October 6 - Benjamin Hanks

Image courtesy wikipedia.com

On this day, in 1783, Benjamin Hanks received a patent for a self-winding clock he planned to install in the Old Dutch Church in Kingston, New York, supposedly making it the first public clock in what became the New York City metropolitan area. As with many people born before America actually became a country, the details of Benjamin’s life are sketchy at best. Sources all agree that he was born in Mansfield, Connecticut in 1755. Most sources agree that his birthday was October 29, with a few (including some official documents), putting it on December 15. Since everyone states the December date as his death, that could just be a recording error on the part of some distracted clerk in 1824. At any rate, Benjamin was indeed born and lived in Mansfield as the oldest of the nine children in the Hanks household. At the age of seventeen, he made his way into the world, becoming an apprentice to Thomas Harland, a renowned clockmaker in Norwich, 20 miles away.

In a familiar historical refrain (at least for the people we tend to highlight in this blog), Benjamin’s apprenticeship was interrupted in the middle of the night of April 18, 1775 by war. As Paul Revere and (mostly) William Dawes famously warned colonists of the approach of British troops, Benjamin quickly became part of the Continental Army as a military drummer. It’s not as extraneous a position as it might sound. The drummer was responsible for keeping troops marching at a certain cadence, helping orient soldiers in the chaos of the battlefield (to try and keep them from firing on their own side) and establishing the rhythm of firing and reloading weapons. After a few weeks he officially enlisted in the army, initially serving under Israel Putnam at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Benjamin would eventually rise to rank of Lieutenant Colonel with command of Connecticut’s Fifth Regiment.

Image courtesy tripadvisor.com

During the Revolutionary War, Benjamin found time to court and marry Alice Hovey. Following the end of hostilities, the Hanks moved to Litchfield, Connecticut where Benjamin began running a business out of his home in 1780. He did goldsmithing and silversmithing and also made clocks, compasses, looms and various other instruments. Six years later, he built a foundry behind the house and began casting large church bells, which became one of his most famous products.

 Benjamin’s first commission and installation of one of his bells was in 1790 for the Cathedral of Kingston, commonly referred to as the Old Dutch Church. During work on that job, he was further contracted to install publically viewable clocks in the bell tower. He created a self-winding clock that ran on air. It literally had a small windmill attached to its mechanism that would turn in the wind and keep the clock running until the parts until the parts wore out and had to be replaced. Benjamin was granted a design patent for his invention, which lasts for 14 years after it starts (regular or utility patents generally last 20 years). It’s unclear whether his design got used much or if he made any money from it, but it’s still pretty ingenious.

In 1797, Benjamin claimed another first in American history when he manufactured the new country’s first brass cannons at his foundry. His first pair were proudly put into use by the First Company of Connecticut Artillery. In 1808, he became partners with one of his three sons, Julius, in a new foundry located in Troy, New York, where Benjamin and Alice would spend the last sixteen years of his life. The new venture continued making brass cannons and church bells (I have to say I enjoy the juxtaposition of those two things coming out of the same place) that were sought after throughout the young, burgeoning country. As they refined their bell making technique, the Hanks’ were granted another patent for some casting innovations in 1816.

Benjamin passed away at his home in West Troy, New York on December 15, 1824. The father of the American church bell industry was 69 at the time. Julius operated the family foundry for a year after his father’s death. He then merged it with the Meneely Bell Foundry in 1826, owned by a former apprentice of the Hanks, Andrew Meneely. The merged foundry continued making church bells (they got out of the cannon business), casting over 65,000 of them in total, until it was forced to close its doors in 1952. Their bells can still be found in churches located in over two dozen states and as far away from Troy as the Czech Republic.

Also on this day, in Disney history: Kevin Corcoran