> Following several years of declining health, Clifford died on October 10, 1821, at the age of 74. A state legislator recalled his father attending an auction in 1878 at the old Clifford home “when the last of the fourth generation of cabinetmakers sold the place.” His account includes this heartbreaking detail: “A farmer bought their old planes and tools for firewood, many of them then over 100 years old — he had to go twice with a two horse wagon to haul them home.”
Heartbreaking indeed! I imagine those planes might still be in use today with proper care.