Edward Duffield (118)

Edward Duffield (30 April 1720–12 July 1803) was a clock and watchmaker and public officeholder, and a member of American Philosophical Society, elected in 1768. Born in Philadelphia, Duffield was by the 1740s a well-regarded craftsman who imported, repaired, and built clocks and watches. Additionally, he built up his business by working on side projects related to metal work, such as creating medal dies for the City of Philadelphia and peace medals for Native leaders who attended the conferences that produced the 1757 Treaty of Easton. In keeping with the increased interest in astronomy generated by the Transit of Venus, the APS commissioned Duffield to build the timepiece used to observe the 1769 Transit of Mercury. Growing more settled and successful in his business, Duffield began holding public offices in the city, among them regulating the night watch and street lamps, serving as inspector of the Walnut Street jail, and as befitting his skill set, maintaining the State House clock from 1762 until APS member David Rittenhouse assumed the responsibilities in 1774. That year, Duffield removed to his countryside estate Benfield and began experimenting with various farming techniques. He was not active in politics leading up to the American Revolution, but he was  seized by the British in 1778. After the war, he returned to Benfield, where he continued to support local educational institutions such as the Byberry Library Company and Lower Dublin Academy. He was a long-time friend of Benjamin Franklin and served as an executor to Franklin’s will. His son Benjamin Duffield was an APS member. (PI)