Here is a interesting watch I have just serviced,
Tom says it maybe in one of the meggers book, can anyone find it?

2

Chris,
It appears to be a Mdl 5, lever set, Open face, A.Lincoln, if I read the manual right.
Bill

Chris

I am not the Tom you are referring to am I?

I also show it to be a model 5 21j, lever set open face made 1910 in a run of A. Lincolns

Tom

Also P.A. Goodnough was a jeweler in Union City Erie County Pa, he was born in New York August of 1869.

Also found a son by the same name who was also a jeweler, the son was born about 1870 in NY & also did business there in Erie County Pa.

It looks like his name was Prescott A., he also was an optician & a real estate agent.

Tom

Chris

It is listed in the Meggers Gold book, Rubiyat-Goodnough, P.A.-Erie Pa. Ca 1909 16s-21j-ON5l-A5p-RRG"A.Lincoln" EA463 Page 388

Tom

Thanks Bill, Tom,

No Tom its not one you forgot about one of Tom Alderings who said it maybe fun to see if we can get more info on, it was though this may have been show in "Ehrhardt and Meggers Railroad book"
Looks like you have already got a wealth of info on it already.

Chris

I just bought a copy of the Railroad book, it should be here in the next day or two. I have never seen the book before, I was hoping it was worth getting.

The watch is nice looking, I wonder what the word Rubiyat means? I find that it is a definition used in poetry "Rubaiyat" means "quatrains" (= 4-line verses)"

Tom

Thanks to Chris for posting the images, and to Tom and Bill for the information. I've wanted to know more about this PL Illinois for some time. I did manage to contact the "Goodnough Family Association" but they weren't too helpful. Tom is our best Historian!


I still don't know why Prescott decided to add the word "Rubaiyat" to this dial. He was probably trading on the popularity of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam - a thousand year old book of Persian Poetry that was translated into English in the mid 19th century. It was pretty racy stuff in those days, and would have been well known to the good citizens of Erie County:

"A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,
A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread--and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness--
Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!"

I suspect "Rubaiyat" would also remind folks of "Ruby" - a good reference for a 21 jeweled watch. A marriage of Romance and Marketing!

"Some for the Glories of This World; and some
Sigh for the Prophet's Paradise to come;
Ah, take the Cash, and let the Credit go,
Nor heed the rumble of a distant Drum!"


Tom

Hi Tom

I like the looks of that watch. If you would like copies of the census & city directories for the Goodnough's just let me know.

Just doing another quick search, it appears PA is listed in the Sons of the American Revolution
"PRESCOTT ALVORD GOODNOUGH, Erie, Pa. (29269). Great2-grandson of Amasa Yale, private Conn. Militia; great-grandson of Jonathan Bush, Captain Nineteenth Regt. Conn. Militia."



Tom

That's great information, Tom - thanks! I would like to see those old records if you have scans of them.

Tom

Tom

I will email you the information later this evening.

Tom

Maybe it was meant to imply "poetry in motion".

Steve

Tom

I goofed up on my lunch hour search, the two Prescott's I mentioned were the same person, I don't think a 1 year old child would have a child. They are the same person. He did have a son Prescott but he was born in 1914.

Sorry about that. I am getting the census data together to email you.

Tom

Found this on Prescott's wife.

Death 10/3/1956

Goodnough, Mrs. Nellie Marker, born Sept 9, 1874, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Sinne and wife of P.A. Goodnough, passed away at her home in Erie, Oct. 3, 1956. Surviving are three daughters – Mrs. Howard Liddell, Mrs. Ulrisk Moor, and Mrs. Edward Tennenp and her husband. Burial in Evergreen Cemetery.

From reading that I would say the son P.A. Jr. did not survive to adulthood perhaps.

Tom

Looks like Prescott's father was Hendrick Trowbridge Goodenow born 16 April 1838 in Turin, Lewis, New York & died 28 July 1887 in Erie County Pa.

Note that father's name was listed as Goodenow but son is Goodnough. Prescott was born 25 August 1869 in Turin, Lewis, New York

Tom

Thanks Tom. Where do you find all this stuff!? I got the 1900 Census document you emailed - very interesting to see such detail preserved, and it's great provenance for this watch.

Tom

Hey Tom A., Tom B. is good ain't he....

Regards,
Jerry

Hi Tom

I just emailed you the 1910 census, I also have the 1920 & 1930 if you want those.

I pay to belong to several data bases where you can access records. The over 1000 railroad inspectors I got off these data bases by searching census records, city directories & news papers. It is interesting to me to find this stuff but at times I spend way too many hours searching. For the railroad inspectors I had to look at over 50,000 pages of documents.

Tom

Good Lord, Tom B., my day only has 24 hours in it, yours must have a least...42&a half....where do you find all this extra time to do that....

But, Thanks anyway, we do appreciate your abilities to research and to do it as quickly as you do....that is amazing and so are you....

Regards,
Jerry

There are many days that I spend way too much time at this, fortunately I have always hated sleeping & I have always tried to get by on only 4 hours a day. Many times I do much of my searching at 2 or 3 in the morning.

Tom

George Armstrong Custer said the same thing in his biography, Tom. He was irritated at having to spend a third of his day unconscious; he felt he "might miss something".

Oh, I don't know. Old George may have been suffering from sleep depredation when me made that fateful decision to attack a village of indians that outnumbered his forces a zillion to one.

Regards! Mark

George Custer failed to follow The 'Godfather's' advice....

Hold you friends close but your enemy's closer....

Regards,
Jerry

Tom & Chris

I got my copy of Ehrhardt & Meggers Railroad Watches & it looks like it has the same info as in the Gold book.

Page 88
Goodnough, P.A.-Erie, Pa.-Rubaiyat ca 1909
16S-21J-ON5L-A5P-RRG"A. Lincoln" EA 463 Illinois

Tom

Looking around ebay I found this small ladies swiss watch with the same name as Tom's, it also has it printed on the dial.

Tom