Alvan Clark and Samuel Bemis were friends. Not sure how they met, but Clark was one of Bemis' dental patients by 1836. Clark was a famous miniaturist and later famous for telescope mirrors that he and his two sons created. Bemis and Clark (and Clark's family members) corresponded and visited each other after Bemis moved to New Hampshire in 1861. In his will Bemis left his father's slide lathe (which be claims was taken by the British on their retreat from Lexington and Concord) to Clark as he was of the opinion that only a man with Clark's technical acumen could operate it properly.
