William Munroe (pencil maker)
| William Munroe | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 15, 1778 Roxbury, Massachusetts |
| Died | March 6, 1861 (aged 82) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | cabinet maker |
| Known for | First United States pencil maker |
| Political party | Federalist, Whig |
| Spouse(s) | Patty Stone |
| Parent(s) | Daniel Munroe/Abigail Parker |
| Relatives | Jedediah, grandfather |
William Munroe (December 15, 1778 – March 6, 1861) was a prominent cabinet-maker and pencil manufacturer of Concord, Massachusetts.
Munroe was born on the Seaver Farm in Roxbury in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. His father was a merchant during the time he was growing up. He received little formal schooling prior to being a teenager. When he was thirteen Munroe worked as a farmhand for a while at his grandparents' farm in Roxbury. Though he liked farming, he figured that there had to be a better way to make a living and desired to learn a skilled trade. At fourteen he became a wheelwright’s assistant. After working at this for a while he quit and briefly became a cabinet-maker’s assistant. He then worked at various day labor jobs through the age of sixteen. When he was seventeen he became employed with his second cousin deacon Nehemiah Munroe, a cabinet-maker in downtown Roxbury. He was exceptionally sharp at this trade, able to follow the written diagrams of the various pieces of furniture to make them precisely. He had his own innovative ideas and even devised a new method of hanging table leaves from their hinges, drawing a new concept that was followed thereafter.
Munroe became a journeyman in the shop for about six months after becoming twenty one years old, completing his apprenticeship. In 1800 he left and went to Concord, Massachusetts. There he worked for his older brothers, Daniel and Nathaniel, who were clockmakers. He passed his time by making clock cases. The brothers wrote in Munroe on a contract as a full partner in their business from 1801 though 1804.
In 1805 Munroe married Patty, daughter of Captain John Stone. Patty’s family was wealthy and her father had died before they were married. They immediately took up residence in a part of the brick house that was Patty's mother's. In 1806 their first child was born, William Jr. Two years later they moved to a part of the building where the shop was where he was working as a clockcase-maker. Munroe also made some furniture, besides clockcases, which he took to Boston to sell. In 1810 he traded some clocks in Norfolk for some corn and flour. He traded the flour to a Mr. Prescott, a baker in Concord, in a round about way for a shop at the Concord Mill-Dam Company that Mr. Prescott owned. There was a credit crunch in the economy at this time and Mr. Prescott didn't have cash to pay for the flour. In 1811 Munroe moved his family to a small house closer to his shop.
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