Several weeks ago I acquired an 18s Illinois Model 1 "Dean" pocket watch. It was rough as can be--bad dial, bad crystal, bad non-working and moldy movement, the works. I sent it off to Paul Trombley for restoration, with no real expectation that it would ever end up looking nice. Since it is a very scarce movement, I would have been happy just to have it run.

Below are pictures of the dial and movement after Paul got through with them. The restoration is exceptional in its own right. But what makes this truly amazing is that Paul did this in between rounds of chemotherapy.

For those of you who are not yet aware, Paul has been diagnosed with small cell lung cancer. The cancer has metastasized to his liver, and he is being aggressively treated by the good doctors at Balboa and UCSD. Prognosis remains uncertain at this point, but Paul is in good spirits and taking things one day at a time. Please join me in keeping Paul in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult and challenging time. And in the meantime, check out Paul's handiwork below.

Dean Dial:

Dean Movement:

Great job by a great man! He will be in my thoughts
and prayers.
Roger

That is beautiful work. Bro Paul will certainly be in my prayers.

Thanks Michael,

Beautiful work too Paul. We miss your contributions here lately. We'll be praying for a complete recovery. God's got it!

Dave

Thanks to all,

In regards to this watch, I got real attached to the story about the pedigree and welcomed the opportunity for a distraction from my daily woes.

Mike, can you link to the post on the pedigree?

I'll post an update on my life situation in the personal section.

R/Paul-T

Paul,

The fascinating background information on the watch that you and I discussed came from an undated newspaper article from the Hagerstown (Indiana) Xponent. The seller included the article in his listing for the watch. I cannot reproduce the article in a large enough format to be readable here, so I'll just provide a narrative description. According to the article, the watch originally belonged to a pioneer named Jacob Ulrich, who was one of the founders of Hagerstown, Indiana. My research shows that Jacob was born in Pennsylvania in 1803. His ancestors were German Reform Baptists who left Germany under religious persecution, migrated in 1705 to Holland, then to England, and then to New York. They were later invited by William Penn to settle in the wilderness of Pennsylvania. Later, in or about 1826, Jacob and his family family migrated to Dayton, Ohio, and then to Wayne County, Indiana, where he was one of Hagerstown's founders.

In 1855, Jacob organized a party from Hagerstown and migrated via wagon train to Douglas County, Kansas, which at the time was a border territory that witnessed great violence between factions of the North and the South leading up to the Civil War. Jacob built a home there near Lawrence, Kansas and became a leading citizen. He organized the first Brethren (Dunker) church of Kansas, and was friends with, among others, the famous anti-slavery crusader John Brown, who was a frequent guest at Jacob's house.

In August of 1863, a band of outlaws led by the pro-slavery guerilla William C. Quantrill entered Lawrence, killing men and burning property. The band then rode south past the Ulrich home. Jacob was just recovering from typhoid fever at the time. The family was warned of the outlaws' approach and hid in the nearby woods, watching the outlaws burn all of their property and stock. Jacob did not recover from the incident and died in December of 1863. He was survived by his wife and 10 children, including his son Benjamin.

In 1932, a family reunion was held in Hagerstown to celebrate the town's Centennial. Benjamin, by this time well advanced in years, attended the reunion with the Dean in hand. The newspaper article reported that family members believed that the watch had belonged to Jacob. But I don't think that can be right. It is well established that the Springfield Watch Company (later the Illinois Springfield Watch Company and then the Illinois Watch Company) was not established until 1869 and did not begin producing pocket watches until the early 1870s. W.T. Dean was the company's original die maker. And factory records indicate that the Dean was probably not manufactured until ca. 1876, 13 years after Jacob died. My best guess is that Jacob's son Benjamin was the original owner of the watch.

In his listing for the watch, the seller focused on its history and did not specifically identify the model or grade. But a close look at the photos showed it was a "Dean." My research indicates that a total of only 1700 Deans were produced in two runs in 1876 and 1877. I've also heard tell that there was another run of 300 "transitional" pieces, but I'm not sure about that. In any event, both the provenance and scarcity of the watch make it a desirable piece. But the most valuable part to me is the circumstances under which it was restored. Thank you, Paul.

Mike