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  • Clock-making

    As an immigrant from ireland,John Kelly born COUNTY CORK 1800,married in 1818 in Staffordshire then arrived in Bristol in 1841 census,as a Clockmaker. i cannot find any such trade he followed or apprentice indentures. So how does this man become a clockmaker? yes he did make clocks,as three generation later families have such item to show. One situation put to me is,he assembled the clocks,as did many at that time,as a side line,a possibility,WHO did he purchase such parts from?i have done my best to trace possible suppliers,to no avail. Any ideas anyone. JAMES

  • #2
    For census purposes , an individual (or the enumerator) could describe an occupation rather loosely.
    It is, perhaps, always a possibility that he made the cases into which clocks were fitted rather than the movements????
    Do the "family" clocks have a name on them, either on the case or on the clock mechanism itself?

    Jay
    Janet in Yorkshire



    Genealogists never die - they just swap places in the family tree

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    • #3
      Yes, there were Clockmaker Guilds (sorry to borrow from familysearch catalog again):


      butwhere did he apprentice. If there were three generations in the family, he may have learned in his father's shop. Guilds were losing control in the early 1800s, so there might not have been the formal steps that existed previously.

      There is an index to Bristol Burgesses, referenced here, but not available online:

      Have you searched it for him?

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      • #4
        I have 2 brothers who were both clockmakers. For one I have the apprenticeship papers and Freeman of London record, for the other I have ... nothing.

        The Clockmaker's Guild suggested that his apprenticeship could have been a private one, especially outside London, in which case there probably won't be any records surviving.

        Edited to add - have you tried googling his name in Googlebooks? There are several books by F.J. Britten containing clockmakers' names. My mystery man wasn't there, but his brother was.
        Last edited by Lindsay; 22-11-12, 16:27.

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        • #5
          my 5th great grandfather was a clock maker in the late 18th century in manchester. he also was a goldsmith and jeweller. maybe that's what your ancestor did? anyway, one of his clocks is in the manchester museum, and i think i found apprentice papers. he may have trained in london, i can't remember now.

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          • #6
            but janet has a point, check out the family held clocks, and see if there are any marks or names on them. antiques roadshow stuff.

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            • #7
              This may be the answer ...I was an indentured apprentice - your deeds are there for TWO reasons ...YOU and your father sign to the effect you will COMPLETE your 5 years training which is provided by your employer because basically the employer is paying you to learn that trade for his benefit ...realistically he is paying you for nothing for the first 6 months , that`s why most apprentices make everyones cup of tea at breaks ...at least you`re good for something - your employer signs the deeds and HAS TO PROVIDE a second employer in case he himself goes bankrupt ....basically it is an agreement that the said indentured youth completes his trade apprenticeship....IF John Kelly was in a family business of his or his wifes - he wouldn`t need deeds- but he WOULD need to pass his City and Guilds examinations to be qualified ...Certificates were usually placed in a frame and hung on a wall to let customers know they were qualified........hope this helps ......allan
              Allan ......... researching oakes/anyon/standish/collins/hartley/barker/collins-cheshire
              oakes/tipping/ellis/jones/schacht/...garston, liverpool
              adams-shropshire/roberts-welshpool
              merrick/lewis/stringham/nicolls-herefordshire
              coxon/williamson/kay/weaver-glossop/stockport/walker-gorton

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              • #8
                thank you every one for replies, i posted my thread, trusting i would get an answer to my question, however not.all what has been said,has been done or gone through,as mentioned in my original thread,the nearest i have come is the FLAT PACK answer but who supplied the parts? it could be one of the Birmingham brass makers thanks again everyone

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