Credited with being one of the earliest producers of cut nailsin the United States.
| When Burke met | 1779 |
| Where Burke met | Norwich, CT |
| Occupation | Artisan |
| Interaction with Burke | Taught Burke how to make nails. |
| Identity Status | Possible |
| Genealogy | WikiTree |
| Memoir Pages | 25-7 |
Notes
Edmund Darrow was an eighteenth-century blacksmith and manufacturer active in Norwich, Connecticut, from 1772 until 1800. Operating primarily at the Bean Hill mill site and later near Norwich Falls, he is credited with producing the first cut nails in America in 1772. Darrow pioneered an efficient method of cutting shingle-nails from old iron barrel hooping, significantly improving upon the tedious traditional process of hand-forging nails from solid iron. His nailery was a modest operation employing four to six journeymen, yet it successfully supplied the local community throughout the Revolutionary War. A 1779 advertisement confirms he also traded iron and Jersey nail rods for cash or country produce.
Sources
Burke, William. Memoir of William Burke: A Soldier of the Revolution, Reformed from Intemperance, and for Many Years a Consistent and Devoted Christian; Carefully Prepared from a Journal Kept by Himself; to Which Is Added, an Extract from a Sermon Preached at His Funeral, by Rev. Nathaniel Miner. Hartford, CT: Case, Tiffany, 1837.