Eli Terry

Eli Terry Sr.
Eli Terry Sr.
Born	April 13, 1772 East Windsor, Connecticut, British America
Died	February 24, 1852 Plymouth, Connecticut, United States of America
Fields	clockmaker

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. Terry became one of the most accomplished mechanics in New England during the early part of the nineteenth century. The village of Terryville, Connecticut is named for his son, Eli Terry Jr.

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 use of wooden components would show great influence in Terry's later career.

Terry's apprenticeship to Burnap ended in 1792, and he quickly established himself as both a clockmaker and a repairer of watches in East Windsor. His earliest clocks were fitted with silvered brass dials, which were engraved for him by Burnap. The movements of the clock were made of brass or wood, depending on the requests of his customers. Brass was more commonly used for movements, but it was also considerably more expensive and difficult to work with. In 1801, Terry was granted a patent on an equation clock. This was the first patent for a clock mechanism that was ever granted by the United States Patent Office.

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