If you like James Bond, then you’ll love this story about Lebbeus Dod (DAR Ancestor A032744), Morris County’s own Revolutionary War–era “Q” character. Besides having an awesomely cool name, Lebbeus Dod was also among the most talented instrument makers and engineers of the 18th and early 19th centuries. He must have been a kind soul as well. Record books of Mendham indicate that he was reimbursed for “taking up strays” in the community.
He was born on at Newark. When he was six, his family moved to Mendham. He married Mary Baldwin in 1764.
He was professionally trained as a clockmaker, and indeed he built some beautiful clocks. But his real claim to fame is as a self-taught inventor, designer, and maker of fine mathematical instruments. He is credited with inventing the parallel rule protractor. Some of the surviving instruments that he made include a surveying compass held at the National Museum of American History of the Smithsonian Institution, a calculating compendium held at the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a protractor with parallel rule held at the New Jersey State Museum, and a combined protractor and divider in the Smithsonian’s collections.
In the late 1770s while the Revolution was already in progress, Lebbeus and his two brothers Thaddeus and Daniel left New Jersey to settle the frontiers around Redstone Fort (now Brownsville, Fayette County, PA). On the way they ran into trouble with Native Americans who were incited by the British. Thaddeus and Daniel decided to continue on, and as a result they became western pioneers. Fortunately for New Jersey, Lebbeus decided to return to Mendham where he spent the rest of his life, while spending time in Newark from time to time.
Lebbeus Dod joined the Continental Army as a Captain of Artillery, and he served in battles at Springfield and Elizabethport. But his fighting days were short-lived; he was detached by Washington to set up an armory and focus on making and repairing muskets. He maintained the armory at a mill next to his house. His beautiful house is still standing at 67 W. Main Street in Mendham. The armory next door was known to be standing as recently as 1940, though it might not be standing any longer.
Lebbeus was a constant target because of his crucial role equipping the army. There is a family story that at one point he hid from the British in a pile of hay in his barn. While the British soldiers prodded the hay with their bayonets, Mrs. Dod set up her spinning wheel at the window where she could watch them, and calmly sang a hymn while she spun. Her composure convinced the British soldiers that Dod had already escaped, and they left without setting fire to the barn. Personally, I find it hard to believe that the British would not destroy an armory in enemy-controlled territory if they came upon it, but I’m relaying the story such as it is. Like most legends, there’s probably a nugget of truth in it, even if the story got distorted over time.
Lebbeus Dod died on . He’s buried at Hilltop Cemetery in Mendham. He and his wife Mary had a large family, several of whom carried on their father’s ingenuity, especially sons Daniel, Stephen, and Abner. Daniel, in particular, was well known for his inventions and machinery for developing steam power.
Please enjoy the many pictures of his instruments and house, below
Article posted at https://compleatsurveyor.com/Makers/Dod.html
Clock made by Lebbeus Dod ca 1760-1765, recently sold by kellykinzleantiques.com. Inscribed on the brass dial is “Made by Lubbeus Dodd for Dr. Ebenezer Blachley/Mendham”. You might recognize Dr. Blachley as another Morris County patriot, Revolutionary War surgeon and doctor who lived in Mendham.
http://www.kellykinzleantiques.com/tall-case-clock-by-lebbeus-dodd.html
Sources
Daughters of the American Revolution, Genealogical Records System (GRS) database, Lebbeus Dod, Ancestor A032744, online at dar.org
Dodd, Bethuel L. and John R. Burnet, Genealogies of Male Descendants of Daniel Dod, of Branford, Conn, a Native of England, 1646-1863. Newark, NJ: The Daily Advertiser Office, 1864.
Farnham, Barbara K., “The Dod Family of Mendham, New Jersey: Gifted Instrument Makers,” in The Tool Shed: A Journal of Tool Collecting published by CRAFTS of New Jersey, No. 124, Nov. 2002, pp. 8-9.
Uzes, Ross, “Lebbeus Dod,” on thecompleatsurveyor.com, online at https://www.compleatsurveyor.com/Makers/Dod.html
_____, History of Morris County, New Jersey. New York: W. W. Munsell & Co., 1882, pp. 243-244.
Credit: Susan (Bobbi) Bailey, State Historian, New Jersey Society Daughters of the American Revolution.