Bostonian Society_ loc. cit. (footnote 103).
[108] Photograph and records in the collection of the Bostonian Society.
[109] Land records, Massachusetts Historical Society.
[110] GEORGE FRANCIS DOW, _The Arts and Crafts in New England 1704-1775_
(Topsfield, Mass.: The Wayside Press, 1927), p. 256.
[111] JOHN M. PHILLIPS, "An Unrecorded Engraving by Nathaniel Hurd,"
_Bulletin of the Associates in Fine Arts at Yale University_ (June
1936), vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 26-27.
[112] Land records on Benjamin King Hagger listed in Thwing Catalogue,
Massachusetts Historical Society.
[113] Marriage Document no. 101, Report of the Record Commissioners of
Boston, p. 298.
[114] _The Baltimore American and Commercial Advertiser_, November 9,
1834.
[115] SILVIO A. BEDINI, "A Compass Card by Paul Revere (?)", _Yale
Library Gazette_ (July 1962), no. 2. pp. 36-38; WILLIAM T. DAVIS,
_Ancient Landmarks of Plymouth_ (Boston: A. Williams & Co., 1883).
[116] D. ALAN STEVENSON, _The World's Lighthouses before 1820_ (London:
Oxford University Press, 1959), p. 179.
[117] PAUL REVERE, _Day Books_, MS., Massachusetts Historical Society.
[118] HOOPES, op. cit. (footnote 50), pp. 7-8.
[119] Information from Mr. C. E. Smart, of W. & L. E. Gurley, Troy, New
York.
[120] PENROSE R. HOOPES, _Shop Records of Daniel Burnap, Clockmaker_,
(Hartford: Connecticut Historical Society, 1958), pp. 63-66.
[121] HOOPES, op. cit. (footnote 18), pp. 92-93.
[122] _Memoirs of the Huntington Family Association_ (Hartford, Conn.,
1915), Index no. 1.3.4.4.2.4.
[123] PALMER, op. cit. (footnote 34), p. 143.
[124] Correspondence with Mr. Ray Brighton, Portsmouth, N. H.
[125] CHARLES W. BREWSTER, _Rambles about Portsmouth_ (Portsmouth, N.
H.: L. W. Brewster, 1859, 1873), ser. 1, pp. 165, 329.
[126] CHARLES W. BREWSTER, _Rambles about Portsmouth_ (Portsmouth, N.
H.: L. W. Brewster, 1869), ser. 2, pp. 27, 90, 93, 136, 233, 263, 277,
316, 322, 367.
[127] Information from Prof. Alfred F. Whiting, Dartmouth College
Museum.
[128] REV. JAMES HILL FITTS, _History of Newfields, New Hampshire,
1638-1911_, (Concord: Rumford Press, 1912).
[129] PRICE, op. cit. (footnote 1), p. 64.
[130] The full title is _The Journal of Andrew Ellicott, Late
Commissioner on behalf of the United States During Part of the Year
1796, the Years 1797, 1798, 1799 and Part of the Year 1800 For
Determining the Boundary Between the United States and the Possessions
of His Catholic Majesty in America._ It was published by Budd and Barton
for Thomas Dobson at "the Stone House, No. 41 South Second Street" in
Philadelphia in 1803.
Index
Abbott, Katherine M., 98
Adams, Augustus, 99
Adams, George, 131, 134, 136
Allen, John Johnson, 148
almanac, 22, 24, 25
American Antiquarian Society, 38, 112
American Philosophical Society, 11, 12, 16, 21, 22, 24
Amherst College, 26
_Annals of Salem_, 43
_Antiques_, 43, 45
apparatus, scientific teaching, 3
astronomical observatory, 15, 24
Atwell, George, 10
backstaff, 58, 96, 139
Backus, Ebenezer, 120
Bailey, Calvin, 39
Bailey, John, 39, 51, 155, 162, 169, 170
John II, 39, 155, 161, 170
Lebbeus, 39
Baily, Joel, 21, 22, 24, 155, 164
Baldwin, Jabes, 123
Jedidiah, 123, 124, 154, 155, 160, 162, 170
Jeduthan, 94
Ballard, Mehitable, 109, 110
Samuel, 109
William, 109, 110
_Baltimore American & Commercial Advertiser_, 110
Banks, Sir Joseph, 140
Banneker, Benjamin, 22, 23, 24, 25, 155, 160
Barclay, Thomas, 146
Bardin, W. & T. M., 131, 141, 142, 143
barometer, 31, 32, 33
Bassett, Preston R., 74, 75, 153
Bedini, Silvio A., 29, 113
_Banneker's_ ... _Almanac and Ephemeris_, _For_ ... 1792, 24, 25
Bennet, N., 131
Benson, John, 28, 155, 169
Bentley, William, 36, 37
Bethune, Nathaniel, 87
Biddle, Owen, 21, 22, 24, 155, 163
Biggs, Thomas, 59, 155, 162, 163, 170
Bion, Nicolas, 10
Blakslee, Ziba, 47, 155, 160, 170
Blundy, Charles, 29, 155, 165, 166
_Boston Annual Advertiser_, 99
_Boston Evening Post_, 27
_Boston Gazette, The_, 6, 27, 38, 39, 40, 82, 87, 95, 105
Bostonian Society, 42, 77, 78, 79, 99, 100, 101, 105, 153
Bouchette, Col., 146, 148
boundsgoer, 7
Bowdoin, James, 81, 86
Bowles, Hannah, 124
Samuel, 124
Thomas Salter, 75, 124, 125, 126, 127, 129, 153, 154, 155, 162, 170
Braddock, Gen., 149
Bradley, Abiah Emerly, 125
Brainard, Newton C., 5, 6
Breed, Aaron, 75, 107, 153, 155, 160, 170
Brewington, M. V., 85
Brewster, Charles W., 125
Bridenbaugh, Carl, 29, 53
Brigham, Clarence S., 38, 97
Brighton, Ray, 124
Brokaw, Isaac, 53, 155, 163
Brown, Benjamin, 94, 96
Sam, 102, 104
Brown University, 26
Bucks County Historical Society, 90, 153
Bulmain & Dennies, 51, 155, 162, 168
Burges, Bartholomew, 40, 155, 160
Burnap, Daniel, 69, 117, 118, 119, 155, 160, 166, 170
Cabot, Mrs. H. Ropes, ix
camera obscura, 28
Campbell, Colin, 146
Cape Henlopen, 21, 22, 24, 58
Carey, W., 51
Caritat, H., 51, 155, 162, 165
Carter, Henry, 28
Chandlee, Benjamin, Jr., 54, 155, 161, 166, 170
Benjamin, Sr., 54
Edward E., 55
Ellis, 55, 155, 161, 166, 170
Ellis, & Bros., 54, 55, 155, 161, 170
Goldsmith, 54, 55, 56, 57, 155, 165, 166, 170
Isaac, 55, 59, 155, 161, 170
John, 55
Chandlee & Bros. [John and Isaac Chandlee], 161, 166, 170
Chandlee [Benjamin, Jr.] & Sons, 54
Chapin, Howard M., 43, 44, 45
_Charleston Evening Gazette_, 31
Cheney, Benjamin, 67
Chester County Historical Society, 24, 31, 32, 54, 55
_Chronicle_ [E.A.I.A.], 6
Churchill, Frank C., 126, 129
Clark, Robert, 31, 165, 168, 169, 170
William, 152
Clark County Historical Society, 60
Clarke, Martha, 85
Sarah, 85
William, 85
clockmaker, 10, 11, 15, 16, 19, 21, 24, 29, 30, 31, 34, 39, 40, 45, 47,
49, 54, 57, 59, 62, 63, 67, 117, 118, 123, 124, 125, 129, 146
Clough, Jere, 75, 105, 154, 155, 161, 170
Joseph, 99, 105
Cohen, I. Bernard, 40
Cole, Benjamin, 149, 150
Collison, Peter, 58
_Columbia Centinel_, 98, 99
compass, 53, 54, 63, 152
compass card, 75, 76, 82, 83, 90, 92, 102, 104, 106, 107, 113, 115
Comstock Memorial Collection, 139
Condorcet, Marquis de, 24
Condy, Benjamin, 59, 155, 163, 167, 168
_Connecticut Courant_, 47
_Connecticut Gazette_, 120, 121
Connecticut Historical Society, 5, 6, 93, 118, 119, 121
_Connecticut Journal_, 45
Conrad, Henry C., 54
Cosgrove, James, 7
Cotes, Roger, 149
Crittenden, A. R., 139
Crockett, Roberson, 87
Crow, George, 54, 155, 160, 166, 170
Curtis, Charles B., 134
Cushing, A. T., 101
S. T., 99, 101
Custis, George Washington Parke, 144
Dabney, John, Jr., 27, 156, 161, 167
Dakin, Jonathan, 38, 76, 156, 161, 167
Dartmouth College, 26, 36, 72, 124
Museum, 70, 71, 72, 126, 129, 153
Davenport, Michael, 61
William, 61, 156, 164, 167, 168, 170
Davis, William T., 113
Davis quadrant, 13, 37, 44, 58, 66, 92, 97, 139
Day, J., 10
Dean, William, 60, 61, 156, 164, 168, 170
Denegan, John, 33
De Negani, 33
Devacht, Francois, 49, 156, 163, 166
Joseph, 49, 156, 163, 166
Dewie, Captain Solomon, 118
dialing rule, 4, 5
_Diary, or Evening Register_, 33
Dinwiddie, Gov., 150
Dix, John Ross, 34
Dixon, Jeremiah, 24
Donegan, [or Denegan] John, 33, 156, 162, 166
Donegany, Joseph, 33, 156, 162, 166
Donnel, Henry, 60
Jonathan, 60, 61
Doolittle, Amos, 36
Enos, 47, 156, 160, 166, 168, 170
Isaac, 45, 47, 156, 160, 166, 167
Isaac, Jr., 45, 156, 160, 166, 170
Dorsan, Sarah Halsy, 80, 81
Dougherty, John, 60, 61
Douglass, Andrew Ellicott, 134, 136, 145
David Bates, 134
Henry B., 142
Dow, George Francis, 106
Draper, Murray & Fairman, 43
Dring, Jeptha, 31
Thomas, 31, 32
Duffield, Edward, 62
Dunglison, Dr., 62
Dupee, Isaac, 105
John, 69, 75, 104, 105, 153, 154, 156, 161, 170
Duvall, Samuel, 144, 145
Dyherty, John, 60
Early American Industries Association, 6, 89
Eckhardt, George H., 15, 62, 63
Eichner, Laurits C., 90, 91, 137, 138, 153
Eldridge, Elizabeth, 80
Joseph, 80
Ellicott, Andrew, 18, 19, 20, 22, 24, 62, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 137,
139, 142, 144, 145, 147, 156, 160, 165, 170
Charles, 134
George, 22, 23
Jane Judith, 134
Joseph, 19, 22
Ellicotts Mills, 19, 21
Ellis, Mary N., 137
Orange Warner, 137, 138
Emery, Samuel, 43, 156, 164, 167, 168
Endicott, John, 84
equal altitude instrument, 20
Evans, David, 146
George, 31, 62, 156, 163, 167
Ewer, Sarah, 129
Fairchild, Adah, 49
Fairman, Gideon, 42, 156, 157, 162, 167, 168 (see also Hooker and
Fairman)
Farmer's Museum, 73, 153
Felt, Joseph B., 43, 94
Ferguson, James, 22
Fisher, Joshua, 58
Martin, 62, 156, 164, 166
Fitch, Eunice, 98
John, 62
Fitts, Rev. James Hill, 129
Flint, Abel, 10, 72
Folger, Nathaniel, 45
Peter, 40, 156, 162
Walter, Jr., 40, 156, 162, 165
Folwell, John, 16
Footes, Nathaniel, 4, 5
Ford, George, 63, 156, 163, 168, 170
George, II, 63, 156, 163, 168, 170
Fosbrook, W., 31, 156, 162, 169
Franklin, Benjamin, 40, 53, 58
Franklin Institute, 40, 89, 90, 139, 153
Frizell, John, 81
Frye, Joseph, 90, 91, 137, 138, 139
Joseph, Jr., 91, 137
Fryeburg, 90, 137, 138
Gardner, Will, 40
Gatty, Joseph, 33, 156, 162, 164, 166
Gerry, Capt., 27
Gilbert, Joseph, 80, 81
Mary, 81
Gillingham, Harold E., 30, 33, 59, 61, 66
Gilman, Benjamin C., 34, 156, 162, 166, 167
Gilmur, Bryan, 63, 156, 164, 166, 167
Gilpin family, 54
glass and thermometric instruments, 53, 59, 62
globes, 8, 34, 35, 36, 53, 131, 140, 142, 143
Goddard & Angell, 22
Godfrey, Thomas, 58, 59, 88, 156, 164, 168
Godfrey's quadrant, 28
Gottesman, Rita S., 33, 51, 66
Gould, John, 30, 76, 156, 164, 168, 170
Graham, George, 145
Grainger, Samuel, 6, 156, 161
Greene, Joseph, 96
Peter, 109
Greenleaf, Stephen, 37, 38, 157, 161, 167
Greenough, David, 86
Elizabeth, 85
Jerusha, 85
John, 85
Newman, 85
Thomas, 69, 75, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 92, 93, 137, 138, 153, 157,
160, 165, 167, 169, 170
Thomas, Dr., 88, 89
William, 86, 87, 88, 89, 157, 161, 170
Greenwood, Dr. & Mrs. Arthur, 150
Isaac, Jr., 38, 157, 161, 167
Isaac, Sr., 38, 39, 157, 161
Grew, Theophilus, 8, 157, 164
Griffith, Nathaniel S., 125
Griffith & Bowles, 124
Gross, Huldah, 84
Thomas, 84
Gruchy, Thomas James, 87
gunnery calipers, 40
Gurley, W. & L. E., 43, 118
Gurnet lighthouse, 115, 116
Gutridge, Anna, 84
Guyol, Philip N., 82
Hadley, James, 58
Hadley quadrant, 66, 82
Hagger, Benjamin King, 109, 110, 111, 154, 157, 160, 161, 167, 170
John W., 110
Mary, 43
William Guyse, 43, 44, 72, 109, 110, 139, 157, 158, 164, 169
William King, 109
Hall, Andrew, 98
Stephen, 86
Halley, Edmond, 58
Halsie, Hannah, 84
James, I, 4, 80, 81, 157, 161
Nathaniel, 80, 84
Halsy, Anna, 81
James, II, 75, 80, 81, 82, 84, 85, 154, 157, 161, 167, 170
John, 80, 81, 82, 157, 167
Joseph, 75, 80, 81, 82, 83, 153, 157, 161, 170
Rebecca, 80
Sarah, 80
Ham, George, 125
Hannah, 125
Henry, 125
James, 65, 157, 163, 164, 167, 169
James, Jr., 66, 164, 167, 169
Supply, 125
William, 125
Hamilton, Alexander, 58, 65
Hamlin, William, 44, 45, 46, 76, 157, 164, 165, 167, 169
Hanks, Benjamin, 47, 157, 160, 170
Truman, 47, 157, 160, 170
Harland, Thomas, 10, 29, 30, 117, 123, 157, 160, 166, 170
Harvard University, 8, 26, 35, 40, 41, 95, 99
Hayes, Fanny, 49
Rutherford B., 49
Heckewelder, John, 49
Heisely, Frederick A., 57, 58, 61, 157, 160, 163, 166, 167, 170
George, 57, 157, 163, 166, 167, 170
Helyer, Joseph, 94, 96
Polly, 98
Henry Ford Museum, 107
Hicks, Edward, 31, 32
Hannah, 31, 32
Hillman, George, 109
William, 109
Hindle, Brooke, 8, 15, 58
Hinton, William, 66, 76, 157, 163, 167
Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 55
Hoadley, Silas, 68
Hobby, Sir Charles, 6
Hoff, Catherine, 57
George, 163, 166
John, 57, 157
Holbecher, John, 139
Holcomb, Amasa, 26, 157, 162, 165, 171
Holland, Captain, 145
Hood, Joseph, 80
Hooker, William, 42, 157
Hooker & Fairman [William Hooker and Gideon Fairman], 42, 157, 162, 167
Hoopes, Penrose R., 30, 45, 47, 67, 117, 118, 120
Hopkins, Joseph, 68
Houghton, Rowland, 27, 38, 157, 161, 171
Houghton Library, 35
Hunter, Frederick W., 53
Huntington, Gurdon, 75, 118, 120, 121, 122, 154, 157, 160, 162, 166, 171
Hezekiah, 120
Submit, 120
Hurd, Nathaniel, 106, 107
Hutzlar, Dr. Donald A., 60
hydrometer, 28
hygrometer, 33
_Independent Journal, or The General Advertiser_, 53
Irving, Washington, iv
Jacks, James, 63, 158, 165, 167, 171
James, Arthur E., 24
Jay, Daniel, 30
Jayne, John, 43, 158, 162, 167, 169
Jefferson, Thomas, 19, 24, 62
Jerome, Chauncey, 68
Jess, Z., 10
Johnson, John, 139, 146, 148
Jones, Samuel, 135
William, 135
W. & S., 135, 137, 139
_Journal of Andrew Ellicott_, 20, 131, 132, 133, 136, 142, 144, 145
Keese, Samuel, 149
Kennard, John, 126, 129, 158, 162, 166, 171
Ketterer, Alloysius, 61, 158, 164, 166
Kiely, Edmond R., 7
Kimball, LeRoy E., 8, 36
Kimmel, Anthony, 144, 145
King, Benjamin, I, 37, 43, 44, 109, 158, 169
Benjamin, II, 43, 158, 162, 164, 167, 169
Daniel, 36, 43, 158, 162, 168, 169
Mary, 43
Mehitable, 43
Rufus, 43
Samuel, 43, 158, 164, 168, 169
King & Hagger [Benjamin King and William Guyse Hagger], 43, 44, 158,
164, 167, 169
Kizer, David J., 60
Thomas J., 60
Knowlton, Mary, 43
Kugler, Charles, 62, 76
Lamb, A., & Son, 29, 158, 163, 168, 169, 171
Anthony, 10, 28, 158, 163, 164, 165, 168, 169, 171
John, 29, 158, 163, 168, 169, 171
Lane, Gladys R., 45
Latrobe, Benjamin, 150
John H. B., 24
Laudonet, Mary, 54
Leadbeater, 22
Leake, Isaac Q., 29
Lee, Billy, 149
L'Enfant, Pierre Charles, 19
LePhillips, Philip, 24
Lewis, John, 7
Lawrence, 149
Leybourn, William, 10
Library Company of Philadelphia, 21-22
Lloyd, Anna, 81
loadstones, 27, 38
Loftan, Thomas, 150, 151
Logan, James, 58
Love, J., 10, 72
Lovering & Sons, Joseph, 98
Ludlow, I., 60
Lyle, Robert, 54, 56
Lyon, Mrs. Eliza R., 142
Madison, James, 19
Magee, D. F., 63
magic lantern, 27
magnets, 63
maps, 7, 53
Mariner's Museum, 107, 108, 153
Maryland Historical Society, 23
_Maryland Journal and Baltimore Daily Advertiser_, 21
Maskelyne, Nevil, 142, 146
Mason, Charles, 24
Mason-Dixon Line, 19
Massachusetts Historical Society, 80, 82, 83, 84, 86, 87, 94, 96, 102,
104, 109, 116, 117
_Massachusetts Magazine_, 40
_Matchett's Baltimore Directory_, 110
Mather, Rev. Cotton, 82, 84
Mathews, Catherine Van C., 21
Maupertius, de, 146
Maverick, Jotham, 93, 94
Samuel, 94
Mayer's _Tables_, 22
McCabe, William, 49
McHenry, James, 22
_Memoirs of the Academy of Arts and Sciences_, 40
Mendenhall, Thomas, 63, 158, 163, 166, 168
Mercer Museum, 90, 153
Merrill, P., Esq., 126, 129
Miller, Aaron, 53, 158, 162, 166, 171
Mirick, McAndrew, 87
Mitchell, Edwin Valentine, 36
Maria, 40
Moore, S., 10
Moor's Indian Charity School, 72
Morey, John, 113
Morris, M., 53, 158, 163
Morton, Charles, 82, 83
Mount Vernon, 54, 57, 144
Mount Vernon Ladies Association of the Union, 57
Nantucket, 40
National Maritime Museum, 150
Newell, Andrew, 106, 107, 154, 158, 161, 168, 169, 171
Charles, 107, 161
Joseph, 107, 161
New Hampshire Historical Society, 81, 82, 153
_New York Daily Advertiser_, 28, 33, 53
_New York Gazette_, 28, 51, 53, 66
New York Historical Society, 33, 39, 66
_New York Mercury_, 66
_New York Packet_, 29, 51, 53
Noble, James, 81
_Norwich Courier_, 30
Norwood, R., 10
Odell, 146
Ohio Historical Society, 55, 61
Ohio State Museum, 16, 51, 52, 55, 59, 60, 61
Old Sturbridge, 90, 107, 153
optical instruments, 26, 28
orrery, 15, 16, 39, 40, 41
Osborn, John, 96
Paine, Robert Treat, 82
Thomas, 82, 83
Palmer, Brooks, 39, 47, 63, 123
Parker, N., 153
Parmele, Ebenezer, 67
Partridge, Marty, 81
Paul, Amos, 129
Temple, 129
Peabody Museum, 85, 96, 97, 139, 153
Peale, Charles Wilson, 14
Pease, Elizabeth Folger, 45
Paul, 45, 158, 164, 169
Pell, Edward, 84
Pemberton, James, 30
_Pennsylvania Evening Herald_, 33
_Pennsylvania Magazine_, 30
_Pennsylvania Packet_, The, 15
Pennsylvania, University of, 8, 15, 16
perpetual log, 51
Phillips, John M., 107
Jonathan, 99
Mrs. Mary W., ix
Pierce, Abner, 139
Pierpont, John, 68
Pitt, William, 24
Pitts, James, 86
planetarium, 36
planisphere, 51
Platt, Adah, 49
Augustus, 49, 52, 158, 163, 168, 171
Benjamin, 49, 51, 158, 160, 162, 163, 167, 171
William Augustus, 49
_Plymouth Journal & Massachusetts Advertiser_, 112, 113
Pope, Joseph, 39, 41, 158, 161, 167
Potter, John, 43, 158, 161, 171
Potts, Thomas, 12
W. L., 158, 163
Power, Alexander, 7
Price, Derek J. de Solla, ix, 3, 130
Priestley, Frances D., 140, 142
Dr. Joseph, 131, 140, 141, 143
Prime, Alfred Coxe, 29, 31, 63
Prince, John, 24, 158, 161, 162
Nathan, 8, 158
Princeton University, 15
Pryor, Thomas, 59, 159, 164, 168
Quincy, Abraham, 96
Rathborne, Aaron, 9, 10
Ratsey, Widow, 65
Revere, Paul, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 97, 113, 116, 117, 159, 161, 168
Reynolds, John E., 131, 134
William, 134
Reworth, Captain, 87
Rhode Island Historical Society, 45, 46, 139
Riley, Stephen T., ix
Ritchie & Co., Bern C., 139
Rittenhouse, Benjamin, 11, 15, 16, 142, 144, 159, 164, 165, 171
David, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 20, 21, 47, 62, 142, 144, 145, 146, 147,
159, 163, 164, 165, 171
Rittenhouse & Evans [David Rittenhouse & David Evans], 139, 146, 148,
159, 171
Roberts, Gideon, 67
Nathaniel, 85
Romaine, Lawrence, 88
_Royal Pennsylvania Gazette_, 59
Royal Society of London, 58
Rutgers University, 26
Salter, Titus, 124
sand glasses, 59
Savage, James, 4, 80, 84
Schiff, Henry G., 107
Schoen, H. H., 7
Seybold, R. F., 7
Shampeny, Worth, 153
Shepley Library, 139
Sheppard, Jack, 29
Shillcock, Hannah, 94
Joyce, 94
Robert, 93
Shoemaker, Mrs. Francis D., 140
Shrimpton, Shute, 87
Sibley, Asa, 120, 121
Sibley & Marble [Clark Sibley and Simeon Marble], 47, 159, 160, 167, 168
Sign of the Cross-Knives and Gun, At the, 53, 76
Sign of "Hadley's Quadrant," At the, 66, 76
Sign of the Hand & Beam, At the, 38, 76
Sign of the Mathematical Instruments, At the, 43
Sign of the Quadrant, At the, 30, 45, 76, 107
Sign of the Seven Stars, At the, 62, 76
Sission, Jonathan, 27
Skillin, John, 77, 78, 79
Simeon, 39, 41, 78
Sloane, Sir Hans, 58
Smart, C. E., ix, 118
Smith, Cordial, 159, 160
Society for the Promotion of Useful Arts of Albany, 21
Solebury, 19
Sommer, Widow Balthaser, 28, 159, 163, 169
South Natick Historical Society, 104, 153
Sower, Christopher, 63, 159, 163, 164, 167, 168
Stargazers' Stone, 24
Steele, A.P., 60, 61
Stevenson, D. Alan, 115
Stiles & Storrs [Nathan Storrs and Jedidiah Baldwin], 123, 159, 162, 171
Stiles & Baldwin [Jedidiah Baldwin], 123, 159, 162, 171
Stimpson, Charles Jr., 99
Stoddard, Sarah, 86
Stone, Edmund, 10
Storrs, Nathan, 123
Streeter Collection of Weights and Measures [Yale University], 105, 114,
115, 117, 125, 126, 153
Stretch, Carolyn Wood, 63
Struik, Dirk J., 26
Stubbs, Roleigh L. 72, 153
sundial, 4, 38, 49, 54, 149
surgical instruments, 31, 47, 51, 53, 54
Sutton, Henry, 4
Swan, Joseph, 139
Symes, Jno. C., 60
Taws, Charles, 61, 159, 164, 168
Taylor, E. G. R., 67
telescope, 11, 21, 40, 45, 54, 60, 62, 64, 136, 137, 148, 149, 150
Terry, Eli, 117
Thacher, Charles, 107, 108, 153, 159, 161, 171
Thaxter, Bathsheba, 97
Samuel, 69, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 97, 98, 99, 101, 102, 104, 154, 159,
161, 168, 169, 171
Samuel, Sr., 98
Thomas, 98
Thaxter & Son, S., 103
theodolite, 38, 52, 64, 137, 138
thermometer, 28, 29, 33
Thomas, Richard, 22
Thompson, George Andrews, 148
Samuel Rowland, 148
"Thwing Catalogue," 80, 82, 84, 86, 94, 96, 109
Todd, Eli, 49
Towle, Jeremiah, 129
trade cards, 46, 100
trade signs, 30, 38, 43, 45, 53, 62, 66, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 96, 99,
101, 107 (see also under Sign)
transit of Venus, 11, 15, 16, 21, 22, 24, 59
Turner, Charles Jr., 146
Tyler, Thomas, 105
Union College, 26
United States National Archives, 116
United States National Museum, 15, 57, 62, 90, 91, 134, 139, 140, 144,
149
Van Ness, Cornelius P., 146
Vassar College, 40
Voight, Henry, 62, 64, 148, 159, 164, 165, 167
Wall, George, Jr., 63, 159, 163, 171
Wallis, Thomas, 109
Walpole, Charles, 28, 159, 163, 168
Walton, Joseph, 125
Warren, Benjamin, 75, 112, 114, 115, 116, 154, 159, 162, 169, 171
William L., 6
Washington, George, iv, 19, 54, 62, 63, 142, 144, 145, 149, 150, 151
Lawrence Augustine, 54, 57
weather glass, 33
Welles, Arnold, 94
Wienberger, Bernard W., 38
Wheelock, Rev. Eleazar, 70, 72
Whipple Museum, 150
White, John, 85
Peregrine, 47, 48, 150, 159, 160, 167, 171
Whiting, Alfred F., 126
Whitney, John, 30, 159, 164, 168, 169
Thomas, 30, 152, 159, 168, 169, 171
William & Mary College, 150
Williams, John, 93
Marvin, 120
Samuel, 26
Temperance, 120
William, 77, 78, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 159, 161, 168, 169, 171
Williams College, 26
Willis, Arthur, 4, 5, 6, 159
Wilson, James, 8, 34, 35, 159, 165
Winthrop, John, 26
Wistar, Casper, 53
Wistar, Richard, 53, 159, 162, 166
Witt, Christopher, 62, 159, 163, 167, 168
Wollaston, Rev., 142
Wood, John, 63, 159, 164
Woods, Timothy, 25
Wright, Captain, 58
Yale University, 105, 114, 125, 126
Art Gallery, 106, 107, 153
Streeter Collection of Weights and Measures, 105, 114, 115, 117, 125,
126, 153
Yardley, Thomas, Jr., 60
Youle, James, 53, 76, 159, 163, 169
John, 53, 159, 163, 169
Young, Daniel, 113
Sarah, 113
zenith sector, 114, 145, 146, 147
Transcriber's Notes
Clear punctuation errors such as missing periods at the ends of
sentences have been silently corrected. Hyphenation has not been
standardized, for instance, Elizabeth-town, watch-maker, and over-all.
The spelling of proper names has not been standardized, for instance,
Blakslee and Blakeslee, Appalachicola and Apalachicola.
Figure 7 caption - "make" replaced with "made"
Page 38 - "Eliptical" replaced with "Elliptical"
Page 38 - "Guaging" replaced with "Gauging"
Page 98 - "Samue" replaced with "Samuel"
Page 146 - "worth" replaced with "worthy"
Page 146 - "Federick" replaced with "Frederick"
Page 162 - "Philadephia" replaced with "Philadelphia"
Page 162 - "Ephermeris" replaced with "Ephemeris"
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Early American Scientific Instruments and Their Makers" ***
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