Background
Thomas was born in Wolcott, Connecticut in 1785. He was the son of James and Martha (Barnes) Thomas. His father was an immigrant from Scotland.
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Thomas was born in Wolcott, Connecticut in 1785. He was the son of James and Martha (Barnes) Thomas. His father was an immigrant from Scotland.
Thomas had a very meager education consisting of intermittent attendance at the district school, and at an early age began his apprenticeship as a carpenter and joiner.
Upon completing the education he worked for a number of years building houses and barns, generally in the country and towns near his home, although occasionally he went as far afield for work as New Haven, where he spent some time in the construction of Long Wharf. About the time this work was completed, Eli Terry at Plymouth, Connecticut, was ready to begin his unusual venture of making clocks at a wholesale rate. He needed both craftsmen and financial help, and suggested to Thomas – who, though he had very little money, was a skilful wood-worker – that he join him and Silas Hoadley in the undertaking.
Between 1807 and 1810 the firm of Terry, Thomas & Hoadley was busily engaged in making four thousand clocks. In the first year they made and fitted up the necessary machinery to be operated by water power; in the second year they made one thousand clocks, and in the third year, three thousand. These were all "hang-up" or "wag-on-the-wall" clocks, usually without cases, the purchasers depending upon local cabinetmakers to make the grandfather cases if they were desired. In this undertaking Thomas did the joiner work, and fitted the wheels and different clock parts together. Upon the completion of this job in 1810, Thomas & Hoadley purchased Terry's interest in the firm and for two years continued making clocks in partnership.
In 1812 Thomas sold out to Hoadley and began a clock factory of his own in Plymouth Hollow. While he was not an inventive genius, he was an excellent mechanic and a keen business man, and from the beginning of this undertaking he was successful. Two years after he began operations he boldly paid Terry one thousand dollars (an unheard-of price at the time) for the manufacturing rights of the latter's popular shelf clock, and was soon making and selling as many clocks as Terry. As his business developed Thomas built a mill for rolling brass and making wire at Plymouth Hollow, and operated it in conjunction with the clock factory. Finally, in 1853, he established the business on a firm foundation by organizing the Seth Thomas Clock Company, with a capital of seventy-five thousand dollars.
Thomas was twice married: first, on April 20, 1808, to Philena (or Philinda) Tuttle (d. March 12, 1810) of Plymouth, and second, on April 14, 1811, to Laura Andrews of Plymouth, who with three sons and three daughters survived him. His son Seth (1816 – 1888) carried on the business and enlarged it.
