I am currently researching the adventures of Hanover, Massachusetts clockmaker John Bailey Jr. In the 1815 to 1825 period, he was making regular trips to the south (Murfreesborough and Edenton, NC.), where he would temporarily set up shop to sell and repair clocks. He actually advertised his services in the Edenton Gazette. To date, I have located 5 clocks that he sold in NC. They each bear the name of their original owner on the dial. I know that there are more out there, so all of you collectors and dealers in the south, please keep an eye out for clocks signed, John Bailey Jr. / Hanover.
This is pretty interesting new research and I know there is more to the story. So far, I know that Bailey was bartering his clocks for commodities such as corn, cotton and feathers. He placed clocks on consignment with agents in North Carolina and possibly Virginia. When they sold, he preferred to receive payment in the form of bartered merchandise, so he could make an additional profit on the trade. On one of his visits to NC, he decided at the last minute to make the return trip overland, but sent his tools ahead by boat. That vessel never made it to Boston and his clock making tools were lost at sea along with most of the worldly belongings of his young apprentice from Murfreesborough.