[Bell Historians] Hedderly documents in America

[George Dawson]

This is of course fascinating. I have been researching the Hedderlys in
England & America for the last 20 years. My English list of Georges bells
totals 46 so there is some useful data. I will be grateful for photocopies
of the material to further my researches.
George Dawson

Subject: [Bell Historians] Hedderly documents in America


> Fellow historians,
>
> In the course of research related to the earliest chimes made in America
(see
> http://www.gcna.org/data/MstonesNASM.html
> and
> http://www.gcna.org/data/IXfoundryHanksNiles.html)
> there has been in interesting discovery which relates in part to the
> Nottingham bellfounder Thomas Hedderly, as well as to William, George
> and Edwin Hedderly. George L. Hanks, bellfounder in Cincinnati,
> Ohio, from the early 1840s (if not earlier), somehow became
> acquainted with Mr. Henry Hedderly of Indianapolis, Indiana. In
> Feb.1849, with the latter's permission, Hanks copied a great deal of
> material "from the private manuscripts of his [Hedderly's]
> Grandfather and Father who were extensively engaged in Bellfounding
> in England: his Father removed to this country [America] and was
> engaged in the same business in Philadelphia for several years."
>
> This material from Henry Hedderly occupies the first 50 pages of a
> 200-page workbook which Hanks largely filled over the next ten years
> with other material related to bellfounding. Some of the added
> material relates to his own work, such as casting two 11-bell chimes
> (only one of which is currently posted on the GCNA Website). Other
> material he gathered from a variety of sources; evidently he was very
> interested in improving his own knowledge and skills with respect to
> bell profiles. There is a small amount of material towards the end
> of the book that was added by Hanks' successors after his sudden
> death in 1859, the last dated entry being in 1865. It is not known
> [to me] why or how this book survived, but it is now in the custody
> of an historical library in Cincinnati, and I have obtained a
> complete photocopy of it.
>
> The Hedderly material is subdivided as follows:
> - Catalogue of 48 bells "cast by Mr. Thomas Hedderly at Nottingham,
> England, since 1777", with places, dimensions and weights (six pages)
> - Weights and measurements of various rings of bells (or
> exceptionally heavy bells), in some cases related to recasting work
> by T.Hedderly (30 pages)
> - Measurements of
> 8 bells at Christ Church, Phila., cast by Lester & Pack in
> 1754, taken [recorded] by G.Hedderly in Dec.1793
> 6 bells in Baltimore, cast by Thos.Mears in 1804, taken by
> Edwin Hedderly in Apr.1816
> 8 bells in Boston, "taken from Wm. Hedderly"
> (altogether two pages)
> - Ditto for a pair and a trio of bells in Philadelphia (one page)
> - Descriptions of various exceptionally heavy bells in Europe and
> Russia (three pages)
> - List of 102 churches in England, with number of bells, tenor
> weight and tenor note (five pages; an early predecessor of Dove's
> Guide?)
>
> If any of this material is known from other sources, please reply
> on-list, so that prior efforts are not duplicated. If any of this
> material would be of value to you, please reply on-list, and I will
> arrange to post a transcription on the TowerBells Website or to
> provide facsimile images for posting elsewhere if that is more
> appropriate.
>
> This find has "made my year". :-) Some of the material related to
> Hanks' own work has already appeared on the GCNA Website, and more
> will eventually appear there.
>
> --
> --
> Carl Scott Zimmerman, Campanologist