Thomas Claggett Newport, Rhode Island. Clockmaker, Silversmith, and Swordsman.

Past research suggests that Thomas Claggett was born in about 1730 and died in 1797. His parents were William Claggett and Mary Armstrong, married on October 21, 1714. His father, William Claggett, is considered to be one of America's earliest clockmakers who immigrated to Boston sometime around 1714 and settled in Newport in 1716. Thomas's sister Mary married James Wady of Newport. James Wady was also a clockmaker. Two other sisters, Hannah Threadkill and Elizabeth Claggett, and a brother, Caleb, are also mentioned in William's will.

Current research presented by Donald L. Fennimore and Frank L. Holman III in their book CLAGGETT Newport's Illustrious Clockmakers suggests that Thomas Claggett was not William's son but may have been a relation, perhaps a cousin.

Thomas first appears in the documentary record in December of 1752, suggesting that he was born in about 1730. Surviving clocks with works signed by Thomas Claggett are comparatively rare. Only twelve clock examples are listed in the Rhode Island Furniture Archive, and a total of fifteen were identified in research performed for the book mentioned above. In 1755, Thomas formed a partnership with John Bannister (1707-1767) that lasted until Bannister's death. Of the Claggett clocks known, one example has a backplate engraved "Marmaduke Storr, London." Storr was a successful clockmaker who worked in London. His shop was at the entrance of London Bridge. The presence of this engraving suggests that clock components could be sourced from London.

Thomas Claggett's signed movements and dials are found in cases made by the Goddard-Townsend cabinet shops. In 1767, Thomas advertised he had hired a repairman from London to mend clocks and watches. He also begins to pivot his business and offers goldsmith and silversmith work. In December of 1776, the British occupied Newport, and Thomas moved to Providence, where he carried on his business on the corner of Parade opposite the Brick Market. Here he offers lessons in wordsmanship. When the British evacuated Newport in October of 1779, Thomas returned to the decimated port city and his Queen Street location. The British had destroyed approximately 300 dwelling houses in the city during their occupation. The years to follow were hard for Thomas. He moved for a time to Taunton and then Dighton before he died in Newport in 1797. The town's poor fund paid for his coffin.

For more information about Thomas Claggett and his contemporaries, see Donald L. Fennimore and Frank L. Holman III's book, CLAGGETT: Newport's Illustrious Clockmakers, and Martha H. Willoughby's biography, Timeless: American Masterpiece Brass Dial Clocks, by Frank Hohmann III.