From Town and City Atlas of the State of Connecticut, D.H. Hurd & Co., 1893

The Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Company began in 1812 in Waterbury, Connecticut. As the US went to war with England, Aaron Benedict siezed on an opportunity. Soldiers and sailors needed uniform buttons, but England would obviously no longer supply them. Benedict bought up every brass kettle, pan and pot he could find, established a rolling mill and began making buttons for the armed forces.¹

In 1824, James Croft, a partner, went to England to purchase a larger rolling mill. Benedict could now produce all the brass he needed, plus a surplus to market to other companies. Israel Coe partnered with Benedict on February 2, 1829 to form Benedict & Coe. Other partners included Bennet Bronson, Benjamin DeForest, and Alfred Platt. Coe left the firm in 1834 to pursue other business ventures. Israel Coe's name turns up time after time in the Naugatuck Valley's brass history.

The Benedict & Burnham Mfg. Co., Waterbury, Conn.

In 1832, Gordon Webster Burnham, entered the firm of Benedict & Coe, which by that time was also manufacturing brass and copper utensils. On February 14, 1834, after Israel Coe's departure, he formed a partnership with Aaron Benedict, and established what became The Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Co., the largest manufacturers of brass and copper appliances and fixtures in the United States.² The partners included Bennet Bronson, Alfred Platt, Henry Bronson, Samuel S. DeForest and John DeForest. Benedict & Burnham also produced copper and copper alloys, door handles, furniture knobs, safety pins, rivets, bolt hinges, lamp burners, insulated electric wire and copper wire for telegraph lines.³

The TRIUMPH Burner by Benedict and Burnham. J.G. Hallas' patent #208,309, September, 24, 1878.

By 1840, the firm of Benedict & Burnham had assets in excess of $100,000 and became the first brass factory in Waterbury to incorporate, doing so on January 14, 1843. In 1846 The Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Company and a company called Brown & Elton jointly organized the American Pin Company.⁴ They later spun off two divisions into separate companies - The Waterbury Button Company (1849), which is still in business today, and the Waterbury Clock Company, which was formed as a joint stock corporation by Benedict & Burnham in 1857. The Waterbury Clock was in business from 1857-1944. The company began making watches for Robert H. Ingersol in 1892, and subsequently purchased his business in 1922. When the company failed in 1944, it became part of the U.S. Time Corp.⁵

The RADIANT Burner by Benedict and Burnham. W.N. Weeden's patent #131,918, October 1, 1872.

In 1870, The Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Company started making seamless tubing. Until this time, only one other firm was successfully making seamless tubing. In 1894 The Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Company made significant advances in the manufacture of tubing when they imported machinery from Germany. By 1895, The Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Company employed 967 people and was producing 4,740,685 pounds of brass sheets, wire and tubing! On August 6, 1900, the Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Company became part of the American Brass Company.⁶

Weeden's Lamp-Socket by B&B. W.N. Weeden's #167,371, Patented August 31, 1875. Photo courtesy Hugh Pribell

As early as the 1840's, the company was involved in the manufacture of whale oil lamps. They made a number of quality lamp burners, as many fine examples survive today. The Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Company was assigned at least twenty-four patents between September 29, 1868 and November 8, 1898. See the patent table below for details. Noteworthy inventors include James G. Hallas, assignor of six patents, and William N. Weeden, assignor of eleven. Hallas and Weeden collaborated on another two patents which were also assigned to B&B. Weeden is also credited with at least seven additional lamp/lighting patents prior to those assigned to Benedict & Burnham. Hallas' patent #187,007, February 6, 1877, was for a machine to thread lamp collars, so it's safe to assume they made collars as well.

    

Search Benedict & Burnham's Patents

   

Patents assigned to Benedict & Burnham between Sept. 29, 1868 - Nov. 8, 1898
RE6374	82480	131917	131918	136113	143143	145702	147211
155846	164622	167371	187007	189542	193581	203471	207576
208309	209738	210236	211154	303842	307644	308608	613871
[ additional patents will be added as they are discovered ]
D = Design Patent, RE = Reissue of an earlier Patent

To view any of the above patents, enter the number in the box below and select Query USPTO Database. This will take you to the specific patent images on the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office Database. Learn more about the USPTO here.

• ¹ The Waterbury Button Company. Highlights from History (14 March 2003) <http://www.waterburybutton.com/detpages/aboutus29.shtml>.
  
• ² Rita's Genealogy Corner. Men and Women of Note (14 March 2003) <http://web.cetlink.net/~firestar/hampton/note.htm>.
  
• ³ The Waterbury Button Company.
  
• ⁴ Lathrop, William G. The Brass Industry in the United States. New Haven, CT: The Wilson H. Lee Company, 1926.
  
• ⁵ M.S. Benedict Mfg. Co. Novelty Timepiece (14 March 2003) <http://webpages.charter.net/time-saver/74T0394.htm>.
  
• ⁶ Lathrop.

• Davis, William T., ed. The New England States, Their Constitutional, Judicial, Educational, Commercial, Professional and Industrial History, Volume II. Boston, Mass: D.H. Hurd & Co., ca 1896.
• Grant, Ellsworth Strong. Yankee Dreamers and Doers. Chester, CT: Pequot Press, n.d.
• G. Fox & Co. Highways & Byways of Connecticut: A Century of Connecticut Living. Hartford, CT: G. Fox & Co., 1947.
• M.S. Benedict Mfg. Co. Novelty Timepiece. 14 March 2003. <http://webpages.charter.net/time-saver/74T0394.htm>.
• Lathrop, William G. The Brass Industry in the United States. New Haven, CT: The Wilson H. Lee Company, 1926.
• Rita's Genealogy Corner. Men and Women of Note. 14 March 2003. <http://web.cetlink.net/~firestar/hampton/note.htm>.
• The Waterbury Button Company. Highlights from History. 14 March 2003. <http://www.waterburybutton.com/detpages/aboutus29.shtml>.