The Old Terryville Cemetery features the graves of over 120 of Terryville's earliest residents. The earliest grave is believed to be Francis A. Lewis, who died May 5th, 1832 at the age of one year and five months. The families interred here include the Eli Terry family, the James Terry family, the children of Hiram and Harriet Beach, and the Lewis families. In the early 1800s, it was common to lose children in infancy due to illness. Hiram and Harriet Beach's children are a prime example; Eight of their children are buried longside each other, the oldest living only nine years. The last person buried here was Erin F. Hall, who died on February 20, 1927.
Notable Individuals
Eli Terry Sr. was born in East Windsor in 1772. An apprentice of Daniel Burnap, Terry moved to Plymouth in1793, where in 1808, he made over 4000 wooden clocks in just four years, launching the Industrial Revolution in the United States. He buried here with his second wife Harriet, his son Eli Terry Jr. and his grandson James Terry.
Eli Terry, Jr. was the person for whom this town was named. He followed his father's footsteps in manufacturing clocks, and later sold off to Hiram Welton. He built many houses in Terryville and started the manufacturing community here.
Hiram Welton was born in Terryville. He bought out Eli Terry, Jr. in clock manufacturing, at the location Eli Terry, Jr. Water wheel. After retiring from business, Eli Terry, Sr. helped Hiram by designing his clocks.
James Terry was the son of Eli Terry Jr. and the grandson of Eli Terry, Sr. He was born at Terry's Mills on Jackson Street in Thomaston. After experimenting with the manufacture of silk, he purchased the Lewis Lock Company, and changed the name to James Terry & Co. later the Eagle Lock Factory, retiring in1866.
(The names of 99 persons, their date of death and age and the location of their gravestone are listed. 15 persons are also listed under the notation "Stone Missing".)
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