The Makers

Figure 32

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.

Figure 33

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'sGeodaesia, 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 ofwood, 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.

Figure 34

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.

Figure 35

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.

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.

An interesting sidelight in the study of the makers of scientific instruments is the advertising they used, particularly the designof 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.

Figure 36

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 wasthe handiwork of John Skillin, the 18th-century woodcarver of Boston, upon whose death on January 24, 1800, theChroniclecommented 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.

Figure 37

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.

Figure 38

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.

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.

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 widowof 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]

Figure 39

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 wasformerly 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 ofThe Boston Gazettefor 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 byJoseph HalsyBoston—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'sCompendium 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-makingbusiness 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.

Figure 40

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 (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 collectionof 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 byJames Halsynear Ye Draw Bridge in Boston."[90]

Figure 41

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.

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. OnOctober 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 hisdaughters, 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, inThe 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 SchoonerSea Flour£0.8.0.1758, Nov. 28:1 Spyglass£1.13.8.1759, Jan. 25:Mending 3 Compasses for the SchoonerSusanna£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 BrigFortune: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 ——."

Figure 42

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]

Figure 43

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 BostonFecit." 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]

Figure 44

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]

Figure 45

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.

Figure 46

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.

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.

Figure 47

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 ofThe 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 sameyear 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.

Figure 48

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 largeassortment of instruments, as well as time glasses which measured from one quarter minute to two hours.

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