whole country. My brother, Noble
Jerome, who is an excellent mechanic and as good a brass clock maker as
can be found, is now making the movements for this company, and Edward
Church, a first rate man and an excellent workman, is making their
cases. He worked with me seventeen years at case making, and can do a
good job. I cannot pass without speaking about another man of this
company, Arad W. Welton Esq. He was one of my soldier companions in
Capt. John Buckingham's company, which went to fight the British in
1813, at New London, and in 1814 at New Haven. He stood very near me in
the ranks. I shall never forget what pluck and courage he showed one
night when the news was brought into camp that the enemy were landing
from their ships. Our whole regiment was mustered in fifteen minutes,
and on the way to pitch battle with the British and defend our shores.
This Mr. Welton, who is now an old man, as stout and large as Gen. Cass,
and looking something like him, was then a young man nineteen years old,
and without exception the funniest and drollest fellow that I ever saw.
He kept us all laughing while we were going down to fight that awful
battle, which, however, proved to be bloodless. This incident occurred
at New London, and I have often thought of it in latter days. Mr. Welton
Is said to be a great business man, and the company with which he is
connected is doing a good business.

The next clock company which I shall speak of, is that of Seth Thomas &
Co., of Plymouth Hollow, Connecticut. As I have mentioned before, the
senior Thomas is not living. The business is carried on by a company,
the members of which are all Republicans in politics and respectable
men. Fifty years ago this spring, Heman Clark built the factory which
Seth Thomas, two or three years afterwards, bought, and in which he
carried on business until his death, about two years since. It was never
Mr. Thomas' practice to get up any thing new. He never would change his
patterns or mode of manufacturing, until he was driven to it to keep his
customers. At the time when I invented the one-day brass clock in 1838,
he said much against it, that it was not half so good as a wood clock,
and that he never would take up any thing again that Jerome had adopted;
but he was compelled to, in a year or two, to keep his customers. He
sent his foreman over to Bristol, where I was then carrying on business,
to get patterns of movements and cases and take all the advanta