Each first floor room of the Homestead is graced by an antique clock imbued with history and the patina of timeless craftsmanship.
In the Keeping Room is a Tall Case Clock made by Samuel Sturgeon who worked in Shippensburg PA from 1815-1825. It has an eight-day striking clock movement and stands 88-1/4” high. We know Martha McNair of Shippensburg married a Samuel Sturgeon “a clock and watchmaker.” The provenance of the clock is from the McPherson Family.
In the dining room is a shelf clock made by Eli Terry (1772-1852) of Plymouth CT. The clock is mahogany and is 31” h. x 19” w. Eli Terry is known as the father of the American mass-produced clock industry. Today a section of Plymouth remains known as Terryville.
In the parlor is the clock that draws the most attention. This clock has been in the Homestead from its earliest days. By family record, it is said to have been made in Darien by John Bell.
The Bell Clocks, a monograph produced in 1988, includes a revealing a
anecdote provided by Bertha Mather McPherson:
“Many years ago, a decorator wanted to change the placement of the clock which was set at an angle in a corner of the West room. She wanted to place it flat against the wall. Mrs. McPherson’s father, Stephen Tyng Mather, was adamantly against this. He said ‘That clock had been in the same place forever, some decorators is not going to come in and change it now.’”
“As a young boy, Stephen had seen the placement of the clock some-time in the 1870’s. He was visiting Deacon Joseph’s two maiden daughters, Rana and Phebe…He remembered when he visited them that the clock was on an angle in the corner of the West room.”
And so it is today.
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