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Anson Green Phelps and

His Namesake Business

The Ansonia

Clock Company

By Judy Gonyeau, managing editor

he town of Ansonia, Connecticut, owes its name New York’s largest metal importer for a time. He dis-
and fame to Anson Green Phelps – entrepreneur, solved his partnership with Peck and began Phelps,
Tbusinessman, and community supporter. Not Dodge, and Company with his two sons-in-law.
only was he known for clocks, but imported goods While operations were moving smoothly, Phelps
from England including brass, tin, iron, and tin found another business partner, Sheldon Smith,
plate, his talent for making and selling saddles to with whom he could not only establish a thriving
southern states, exporting cotton to England, and business, but make his mark by building his
the Ansonia Clock Company. Phelps was a fast- namesake community in his home state.
moving, multi-talented businessman who knew
who to work with and when, and had the statistics
Creating Ansonia
to prove it. Along the Naugatuck River, an area of
prime Connecticut property was settled
by English colonists in 1652 who
On The Move
Anson Phelps was born on March 24, 1781, in established the township of Derby. In
Simsbury, Connecticut, and descended from early 1844, Anson Phelps purchased land
American governors of Connecticut Thomas Dudley along the East side of the river with the
(1596-1653), John Haynes (1594-1653/4), and George intent of building a manufacturing site
Wyllys (1590-1645), no doubt contributing to his pioneer- where he could take advantage of the river
ing spirit. Phelps was raised in the home of a Congregational This c. 1835 portrait for its power and its proximity to shipping
minister following the death of his of Anson G. Phelps ports along the Southern Connecticut coast.
mother when he was just 12 years old. (1781-1853) was created Other businesses also established them-
At 18, he selected his relative, Thomas by Samuel Lovett Waldow selves in this subdivision of Derby that
and William Jewett and is
Woodbridge Phelps, as his guardian. part of the Catalog of Phelps, his business partners, and the
Once he became somewhat American Portraits, a residents soon referred to as “Ansonia.” In
independent, Phelps moved research archive of the short, the area was soon established as a
to Hartford, Connecticut, National Portrait Gallery. borough of Derby, then a separate township
and started a saddlery from Derby, and incorporated as a city in
business that would 1893. Although Anson Green Phelps passed
ship them to the South. He was away in 1858 at age 73, he was able to witness his
very successful and constructed name being used for the name of the place where his businesses
a large brick building for man- became a worldwide success.
ufacturing that became
known as “Phelps Block.”
Brass Business in Ansonia
Then, at the age of 31, Phelps Starting in the 1830s, rolled brass became commercially
made a move to New York available in quantity in the U.S., and by 1838 it had replaced cast
City and partnered with Elisha brass and wood for use in clock movements. For Phelps, the
Peck of Liverpool, England, to journey to becoming one of the largest suppliers of rolled copper
build an import company, and brass was not necessarily a smooth one.
Phelps, Peck & Co., becoming In 1834, Anson G. Phelps assoiated himself with Israel Coe,

Title image: A fine example of a Royal Bonn hand-painted Delftware blue and white porcelain mantel clock, with
case stamped “1289, Franz Ant. Mehlem, Bonn Rhein,” a five-inch dial signed along the edge Ansonia Clock Company
and stamped with the Ansonia A logo, along with the brass works stamped “Ansonia Clock Co, NY, Patented June 18,
1882.” The clock dates to the turn of the 20th century and is in very good overall working condition, with minor surface
imperfections, and light wear commensurate with age and use. Sold through RubyLane.com
Ansonia “Parisian” Victorian walnut mantle clock, 22 ½” H x 14” W. Tear drop design walnut mantle clock. Carved
face of a woman at the top, the glass door is decorated with the figure of a cavalier. Unmarked paper dial. With key and
pendulum. Sold for $150 at DuMouchelles in Detroit, MI in July 2018.
20 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles