The first person in the United States that became obsessed with the inaccuracy of sand timers and started to make time pieces is entirely unknown. Clocks were imported from both England and Holland. They operated by spring mechanisms. These clocks were so expensive that only major settlements could afford them,which is why the town clock became essential. Few people could afford their own time piece. The first clock-makers were the finest of craftsmen. They had to make every part themselves to the exact size. The tools available were often crude and cumbersome. The same person often had to make the clock case too.

Because the number of settler's who could afford a longcase clock where so small, clock-makers were also locksmiths or gunsmiths. This combination was particularly popular during the American War of Independence. After the war, many were still unable to afford a grandfather clock and so the clock-makers experimented with smaller mantel clocks. Because of this, many homes soon had their own clock.

There are around 7,000 American known clock-makers from this time period. Most of these made the usual types of clock but a few introduced major innovations in clock-making and thus deserve special mention.

Abel Cottey arrived in America in 1682 on board the Welcome with William Penn (the Quaker leader whose name is given to the state of Pennsylvania. He may well be the first clock-maker to establish a business in the colonies. In his workshop in Philadelphia he mainly made longcase clocks that became known as grandfather clocks.

These grandfather clocks later became very popular and can now be found throughout America. In common with other clock-makers, Cottey made the mechanism, the dial, the pendulum, and the weights himself but left the case to be made by a jointer. The jointers allowed their creativity to run free and many cases are superbly carved in minute detail. These early jointers used the exact same jointing techniques and styles they used on furniture. Philadelphia proved to be a hotbed for clock-makers to set themselves up.

Great names such as Christopher Sower, four generations of the Gogas family, the Chandlee family, and Edward Duffiels ring out from Philadelphia. The last of these was a good friend of Benjamin Franklin. Duffiels was interrupted so frequently by people asking the time that he made a clock with a face on both sides that he hung outside his workshop. The most convivial clock-maker was David Rittenhouse. Rittenhouse succeeded Benjamin Franklin as president of the American Philosophical Society and later became Director of the United States Mint.

Jeff Ryder
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