Lambert Hitchcock

Lambert Hitchcock (1795-1852) was born in Cheshire, and began an apprenticeship with his brother-in-law David Pritchard (1775-1838) before his nineteenth birthday. Hitchcock became a journeyman to Silas Cheney in Litchfield in 1815 where he remained until at least 1817. He began as a manufacturer of chair parts in 1818. In 1825 he built a three-story brick building on the Farmington River equipped with a large waterwheel for power. About this time, he began stenciling his name and loation on the backs of his fancy and Windsor seating. In 1832 he went into business with his brother-in-law Arba Alford, establishing Hitchcock, Alford and Company. On 15 August 1843, Hitchcock, Alford and Company was dissolved, and Lambert Hitchcock established a factory on the Farmington Canal in 1844. The closing of the canal and a fire eventually drove Hitchcock out of business. He died insolvent.