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| From 1857-08-14 The Engineer |
In 1855 and '57, watchmaker William Stephens of Richmond, Indiana, was granted patents related to a watchmaker's lathe. In 1857 this lathe was being manufactured by Hirst & Co. of Richmond, a partnership of William Stephens and Elisha F. Hirst. This partnership was short-lived, being dissolved in November of 1857.
In that same year of 1857, G. M. Bodine was the agent for Stephens' Pivoting and Universal Jeweling Watchmakers' Lathe. His address was, 22 Maiden Lane, New York City, NY.
All trace of Williams Stephens and his lathe seems to disappear after 1857, and it seems likely that he left Richmond shortly after the Hirst & Co. partnership was dissolved. Hirst, meanwhile, continued on as a watchmaker, jeweler and silversmith under the name E. F. Hirst.
Information Sources
- IndianaSilverTrust.com page on Elisha F. Hirst.
- Thanks to Kerry J. Cottongim George, Collections Manager & Lead Curator of the Wayne County Historical Museum, for information on this firm. She provided the date of the partnership dissolution. She also provided a clipping from the 1855-02-09 Richmond Weekly Palladium bearing an announcement that a Richmond watch and jewelry shop, Cone & Aron, had hired William Stephens, a watch-maker with more than 31 years experience.