Isaiah Eaton, clockmaker, silversmith, farmer. Charlestown and Walpole, New Hampshire, and Westminster, Vermont.

Isaiah Eaton was born on October 15th, 1757, in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and died on January 21st, 1847, in Westminster, Vermont. His father was Captain Timothy Eaton and his mother was Abigail Massey. During the Revolutionary War, he worked as a private under James Sawyer and was present in Lexington when the alarm was given in 1776. By the close of the war, his rank had advanced to that of Major. In 1785 he married Priscilla West in Charlestown, New Hampshire; she died on November 5th, 1804. It is reasonable to suppose that he had completed his apprenticeship with Stephen Hasham before going to Walpole. In the New Hampshire Journal, Isaiah placed an advertisement on June 6th, 1793, stating that he was a silversmith and clockmaker and that his workshop was in Walpole, NH. This advertisement also said that he was looking for a steady, active boy about thirteen or fourteen to serve as an apprentice. In 1797, he purchased a farm which later became known as "Eaton Hill". In 1803 he advertised that he had moved from Walpole to Westminster, Vermont. The town of Westminster is situated just on the other side of the Connecticut River. In Westminster, he carried on a business in gold, silver, and clockmaking with Benjamin Kendrick under the firm name of EATON & KENDRICK. This partnership continued until August 5th, 1805. His first wife died shortly after the move to Westminster. He then married Azubah (Rockwood) Grout, who was a widow. They had one son in 1808. Both Isaiah and Azubah had been widowers prior to their marriage. In 1811, he was elected as a Representative. Three years later, he began serving the Town of Westminster as a selectman and held this post until 1826.

We are familiar with several tall case clocks. One of them has a brass dial with an engraved lunar calendar, a notable element in early American craftsmanship, and is marked 'Charlestown'. Another example of a brass dial bears the location 'Walpole' and is housed in the museum in Deerfield. A third clock, which was sold at Bill Smith’s in November 2009, also had an engraved brass dial signed 'Walpole'. I. M. Weise listed a brass dial in Antiques Magazine in February 1977 on page 291. Thomaston Auction Gallery sold a painted-dial example in March 2007. There is also another painted dial example, which is now in the collection at Drexel University.