Receipt
Goldsmith Chandlee (1751-1821) was born in Nottingham, Maryland (at the time of his birth, the location of Nottingham was in Pennsylvania; the town did not become part of Maryland until 1768.) The Chandlee family were Quakers and included a number of clock and scientific instrument makers including Goldsmith’s father Benjamin Chandlee Jr. (1723-1791) and brothers Ellis (1755-1816) and Isaac (1760-1813). Goldsmith Chandlee’s son, Benjamin Chandlee III (1780-1822) also became a clock and scientific instrument maker. Goldsmith Chandlee was recorded as a silversmith in Winchester by 1779 when he took two apprentices. In 1801 and 1808 he took two more apprentices to learn watch and clockmaking. Chandlee apparently did not advertise, for no of the surviving newspapers carry notices bearing his name. The fact that he did not advertise, except on watchpapers and his actual work, indicates that he was a successful artisan. His work was exported as far as Baltimore, for in 1807 Abraham Patton and Samuel Jones announced that they had just received “Surveyors’ compasses AND CHAINS, Complete, made by Goldsmith Chandlee, Winchester Virginia, warranted equal in quality to any ever offered for sale in Baltimore, at the Manufacturer’s prices.”
