Any attempt to relate the making of wooden scientific instruments with
the production of wooden clocks in New England has no conclusive result,
yet there appears to be some relationship between the two. Wooden
clocks were made as early as the 17th century in Germany and Holland,
and they were known in England in the early 18th century. In the
Colonies the wooden clock was first produced in Connecticut, and the
earliest type was associated with Hartford County. This form was quite
common in East Hartford in 1761, and its first production may have had
some association with Ebenezer Parmele (1690-1777), since an association
between Parmele and all of the earliest makers of wooden clocks can be
traced.[74] Little is known about Parmele. His father was a cabinetmaker
in Guilford, Connecticut, and Ebenezer practiced the same craft, in
addition to being a boat builder. He was a man of means, held various
town offices, and served as town treasurer. For a while he operated a
cargo sloop on Long Island Sound. In 1726 he built the first tower clock
in Connecticut for the Guilford meeting house. He was a versatile worker
in wood, and it is believed that he served an apprenticeship in New York
City with a Dutch clockmaker from 1705 to 1710, where he may have
learned to make wooden clocks.