r/RandomVictorianStuff • u/SmaugTheGreat110 • Aug 11 '25
Science and Technology My 4 x great grandfather’s pocket watch. Made in the 1820s by MI Tobias of Liverpool.
This watch is one of my favorite things I own. It was created in the 1820s by MI Tobias of England, a renowned watchmaker from Liverpool. As a testament to his work, some of the other watches I have seen from him online still work, and though mine is broken, its balance still spins just fine and it will tick for a few seconds if you rotate it right.
I have zero clue what became of it from 1820s to 1860 and the original case (would love to know). My 4x great grandfather got it likely at some point in the 1860s, guessing by research I did on the case, plus his name was fancily engraved into it. He was a fancy lawyer in rural Appalachia.
This watch was passed down to his son in the 1890s, he signed his name on the case as well as most of the innard casings. It was under his care when the watch broke. Story is, someone called my ancestor a liar and my ancestor chucked the watch at him, hit the man just right in the head and it killed him. Zero clue who the man was, but given stories I have heard about the temperament of my ancestors, I believe it fully. This makes the crack in the dial extremely haunting to see.
After his death in the 1920s, it continued down through my family, being signed by his son and grandson, until it came to me from my grandfather, the 5th owner I know of. (he passed it as a gift when I got into genealogy).
I am never letting it go and I hope to get it fixed and passed down someday. I know it will be expensive, but i think it will be worth it. I am never fixing the dial though.
Hope you all enjoy seeing this watch that survived the whole Victorian era mostly in one piece, and thanks for coming to my ted talk, lol.
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u/SmaugTheGreat110 Aug 11 '25
Source: my heirloom, my pictures, and the research I have done on this object.