Richard Mowry (February 11, 1748 – January 24, 1835) became an Uxbridge farmer, in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States who "successfully built and marketed equipment to manufacture woolen, linen or cotton cloth", from around the time of the Revolution.
[1][2][3] Richard Mowry was born as a fifth generation descendant[3] into a family that was prominent during the 17th and 18th century in southern New England: Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.
He formally joined the society on August 25, 1778, and was apparently at the Uxbridge Quaker meeting since his children are all born in that community from that time on.
There was an iron forge at Ironstone, Massachusetts, just south of Quaker City, started by Benjamin Taft in 1734.
Mowry recorded extensive travels in New England and Central New York, and visited over 88 Quaker meetings, possibly also marketing his inventions for cider or cloth.
[3] In South Uxbridge, he bought the farm of Benjamin Archer, and with his carpenter's trade became highly proficient as a cabinet maker and working with tools.
[3] It is no doubt that with this skill set, he was able to build and market the equipment described at the outset to manufacture linens and other materials.
Richard Mowry died at age 86, on January 24, 1835, and is buried at the Friends Meeting House Cemetery (Uxbridge, Massachusetts).