Images(3)

Tall Case Clock

Maker Elias Sayre

Periodca. 1802 - 1810

MediumMahogany, mahogany veneer, cherry, and pine

Dimensions91 × 21 × 9.75 in. (231.1 × 53.3 × 24.8 cm)

InscribedInscribed on the inside of the door is a chalk inscription which reads "I. Cortelyou / Paterson N.J. / bought 28/08." A separate penciled inscription on the inside of the door just below the chalked inscription reads "ITW 1[5 or 8]08." A small paper tag on the inside of the case with an inked inscription reads "1003/1823."

SignedThe clock face is signed "Elias Sayre / Monmouth" on the lower half of the dial plate.

ClassificationsClocks

Credit LineGift of Mrs. J. Amory Haskell, 1936

Object number1993.535

DescriptionThe tall case clock includes a bonnet with a broken arch pediment and embossed brass circular medallions at the scroll ends, an incorporated central plinth and two small corner plinths with stamped brass ball and post finials (the finials are presently missing). An arched clock face door is flanked by fluted columns with stamped brass capitals and bases. The clockface of enameled iron consists of a revolving lunette with a sailing ship and a full moon, and delicate painted floral motifs at all four corners. The clock case body includes a band of figured mahogany veneer framed with narrow applied molding above a serpentine top solid door flanked by fluted columns. The clock base features highly figured veneer, a narrow applied molding strip, and a graceful double bow skirt between French bracket feet.
Curatorial RemarksElias Sayre was a New Jersey clockmaker born about 1770 in Elizabeth, Union County, a son of Daniel Sayre (1740 - 1781) and his wife Anna Runyon (1747 - 1773). Elias married about 1791 to Jane Hetfield (1768 - 1815), a daughter of Job Hetfield. Their infant son, Elias R., "died June the 28th 1793, aged 6 months" and was interred in the yard of the First Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth. The Sayres apparently remained in the vicinity of Elizabeth throughout the 1790s. On 6 July 1796, Elias advertised in the New Jersey Journal for a strayed cow. In October 1797 he became a debtor to Benjamin Scudder of Elizabeth for 600 shingles. In 1801, the clockmaker was confined to debtor's prison. An ad placed in the New Jersey Journal on 28 April 1801 read, "PUBLIC NOTICE is hereby given that the subscriber, an insolvent debtor, confined in the gaol of the Borough of Elizabeth, in the County of Essex, has applied to the Judges of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas in and for the County aforesaid, for the benefit of the act of the Legislative council and general assembly of the State of New Jersey, entitled "An act for the relief of insolvent debtors:" - and that the said court have appointed Saturday the middle of May next, at 10 o'clock A.M. at the Court House in Elizabeth Town, to hear what can be said for and against the liberation of the subscriber. Elias Sayre." Apparently he was soon released from prison. The Sayres then relocated to Monmouth County, where on 8 December 1802 they had a son named Thomas baptized at Old Brick Reformed Church in what is now Marlboro. Several clocks, including the present example, are signed on the dial, "Elias Sayre / Monmouth." How long Sayre remained in the area remains unanswered. But on 30 June 1809 the New Jersey Journal noted that two letters for Elias Sayre had not been collected from the Elizabethtown post office. The clockmaker apparently died prior to 12 April 1815, the date of his widow's death.NotesA September 1952 article in The Magazine Antiques on Marlpit Hall, the Association's historic house museum in Middletown, Monmouth County, notes that the clock was believed to have been owned by Phoebe Hunn Vanderhoef. She was born in 1767, a daughter of Major Thomas Hunn (1735 - 1796) and Catherine Van Emburg (1738 - 1818). Her father was a tavern keeper at Freneau, a small village near Matawan, Monmouth County. Phoebe married Judge Cornelius P. Vanderhoef (1762 - 1816). They became the parents of a daughter and two sons. Phoebe died in 1808. The family is interred in the old Presbyterian cemetery at Mount Pleasant near Matawan. The Association also owns a portrait of Mrs. Vanderhoef painted by her brother Perry Hunn. See accession number 1983.541. John William Cortelyou (1799 - 1879) was a New Jersey silversmith, clock and watch maker who worked in several locations around the state, including New Brunswick and Morris County. From 1863 to 1876 he resided in Paterson, Passaic County, living with a son Horace L. Cortelyou, who was a jeweler working in New York. John W. was interred in the Evergreen Cemetery in New Brunswick, Middlesex County. He apparently cleaned or repaired the clock at some point. The other inscriptions are not understandable at this time.

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