eli terry parent portal

by Cali Cole III 8 min read

Where is the school named after Eli Terry?

Eli Terry Elementary School, located only a few miles from Terry's childhood home in South Windsor, Connecticut, is named for the clockmaker. His likeness adorns a sign at the school's entrance.

Who is Eli Terry?

Eli Terry Sr. (April 13, 1772 – February 24, 1852) was an inventor and clockmaker in Connecticut. He received a United States patent for a shelf clock mechanism.

How many children did Eli Terry have?

After Eunice Warner's death in 1839, he remarried to Harriet A. Terry, and had two children, one named Stephen. Eli Terry's success in mass-producing and selling an affordable shelf clock for the public provided much inspiration to other entrepreneurs in Connecticut and beyond.

What did Eli Terry invent?

Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Eli Terry Sr. (April 13, 1772 – February 24, 1852) was an inventor and clockmaker in Connecticut. He received a United States patent for a shelf clock mechanism. He introduced mass production to the art of clockmaking, which made clocks affordable for the average American citizen.

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Where is Eli Terry Elementary School?

Eli Terry Elementary School, located only a few miles from Terry's childhood home in South Windsor, Connecticut, is named for the clockmaker. His likeness adorns a sign at the school's entrance.

Who was Eli Terry's son?

Three of Terry's sons also became clockmakers. His son Eli Terry Jr. was the most notable, as the village of Terryville in Plymouth, Connecticut was named after him; he purchased the lock-making equipment that would eventually be used to form Eagle Lock Company, which for a long time was Terryville's biggest employer.

What was Terry's first clock shop?

His first clock shop was attached to his dwelling. Terry boarded girls like Candace Roberts to work in his shop painting clock dials. His second shop was considered the first water powered clock shop in the United States, and was built twenty feet square over Niagara Brook, which flowed through his property.

Where was Terry born?

Terry was the son of Samuel and Huldah Terry, born in what is now South Windsor, Connecticut (at the time of Terry's birth, South Windsor was part of East Windsor, Connecticut .

Who took over Eli Terry's clock shop?

Silas B. Terry had many financial difficulties in his time, but was eventually a founding member of the Terry Clock Company . Henry Terry, took over Eli Terry Sr's clock shop at "Terry's Bridge", after his retirement.

Where is Terry's third movement?

The movement from New Haven was removed from the steeple and reinstalled at the Plymouth Congregational Church in 1838, where it still runs today.

Did Eli Terry clocks go out of business?

However, since the designs of these clocks were infringements of the Terry patents, Reeves & Co. were forced out of business and were also forced to destroy their stock of unsold clocks.

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Overview

Eli Terry Sr. (April 13, 1772 – February 24, 1852) was an inventor and clockmaker in Connecticut. He received a United States patent for a shelf clock mechanism. He introduced mass production to the art of clockmaking, which made clocks affordable for the average American citizen. Terry occupies an important place in the beginnings of the development of interchangeable parts manufacturing. …

Background

Terry was the son of Samuel and Huldah Terry, born in what is now South Windsor, Connecticut (at the time of Terry's birth, South Windsor was part of East Windsor, Connecticut.
He began his career as an apprentice under Daniel Burnap ("the forerunner of manufacturing"). It's also likely that he received limited instruction from Timothy Cheney, a clockmaker in East Hartford. Cheney specialized in the making of wooden clocks, which was fairly unusual at the time. The u…

Career

In 1795, Terry invented his first Milling machine to produce interchangeable parts. Terry crafted these milled movements until the Porter Contract. Soon after 1802, Terry's production of wooden clocks grew considerably. Like other Connecticut clockmakers, Terry knew that apprentices could cheaply rough-cut wooden wheels for more skilled journeymen to shape precisely into clockworks, makin…

Tower clocks

Eli Terry made three tower clocks. His first, made entirely of wood, was donated to the Center Church on the Green at New Haven in 1825. The second movement was donated in 1828 to the Congregational Church of Plymouth Hollow (Later Thomaston Congregational Church). The movement was removed from the church and donated to the American Clock and Watch Museum in Bri…

Heritage

Between 1808 and 1833, Terry focused the majority of his time and effort on the production of standardized wooden clocks, which helped him accumulate a modest fortune. By 1833, he was sufficiently satisfied with his material success. At this point, he abandoned involvement in quantity production, and returned to clockmaking as the world had known it before his innovations, focusing on the production of a few high-end special clocks and the development o…

Family

Eli Terry was born to Samuel and Huldah Burnham at East Windsor. His wife was Eunice Warner (Married March 12, 1795), and they had several children including: Anne (born 1796), Eli (born 1799), Henry (born 1801), James (born 1803), Silas Burnham (born 1807), Sarah Warner (born 1809), Huldah (born 1811), and George (born 1815). After Eunice Warner's death in 1839, he remarried to Harriet A. Terry, and had two children, one named Stephen.

Bootleg Eli Terry clock designs

Eli Terry's success in mass-producing and selling an affordable shelf clock for the public provided much inspiration to other entrepreneurs in Connecticut and beyond. Immediately, Terry's former partners Seth Thomas and Silas Hoadley began making similar clocks. Others in the Bristol and Plymouth communities manufactured movements, cases or other clock parts for others to assemble and sell complete clocks in order to compete with Terry. Terry was forced to continual…

Legacy

Eli Terry Elementary School, located only a few miles from Terry's childhood home in South Windsor, Connecticut, is named for the clockmaker. His likeness adorns a sign at the school's entrance.