Founder of the "Waltham Watch Company"

Son of General James Appleton
Find A Grave Memorial #32491161

1st Spouse - Julia Randall m. 1853 Find A Grave Memorial #32491192
2nd Spouse – Susan Cowles m. 1889 Find A Grave Memorial #32491209

"Daniel Fuller Appleton, merchant, was born in Marblehead, Mass., in 1826, son of General James and Sarah (Fuller) Appleton. His first American ancestor was Samuel Appleton, who came from England in 1635 and settled in Ipswich, Mass., on land still in possession of the family, being occupied by the subject of this sketch, at the time of his death, as a summer home. Samuel Appleton was the ancestor of all of the name in New England, among whom have been some that became distinguished in the State of Maine, notably, the Hon. John Appleton of Portland, member of Congress and United States ministry to Russia; Rev. Jesse Appleton, D. D., second president of Bowdoin College, and Chief Justice Appleton of Bangor. General James Appleton, the father of our subject, removed from Marblehead to Portland in 1833. He became actively interested in politics, was several times the candidate for governor of the old Liberty party, the forerunner of the Republican organization, and was a conspicuous advocate of anti-slavery and of temperance. He was an especially determined advocate of prohibition as applied to the liquor traffic and was the first man anywhere to propose and propagate that principle— first by petition to the legislature of Massachusetts in 1831, and afterward, in 1837, by a report to the Maine legislature, of which he was then a member. Daniel F. Appleton was educated in the public schools of Portland and, best of all, in his own home. His is the old story of a young man leaving home at the age of twenty-one, with an ambition to do the best he could to rise in the world and make as much of fortune as the opportunities of the great city of New York would afford. Although he was without money and had no friends there who could assist him, he had not much trouble nor many difficulties in getting a start. After employment for a few months with a concern that soon went out of business, he answered the advertisement for a clerk of Royal E. Robbins, an importer of watches, by whom his application was at once accepted. His connection with Mr. Robbins continued from that day to the time of Mr. Robbins' death, he having been admitted after a few years to a partnership in the business, forming the firm of Robbins & Appleton, which firm in 1857 became the owners of the then young and small watch works at Waltham, Mass. The firm soon after organized and established the American Waltham Watch Company, which business they have conducted continuously ever since. To the advancement and. success of that business Mr. Appleton gave his constant and active attention. In the earlier years of the company's existence, his energies were mainly devoted to the selling of the product and it was through his activity and great ability that the American watch was successfully placed before the buying public all over the world. It is a remarkable incident that he, with Mr. Robbins and his younger brother, Henry A. Robbins, continued together in the same business actively for forty-nine, years. It is to be noted that Mr. Appleton was content to begin and continue in the business of a watchmaker, in which he was brought up in the store of his elder brother, Tames, in Portland; and that he sought to enlarge and develop that business until his concern became the greatest watchmakers in the world. Mr. Appleton, though he never sought office, had been at times active in the councils of the Republican party, to which he came by evolution from the old Liberty party. He was a member of the first national convention of that party, held in Philadelphia in 1856, when General Fremont was nominated for the presidency, and has ever since given his active and earnest support to the party. Of all the many New England boys who have come to New York to seek their fortune, and have contributed so much to the welfare and glory in many professions of that great city of their adoption, not many have attained a more prominent social position or a higher commercial standing than the subject of this sketch. He was one of the founders of the Union League Club of New York, and at one time its vice-president; a member of the Century, Metropolitan, Grolier and various other club organizations, and served as president of the New England Society of the city of New York in 1878-9. Mr. Appleton died on Friday, February 10, 1904, at his residence, 28 E. Thirty-sixth street, New York, in his 78th year. Mr. Appleton was twice married, first in 1853 to Julia Randall, and second in 1889 to Susan Cowles. He has three sons and two daughters: Francis Randall (Find A Grave Memorial #32491188), Randolph Morgan and James Waldingfield Appleton; Mrs. Gerald Livingston Hoyt of New York and Mrs. Charles S. Tuckerman of Boston."
History of the Waltham Watch Company

Photo
"NOTABLE NEW YORKERS"
Circa 1896-1899
Personal Collection

Photo by Abbie Benfield, July 2022

Photo by Abbie Benfield, July 2022

Photo by Abbie Benfield, July 2022