John McLean Jr - His Silver Watch

This silver watch was given to me by my grandmother, Katie Emma (Griffin) McLean in about 1955.

• The watch belonged to my gg grandfather, John McLean Jr. and was deeded to his widow Mary E (Crawford) McLean at the division of his property in 1866.
• Mary pass it on to to her eldest son, Quincy at her death in 1873.
• Quincy passed on to his wife Sarah at his death in 1885.
• Sarah passed it on to her son Robert Baron McLean at her death in 1889.
• Robert Baron passed it on to his wife Katie at his death in 1954.
• My grandmother Katie Emma gave me the watch in 1955.

I had the watch evaluated by the antique expert, Erik Iskin at Olde Towne Jewlers in Santa Rosa, California.  He describes the watch:

• The movement was made in England in about 1820 plus or minus about 6 years by T. Bolton of 49 Gray's Inn Lane, London, England.
• The watch case is stamped with a capital T which means a manufacture date of 1814.
• The watch is a chain driven verge fusee movement with porcelain dial and sterling silver case.
• The case inscription was likely done in America by a silversmith.

I believe that John Jr ordered this watch from John McLean, Silversmith (no relative) and that Silversmith would have done the ingraving.

This is the current home of the Condor Cycles shop.

So now this watch is 191 years old and has passed through six generations of McLeans. To me this makes these ancestors I've never met come to life.