The inventor behind the scenes Ingraham Clocks was Elias Ingraham (1805-1885). Elias, who lived to the advanced age of 80, was born in Marlborough, Connecticut. He came to Bristol in 1828 to work for George Mitchell crafting clock cases. In 1830, Elias Ingraham, now a talked-about clock casemaker, set about being employed for Chauncey and Lawson C. Ives. He produced over five thousand clock cases for them over the next three years. As a category, Ingraham clocks, and especially the clocks made under a label bearing the Ingraham name up until 1885, refer to clocks made by several different suppliers. The firm of Brewster and Ingrahams clock company was established in 1844 and carried on until July 24, 1852. During this time Elias engineered the Gothic clock case, with four columns. The E. and A. Ingrahams Company was then commencedand ran from 1852 to 1856; and then Elias Ingraham and Company from 1857 to 1860. Then from 1861 to 1880 the name E. Ingraham & Company was used. From 1881 to 1884, the company was know as The E. Ingraham & Company. Finally in 1885 it was incorporated as The E. Ingraham Company. This well-documented history and short time periods for each company make it easy to date the early Ingraham clocks based upon the labels on the inside of the antique clocks.