The Bagnall Family of Clockmakers
Benjamin Bagnall is generally considered to have been Boston’s first clockmaker, where he worked from about 1710 to 1740. Benjamin learned his craft as an apprentice to Peter Stretch, a clockmaker in Philadelphia from about 1690 to 1740.
Benjamin’s two sons, Benjamin Jr. and Samuel, were also clockmakers. Samuel worked in Boston from about 1740 to 1760. Benjamin Jr. worked in Philadelphia, Newport and Providence, Rhode Island. In 1770 he had a shop in Cornhill, near Town House.