In August 1989, we received a donation of a “Seth Parker” kitchen clock from Eleanor Storer of Lakewood, New Jersey. Eleanor was a past president and longtime member of the Kingsland Manor Trust and the author of Abrigail’s Tales of Nutley, which has been popular with the children who visit the Manor to see Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Eleanor was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1910. We believe that she moved to Nutley in the 1930s. She was a president of the Women’s Guild of St. Paul’s Congregational Church in Nutley, as well as a member of the Nutley Chapter of the Tri-Town Business and Professional Women, the Red Cross Board of Directors, Meals on Wheels, and the U.N. Council in Nutley. She was a founder of Harrowgate Retirement Community in Lakewood, New Jersey. Eleanor passed away in 2013 at the age of 102.

We are not sure why it was referred to as a Seth Parker. The clock was manufactured by the Chauncey Jerome company, probably around 1845. The company went out of business by 1855. The clock is weight driven and must be rewound every day and a half. It chimes on the hour.

The description that was written of the clock when it was accepted by the Historic Restoration Trust was: “Seth Parker” kitchen clock; beautifully finished crotch mahogany; about 100 years old (more like 140 years in 1989); 26” x 15-1/4”; clock face 7-3/4” x 7-3/4”; picture below 9-1/4” x 7-1/2”.

This kitchen clock sits on the fireplace mantle in our Museum.