Colonial Homes and Their Furnishings

by Mary Harrod Northend

Plate XLVIII.—General Stephen Abbot Clock; Terry Shelf Clock, 1824; English Clock, with Ball ornamentation.

One of the first types of clocks made in America was the wall clock. This was set on a shelf through which slits were cut for the pendulum and weight cords to fall. These were known as "lantern," "bird cage," or "wag-at-the-wall," later replaced by the more imposing "Grandfather," which served a double duty as timekeeper and as one of the "show pieces" of furniture.

The first known Terry clock was made in 1792. It was built with a long, handsome case and with a silver-plated dial, engraved with Terry's name. This clock, just as it was when Eli Terry set it going for the first time with all the pride which he must have had in his first accomplishment, is now in the possession of the Terry family.

There was an interesting clock of this type in the General Stephen Abbot house on Federal Street, Salem, and another is still in the possession of Mr. Henry Mills of Saugus, Massachusetts.

Terry introduced a patent shelf clock, with a short case. This made the clock much more marketable, because it was short enough to allow of easy transportation and at the same time offered the inducement of a well-made and inexpensive case.

The patent shelf clock was a surprise to the rivals of Terry, because this change in construction had produced an absolutely new and improved model,—an unheard-of thing in clock making. The conservatism before shown by the colonial makers had stunted the growth of clock improvements in many ways, hence Terry's new invention produced a sensation.

The change was such as to allow the play of weights on each side and the whole length of the case. The placing of the pendulum, crown wheel, and verge in front of the wheels, and between the dial and the movement, was another space-saving device, as was also the changing of the dial wheels from the outside to the inside of the movement plates. The escapement was transferred by hanging the verge on a steel pin, instead of on a long, heavy shaft inside the plates. This allowed the clock to be fastened to the case in back, making the pendulum accessible by removing only the dial. Thus Terry fairly revolutionized small-clock making, by introducing a new form, more compact, more serviceable, and cheaper than any of the older makes.

In 1807 Terry bought an old mill in Plymouth and fitted it up so as to make his clocks by machinery. About this time several Waterbury men associated themselves to supply Terry with the materials, if he would make the clocks. With this steady income from machine-made clocks, and the profits from extra sales, he made, in a very short time, what was then considered quite a fortune.