Simon Willard

"Born in Grafton on April 3, 1753, died in Boston, MA on August 30, 1848, age 95. . . . Simon worked in the Grafton clock shop with his brothers Benjamin, Ephraim, and Aaron. He was the most inventive and became the most accomplished of the four Willard clockmaking brothers. . . . Simon obtained three patents during his lifetime. . . . His second and most famous patent was granted on Feb. 8, 1802 from the Federal government for his "Improved Timepiece." This became an immediate success and became known popularly as "Willard's Patent Time Piece." . . . He made tall clocks, 30-hr. Grafton wall clocks, shelf clocks, gallery clocks, clock jacks, tower clocks, regulators, patent timepieces, and patent alarm timepieces (lighthouse)." - see full biographical information in 'Willard's Patent Time Pieces: A History of the Weight-Driven Banjo Clock, 1800-1900" by Paul J. Foley