Thomas Stretch
| Thomas Stretch | |
|---|---|
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
March 30, 1697 Leek, Staffordshire, England |
| Died | October 19, 1765 (aged 68) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Nationality | English |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Anne Robins |
| Children | Peter Stretch II |
| Profession | Clockmaker |
| Signature |  |
Thomas Stretch (March 30, 1697 – October 19, 1765) was an American clockmaker and a founder and first Governor of the Colony in Schuylkill, later known as The State in Schuylkill, or Schuylkill Fishing Company. In 1753 he erected the first clock at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, a large clock dial and masonry clock case at the west end of the structure.
Born at Staffordshire, England, he came to America with his father, Peter Stretch, in 1702. The earliest known clockmakers in Leek, Staffordshire were members of the Quaker family named Stretch. Samuel Stretch, Peter Stretch's uncle, was making lantern clocks in Leek in 1670.
Thomas Stretch married July 29, 1743, Mary Anne Robins, who died and was buried in Friends’ Burial Ground, Philadelphia, October 10, 1781, in the sixty-ninth year of her age. Although Thomas followed his father's example in his craft and philanthropy, he did not do so personally. Thomas married out of the Quaker faith and was censured by the Monthly Meeting. As a result, "Thomas Stretch brought in a paper [to the Meeting] signed by himself & Wife condemming their unchaste freedom before Marriage as well as their disorderly procedure in Marriage," surely an embarrassment to his parents.
Of their five children only one lived beyond childhood, Peter Stretch II (1746-1793) who married Sarah Howell (1754-1825), daughter of Samuel Howell (1723-1807), eminent Philadelphia merchant and a financier of the American Revolution and Sarah Stretch (1727-1770), a daughter of Thomas's brother Joseph Stretch. Thomas and Mary's daughters: Mary Stretch (died 1744); Elizabeth Stretch (died 1747); Ann Stretch (died 1750) and Sarah Stretch (died 1756). Thomas Stretch was buried at Friends Burial Ground, Philadelphia, on October 19, 1765.
His son Peter, who was not of age when Thomas made his will in 1760, was left his clocks, watches, tools, etc. Half of his property went to his beloved wife Mary. Thomas Stretch's brother, Joseph, and his nephew Isaac Stretch were his executors. The will is proved October 23, 1765.
Thomas Stretch's father, Peter Stretch, became one of the most important clockmakers in colonial America, noted for his magnificent tall case clocks, intricate watches and clocks, and scientific instruments. His shop was at the southeast corner of Front and Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, then called “Peter Stretch’s Corner at the Sign of the Dial". Soon after the death of his father, Thomas Stretch sold his father's property at the Sign of the Dial and established himself a block farther west, at the southwest corner of Second and Chestnut Streets.
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Wikipedia