The Schellinger-Hendrickson Very Fine and Rare Walnut Tall Case Clock, works by Nathaniel Dominy IV, East Hampton, New York, dated 1780

dial inscribed Nath’l Dominy, E.Hampton / 1780.

Clock purchased from an unknown East Hampton, New York resident by Sylvester Schellinger (1785-1840), Amagansett, New York;
to his son George Woodhull Schellinger (1827-1851), Amagansett, New York;
to his daughter Hattie Schellinger (b. 1848), Southampton, New York;
Howard F. Hendrickson, Bridgehampton, New York;
thence by decent. 

Charles Hummel, With Hammer in Hand: The Dominy Craftsmen of East Hampton, Long Island, (Charlottesville, Virginia: The University Press of Virginia {for the Henry Francis du Pone Winterthur Museum}, 1968), no. 198, pg. 274-6.

With a winding key, door key, pendulum and two weights.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

In the early 19^th Century, Sylvester Schellinger, of Amagansett, acquired this Dominy case clock from an unknown resident in East Hampton.¹  Dominy’s record keeping was seemingly sparce, but records show that “From July 4, 1775, to December, 1783, he made at least twelve clocks, which he recorded in his accounts.  The prices charged for those clocks, however, indicate that they were all one-handed time-pieces…”  This Schellinger clock is more advanced than those listed through those years, having two hands, a day-of-the-week indicator and a day-of-the-month calendar.  To add to this clocks particular rarity, Charles Hummel notes, “The solid plates supporting the movement are the only ones this writer has seen used on a Dominy clock,” a choice that was made in an effort to save brass.

In 1839, when Sylvester passed in Setauket after spending his years as a schoolteacher, the clock was left to his only son, 14 year old George Woodhull Schellinger.  At his father’s passing, George and the family’s belongings were sent back to Amagansett to live with relatives.  The clock, having been crated, appeared to be a coffin and the railroad company demanded it be open to review the contents.  In 1847, George married a young woman by the name of Juliette, and one year later they gave birth to a girl named Harriet Woodhull Schellinger, known as Hattie.  When gold was discovered in 1849 and news had reached New York, George left his wife and young child behind to chase a better life for them all.  Sadly, he returned later that year with less money and a lethal fever.  Juliette Schellinger remarried in 1855, to a gentleman named Jacob Strong.  Juliette and her daughter Hattie moved all of their belongings, including this clock, from Amagansett to East Marion, and then later on to Southampton.  It is important to note that much of this travel was done by boat or by railroad.²  A Bill of Sale dated May 29, 1939, over 100 years after her grandfather Sylvester acquired the clock, indicated that Hattie agreed to sell to Howard F. Hendrickson for a sum of $150, plus $50 to be paid in milk and eggs.³

¹ Howard F. Hendrickson, letter recounting the clock's history as told by Hattie Schlessinger on October 13, 1939.
² See ibid.
³ Bill of Sale, Suffolk County, State of New York, dated May 29, 1939.