Aaron Willard was an 18th and early 19th Century entrepreneur, an industrialist, and a designer of clocks who worked extensively at his Roxbury, Massachusetts, factory during the early years of the United States of America.
15 Facts About Aaron Willard
Simon and Aaron Willard's clocks were the first economically accessible timepieces of the country.
The first American ancestor of Willard's family was Simon Willard who arrived in 1634, together with his wife Mary Sharpe, stemming from Horsmonden, Kent, England.
Aaron Willard was born in 1757, at a farm located in the hill-region of Grafton, in Worcester County, Massachusetts.
Aaron Willard was the third of four sons; his brothers were Benjamin, Simon, and Ephraim.
The Aaron Willard family became quite recognizable within American high society, particularly Simon.
Therefore, sales rose quickly, and the Aaron Willard brothers supplied clocks to both public and domestic consumers.
On every unit, Aaron Willard spelled his signature out, over either the dial or the glass-panel.
Aaron Willard began manufacturing and commercializing traditional tall case clocks.
Aaron Willard increased the value of his clocks by adding features to the dials.
At Grafton, in Worcester County, Massachusetts, the one-room farm had been built in 1718 by Joseph Aaron Willard, who belonged to the third generation of the Aaron Willard family.
In 1776, Benjamin Aaron Willard began learning the horologist profession there, and he built a small workshop for commerce.
Successively, three of Aaron Willard brothers moved to Boston's Roxbury Street.
Aaron Willard brought his business in 1792 to the 2224-address which was a quarter of a mile from Simon's.
Aaron Willard died on May 20,1844, at Roxbury, Suffolk, Massachusetts.