Four of the Willard brothers were clock makers. Their names were: Benjamin(1743-1803), the third child of 12 siblings, Simon(1753-1848), the eighth born, Ephram, the ninth born, and Aaron (1757-1844), the tenth child. Very little has been written about Ephram and his activities. He apparently worked for a while in the area where his siblings worked, including Roxbury, Massachusetts. In 1798, he left to reside elsewhere. He is listed as a New York resident in 1805.
After completing his apprenticeship in 1764, Benjamin began making clocks in Grafton, Massachusetts. He soon moved to Boston and he opened a shop on Roxbury Street where a colony of artists resided. There he made a variety of clock styles. In 1773 he ran an advertisement in the Boston Gazette that read: "Benjamin Willard at his shop in Roxbury street... has on sale musical clocks playing different tunes every day of the week and on Sunday a psalm tune." He further stated: "The music plays once every hour and does not obstruct the clock''s motion in any way."
Simon was the second brother to enter the clock making trade. He became the most famous of the four siblings. Tall case clocks (called grandfathers now) were the norm until Simon helped introduce shelf and wall clocks. Around 1800, he began working on an eight-day wall clock. It was patented on February 8, 1892, as his "Improved Timepiece." The pendulum was suspended from the front with the weight at the bottom that allowed the pendulum to be screwed down. This meant that the clock could be moved without damaging the suspension. Because of its shape, it was called a banjo clock. The first ones were time only. There was a clear seven inch dial, fine hands and a mahogany case. The glass was decorated with gold leaf. The weight driven movement was so accurate that, "it kept well within one minute''s error a week." This beautiful instrument won acclaim at once and is still a popular style. Naturally others desired to create similar clocks. They had to make slight changes, however, so as not to infringe on Simon''s patent. Simon advertised that he made clocks for church steeples as well as eight-day timepieces. In a 38 year time span, this man made approximately 4,000 clocks.
A Simon Willard 92 inch high grandfather clock with a white iron dial plus moon and calendar configuration is on display at the Henry Ford Museum.
The Lighthouse clock was invented by Simon Willard of Roxbury, Massachusetts, who patented it in 1822. It has an octagonal base, a mahogany case, tapered circular trunk and a glass dome covering the eight day alarm movement. an engraved brass dial with arrow hands finishes off this clock. The clock may be seen at the Metropoltan Museum of Art.
Aaron Willard made banjo clocks, and with his brothers'' help created 30-hour wall timepieces. Soon, they and other makers fashioned the earliest known American shelf clocks. Their cases looked like the top section of tall case clocks and they earned the name "The Massachusetts Half Clocks."
The Willard brothers contributed ideas that promoted and expanded the clock industry. Their clocks, with their precise workmanship, were durable and ran well due in part to the use of hard brass in their manufacture.
