David Kendall

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David Kendall

Pioneer Instrument Maker & Co-Founder

No confirmed archival portrait known to exist.

Born: c. 1816 • New Lebanon, NY

Parents: Thomas Kendall Jr.

Craft: Thermometers & Barometers

Role: Co-Founder (1851–1853)

Firm: Kendall & Taylor

David Kendall (c. 1816–?) was an American precision instrument artisan whose mastery of glass tube calibration and thermometer manufacturing provided the foundational technical craft behind Kendall & Taylor (1851), the direct precursor to the Taylor Instrument Companies.

Early Life & The Kendall Dynasty

David was born into one of the earliest and most respected precision thermometer-making families in the United States. He was the son of **Thomas Kendall Jr.** (1786–1831) of New Lebanon, New York, an inventor and machinist recognized as a pioneer of early American thermometry.

In the 1820s, Thomas Kendall Jr. engineered proprietary graduating machines capable of calibrating hand-ruled scales to the microscopic irregularities of glass tube bores. After Thomas Jr.'s death in 1831, the family enterprise continued under David's brother, **John Kendall** (1810–1892), operating as the renowned Kendall Shop in New Lebanon well into the late 19th century.

Growing up in this workshop environment, David mastered every facet of the trade, including glass tube manipulation, mercury purification and bulb filling, and precision hand graduation.

Founding Kendall & Taylor (1851)

In 1851, at approximately 35 years of age, David Kendall relocated to Rochester, New York, bringing with him his specialized hand tools, craft secrets, and an initial inventory of instrument supplies valued around $600.

In November 1851, Kendall partnered with a 19-year-old George Taylor to establish Kendall & Taylor. They rented a single modest room above Post's Drug Store on Exchange Street in downtown Rochester, establishing a clear and complementary division of labor:

• David Kendall (Technical Artisan): Managed all workshop production—blowing glass tubes, drawing vacuum chambers, filling them with purified mercury, calibrating degree scales, and assembling finished thermometers and mercury barometers.
• George Taylor (Business & Distribution): Oversaw company record-keeping and finances, then packed finished instruments into a wooden trunk to peddle them directly to merchants, chemists, and farm supply dealers across western New York.

Partnership Dissolution & Later Years

The venture proved immediately profitable, more than tripling its working assets within two years. Despite this success, David Kendall chose to leave the firm in 1853, selling his entire interest to George Taylor.

Taylor continued operating the business on Hill Street as a sole proprietorship, later joining forces with his brother Frank Taylor to establish Taylor Brothers and ultimately the Taylor Instrument Companies.

Following the sale:

• Kendall briefly manufactured barometers independently under his own name in Rochester.
• He subsequently moved west to Cleveland, Ohio, continuing small-scale barometer and thermometer production.
• In his later years, Kendall relocated to Michigan, where he engaged in furniture manufacturing.

Legacy

While George Taylor provided the commercial drive that scaled the business into an international corporation, David Kendall contributed the essential scientific precision, trade techniques, and New Lebanon craft heritage that made early Rochester thermometers reliable and sought after.

Archival & Reference Links

• David Kendall on The Taylor Family Tree
• Taylor Instrument Companies Historical Timeline
• Biography: George Taylor (1832–1890)