Museum purchase, 1964.80.8 © 2014 The Connecticut Historical Society.

Thomas Danforth III

American, 1756 - 1840

BiographyThomas Danforth III was born in Middletown, Connecticut, on 2 June 1756. He was the oldest son of Thomas Danforth II (1731-1782) and Martha Jacobs Danforth, and the grandson of Thomas Danforth (1703-1786). At the age of nineteen, he married Elizabeth Tellman of New London. Thomas III served his apprenticeship with his father, Thomas Danforth II, in Middletown, from 1770-1777. Thomas III concentrated on brass and copper manufacture in his first years as a journeyman, but was also qualified as a pewterer. Between 1777 and 1783, he had a store in Middletown and Wethersfield, Connecticut. Between 1783 and 1820, he operated solely in the Rocky Hill section of Wethersfield. He manufactured pewter there, along with other metals. Thomas III may have had possession and use of some of the moulds owned jointly with his brother, and as a brazier, may have made additional ones on his own. Thomas III took his son-in-law, Richard Williams, a brazier, into partnership in 1794. He also trained as apprentices his son, Thomas IV, Ashbil Griswold, Samuel Kilbourne, and probably his nephew, Joseph Danforth, Jr., and the Wethersfield pewterer William Nott, among others. Between 1806 and 1812, Thomas Danforth III had a second shop at Thirteenth and High Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At this time, he probably began producing greater amounts of tin wares. Thomas III is believed to have retired in 1818. He died in Wethersfield in January 1840.

Working Dates:
Middletown & Wethersfield: 1777-1783
Wethersfield: 1783-1820
Philadelphia: 1806-1812 (temporary periods during this time)

Person TypeIndividual