Lebbeus Bailey (May 12, 1763 – December 6, 1827) was a noted American

clockmaker A clockmaker is an artisan who makes and/or repairs clocks. Since almost all clocks are now factory-made, most modern clockmakers only repair clocks. Modern clockmakers may be employed by jewellers, antique shops, and places devoted strictly to ...

, prominent in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. After setting up his first business in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, he came to prominence after moving to

North Yarmouth North Yarmouth, officially the Town of North Yarmouth, is a town in Cumberland County, Maine. The population was 4,072 at the 2020 United States Census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford Metropolitan Statistical Area ...

in today's

Maine Maine () is a U.S. state, state in the New England and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and territories of Canad ...

, where he made clocks, sleigh bells and jewelry.

Life and career

Bailey was born on May 12, 1763, in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of ...

, to Colonel John Bailey and Ruth Randall, the sixth of their nine children and one of their four sons. His sister, Ruth, married William Stockbridge, father of merchant William Reed Stockbridge. After serving an apprenticeship with his older brothers Calvin and John II, Bailey was listed as a clockmaker in his own right in Hanover between 1784 and 1791. He married Sarah Silvester Myrick on August 22, 1790, in

Scituate, Massachusetts Scituate () is a seacoast town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on the South Shore, midway between Boston and Plymouth. The population was 19,063 at the 2020 census. History The Wampanoag and their neighbors have inhabited ...

. They had eight children: Lebbeus Jr. (born 1791), Rufus William (1793), Mary Myrick (1795), Elizabeth Dawes (1797), Henry (1800), Timothy Myrick (1802), Joseph Stockbridge (1804) and Edward (1807). Rufus became a noted scholar, and founded the Augusta Female Seminary in Staunton, Virginia. The year following his marriage, he moved north to

, Province of Massachusetts Bay (now

). He set up a

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals ...

beside Yarmouth's harbor, in the town's Lower Falls area, in which he produced tall clocks, shelf clocks, "sleigh bells, and in fact every kind of metal work of which his customers had need", noted Yarmouth's town historian

William Hutchinson Rowe William Hutchinson Rowe (March 6, 1882''Maine Biographies'', Harrie B. Coe (before 1937), p. 135 – 1955) was an American author and historian who lived in Yarmouth, Maine. The town's elementary school, built the year he died, is now named for ...

. He was also a

jeweler A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmith, Goldsmith, stone setting, engraving, fabrica ...

, and made the medals and jewels that were worn by the local Masons of Casco Bay Lodge. Bailey and his family lived nearby, at today's 56 East Main Street. There, he "always had the best garden in the neighborhood, and the best fruit," noted Revd. Joseph Stockbridge. Bailey went into business with his son, Lebbeus Jr., in 1816, the company being known as Lebbeus Bailey & Son.

Death

Bailey died in

Barnstable, Massachusetts The Town of Barnstable ( ) is a town in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the county seat of Barnstable County. Barnstable is the largest community, both in land area and population, on Cape Cod, and is one of thirteen Massachusetts municipalit ...

, on December 6, 1827, aged 64.Obituary, ''Portland Gazette'', December 7, 1827 His wife survived him by 28 years, and was interred beside him in Yarmouth's

Ledge Cemetery Ledge Cemetery, also known as the Cemetery under the Ledge,''Collections and Proceedings of the Maine Historical Society'', Maine Historical Society (1899), p. 76 is a historic cemetery in Yarmouth, Maine, Yarmouth, Maine, United States. Dating t ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Lebbeus American clockmakers 1763 births 1827 deaths People from Hanover, Massachusetts People from North Yarmouth, Maine