Aaron Miller

One of the few instrument makers known to have worked in New Jersey was Aaron Miller of "Elizabeth-town." He was first noted in the New York newspapers in 1747 when he notified the public that, in addition to clocks, he made compasses, chains for surveyors, and church bells, for which he maintained his own foundry. When he died in 1771 he left all his tools to a son-in-law, Isaac Brokaw.

Miller made numerous clocks, which are highly collectible. If you Google "Aaron Miller Clocks" you will pull up a score of his clocks.

Miller's claim to surveying fame is that he invented the Miller Minute Compass - a high precision compass that could determine the bearing of an angle to a single minute. Read more about Minute Compasses here. You can also see the paper trail documenting the Miller Minute Compass below - from none other than Benjamin Franklin.

The compass shown at the top of this page is NOT a Minute Compass. No known Miller Minute Compass made by Aaron Miller is known to have survived. PLEASE let me know if you have a Minute Compass made by Aaron Miller. Thanks!