TERRY, ELI

born April 13, 1772, East Windsor, Conn. died Feb. 26, 1852, Plymouth, Conn., U.S. American clockmaker who was an innovator in mass production. He was trained as a clockmaker's apprentice from the age of 14. He opened a factory in Plymouth, and in about 1800 he devised ways to use waterpower to operate his machines. In 1807 he went into partnership with Seth Thomas and Thomas Hoadley to carry out a contract for 4,000 clocks. When this was completed in 1810, Terry again went into business for himself. His specialty was the manufacture of one-day wooden shelf clocks, especially his perfected wood clock designed in 1814. Using interchangeable parts made by mechanized techniques, his production rose as high as 10,000 to 12,000 of these clocks per year. By the end of his life Terry had patented 10 improvements on clocks.