Sayles, A and E

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         A. SAYLES  and  E. SAYLES      

 Rick Slaney  -  April 22, 2013

 

The “A. SAYLES” entry in AWP4 is Ahab Sayles, born Oct. 17, 1760 in Glocester, RI, died April 17, 1849 in Glocester, RI.

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The “E. SAYLES” entry in AWP4 is either Esek Sayles, born 1753, died July 31,1824 in Burrillville, RI. or Elisha Sayles, born July 15, 1757, died July 4, 1845.

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Each of the three brothers is described in multiple Glocester, RI and Burrillville, RI land deeds as either a yeoman or a house carpenter and sometimes as “Yeoman, alias House Carpenter.”  The Town of Burrillville was formed in 1806 from part of Glocester.  

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Their father was Israel Sayles, born 1726 in Smithfield, RI, died 1801 in Glocester, RI.  -Several genealogical sources say that Israel Sayles was a prosperous farmer and a man highly skilled in mechanical work.  I found many Glocester, RI land deeds which refer to him as a “yeoman.”  There is also a 1754 land deed in which he is buying a share in a “forge or iron worke” in Glocester.  Israel Sayles had eight children, including the three sons named above.  

   

I have in my collection three planes that were found together in 1985 in the Village of Chepachet in the Town of Glocester, RI.  One of the three is marked “E. SAYLES”.  I believe it is my “E. SAYLES” plane that is described in the AWP4 entry.  The other two planes in the group are unmarked, but they are identical to the marked plane, except for the molding shape.  The three planes were made by the same hand.  They are beautifully made, definitely the product of a practiced plane maker.  They have all of the characteristics of planes made by Henry Wetherel of Norton (born 1729) before

he moved to Chatham, CT in 1779.

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I have a rubbing of the “A. SAYLES” stamp that is on the toe of ten planes at Old Sturbridge Village.  I have a second rubbing that shows the toe of two of these planes that have both the “A. SAYLES” stamp and an “H. WETHEREL / IN NORTON” stamp. These rubbings were given to me in 1986 by Ben Blumenberg after he examined the Old Sturbridge Village collection of planes.

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I have compared the “A. SAYLES” stamp in these two rubbings with the “E. SAYLES” stamp on my plane.  The stamps, although not identical, are close enough for me to say with certainty that they were made by the same hand.  Both have the same styleraised comma between the first initial and the last name.  The stamps are proof that “A. SAYLES” and “E. SAYLES” are connected, and the connection is that they are brothers.  The stamps were probably made in Glocester, RI, where the brothers lived.

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 I do not rule out the possibility that both Ahab Sayles and his “E. SAYLES” brother either apprenticed to or worked for Henry Wetherel (b1729) and were thus able to make planes that look exactly like H. WETHEREL planes.  But a better explanation is that all the planes stamped with either the “A. SAYLES” or the “E. SAYLES” mark were in fact made by Henry Wetherel of Norton.  My guess is that the brothers’ father, Israel Sayles (born 1726), while still a young man, acquired for his own use many H. WETHEREL planes and that these planes were passed down by the father to his sons,

 who then stamped their names on the planes.  Either someone in the Sayles family took pains to remove the H. WETHEREL mark from most of the planes or the planes, for whatever reason, were never stamped by Henry Wetherel.

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 There would be no reason for Israel Sayles (born 1726) to send his sons away to apprentice under someone like Henry Wetherel.  Israel, who owned extensive land for farming in Glocester, RI. and was perhaps the most influential man in town, was able to help his sons become respectable yeoman in Glocester, with land of their own.  He also would have taught his sons the mechanical skills for which he was held in such high regard.  It is not surprising that at least three of his sons, while young men, worked as house carpenters.

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[RS note:  I sent the “A. SAYLES and E. SAYLES” document below to Tom Elliott and Will Steere on April 22, 2013 and to Pat Lasswell on Sept. 29, 2014.]