Chauncey Jerome (1793 - 1868)

Born 10 Jun 1793 in Canaan, Litchfield, Connecticut, United States

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 20 Apr 1868 at age 74 in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, United States

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Biography

Chauncey Jerome is Notable.

Chauncey Jerome was born on June 10, 1793 in Canaan, Litchfield, Connecticut, United States. His parents were Lyman Jerome and Sarah Noble. He died on April 20, 1868 in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, United States

Chauncey Jerome ex-Mayor of New Haven who died on the 21st was the originator of the famous Jerome Clock Company He failed some years ago through Barnum and his properly passed into the hands of Gov English and others He was a very liberal man Mrs Wiltberger a rich widow of Philadelphia^[1]

Hon. Chauncey Jerome, of New Haven, whose clocks have made his name known world wide, died on Monday, after a brief illness, in the seventy-sixth year of his age.^[2]

Hon Chauncey Jerome of New Haven whose clocks have made his name known worldwide died on Monday week, after a brief illness, in the 70th year of his age. He was a man of great simplicity as well as great honesty. When he supposed himself to be in the height of his prosperity he formed business connections which resulted in failure, and he was reduced from affluence to poverty. He was Mayor of New Haven one term. He built at his own expense a church for the First Baptist Society of New Haven at a cost of more than $20,000.^[3]

Chauncey Jerome, Clockmaker of Waterbury, Connecticut.

Chauncey Jerome is the son of Lyman Jerome (1766–1804) and Sarah Noble born 1770–.

Chauncey Jerome married Salome Smith (1794–1854) on 9 Apr 1814 at Plymouth, Litchfield County, Connecticut, USA.

Their children are: Augustus Smith Jerome 1816–1877

Abigail Celestia Jerome 1819–1824.

Chauncey Jerome Jr 1821–1853

Samuel Bryan Jerome 1824–1905

Edward Miles Jerome 1826–1891

Celestia Abigail Jerome 1828–1893

Helen Amelia Jerome 1831–1902

Luther Hart Jerome 1835–1839

Luther Elliot Jerome 1841–1904

Chauncey Jerome married Sophia Clark (1806–1884) on 5 Jan 1855 Southington, Hartford, Connecticut, USA. (1)

Sources

1. ↑ Chicago Evening Post Chicago, Illinois 28 Apr 1868, Tue • Page 2
2. ↑ The Charleston Daily News Charleston, South Carolina 27 Apr 1868, Mon • Page 1
3. ↑ The Franklin Repository Chambersburg, Pennsylvania 29 Apr 1868, Wed • Page 2

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/79386289/chauncey-jerome : accessed 01 May 2022), memorial page for Chauncey Jerome (10 Jun 1793–20 Apr 1868), Find A Grave: Memorial #79386289, citing Grove Street Cemetery, New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, USA ; Maintained by billcarr (contributor 46560268) .
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/147382533/chauncey-jerome : accessed 01 May 2022), memorial page for Chauncey Jerome (10 Jun 1793–20 Apr 1868), Find A Grave: Memorial #147382533, citing Evergreen Cemetery, New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, USA ; Maintained by DWV (contributor 47789311) .
• Wikipedia: Chauncey_Jerome
• Columbian Register (New Haven, CT, Saturday, Apr 25, 1868) Vol: LVI, Issue: 2892, Page: 3. Deaths. "In this city, April 20th, at the residence of his son, Rev. E. M. Jerome, after a brief illness, Hon. Chauncey Jerome, aged 75 years."
• https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/rise-fall-chauncey-jerome-connecticut-clockmaker/

Research Notes

From https://www.nationalclockrepair.com/jerome/:

"Jerome Clock History Chauncey Jerome Born: June 10, 1793 Died: April 20, 1868 Fields: Clockmaker Chauncey Jerome Chauncey Jerome (1793-1868) was a Clockmaker in the early 1800s. He made a fortune selling his clocks, and his business became enormous. Born in Canaan in 1793, Chauncey Jerome was the son of a blacksmith and nail-maker.

"Jerome began his career in Waterbury, making dials for long-case clocks. Jerome learned what he could about clocks, particularly clock cases, and then went to New Jersey to make seven-foot cases for clocks.

"In 1816 he went to work for Eli Terry making 'Patent Shelf Clocks,' learning how to make previously handmade cases using machinery. Deciding to go into business for himself, Jerome began to make cases, trading them to Terry for wooden movements.

"In 1822 Jerome moved his business to Bristol, opening a small shop with his brother Noble, producing 30 hour and eight-day wooden clocks. The company installed the first circular saw ever seen in Bristol.

"By 1837 Jerome’s company was selling more clocks than any of his competitors. A one-day wood-cased clock, which sold for six dollars, had helped put the company on the map. A year later his company was selling that same clock for four dollars.

"The company sold one line of clocks at a wholesale price of 75 cents.

"By 1841 the company was showing an annual profit of a whopping $35,000, primarily from the sale of brass movements.

"In 1842 Jerome moved his clock-case manufacturing operation to St. John Street in New Haven. Three years later, following a fire that destroyed the Bristol plant, Jerome relocated the entire operation to the Elm City. Enlarging the plant, the company soon became the largest industrial employer in the city, producing 150,000 clocks annually.

"Because of his discovery of a method of stamping rather than using casting gears, Jerome was producing the lowest-priced clocks in the world at the time.

"In 1850 Jerome formed the Jerome Manufacturing Co. as a joint-stock company with Benedict & Burnham, brass manufacturers of Waterbury. In 1853 the company became known as the New Haven Clock Co., producing 444,000 clocks and timepieces annually.

"Jerome’s future should have been secure but in 1855 he bought out a failed Bridgeport clock company controlled by P.T. Barnum, which wiped him out financially, leaving the Jerome Manufacturing Co. bankrupt. Jerome never recovered from the loss. By his own admission, he was a better inventor than businessman.

"Traveling from town to town, Jerome took jobs where he could, often working for clock companies that had learned the business of clock making using Jerome’s inventions. Returning to New Haven near the end of his life, he died, penniless, in 1868 at age 74.

"Nevertheless, Jerome had made a historic contribution to his industry when he substituted brass works for wooden works, said to be “the greatest and most far-reaching contribution to the clock industry.”

"He made, and lost, a fortune selling his clocks and was perhaps the most influential and creative person associated with the American clock business during the mid-19th century. In addition he served as a legislator in 1834, a Presidential elector in 1852 and mayor of New Haven from 1854 to 1855.

"Always humble, of his own life he wrote: “The ticking of a clock is music to me, and although many of my experiences as a business man have been trying and bitter, I have satisfaction of knowing that I have lived the life of an honest man, and have been of some use to my fellow men.”

Military 8 Sep 1814 • New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, USA Served for 45 days as Private in Cap. John Buckingham's Co. 1st Regiment Connecticut State Infantry in a detachment under the command of Colonel Elihu Sanford. "From Rags to Riches" Chris Biley.

Military Oct 1814 Regiment order to New Haven to guard city.

Military Feb 1815 Peace declared." (1)

Research Sources

Chauncey Jerome wrote an interesting book on his fascinating life: "History of the American clock business for the past sixty years, and life of Chauncey Jerome, written by himself. by Jerome, Chauncey", 1793-1868; Barr, Lockwood, 1883-. [1]

From Chapter 12, Pages 131-139, "The Art of Losing - and Making - Money." [2] "The money Barnum lost in these financial excursions was peanuts compared to the gigantic Jerome Clock swindle— the final splurge into big business that swept away his entire fortune." Chapter 12, page 131. from

Master of ballyhoo; the story of P. T. Barnum by Sutton, Felix, 1968. Both PT Barnum and Chauncey Jerome became penny less after PT Barnum tried to invest in The Jerome Clock Company.