New Arrival

For the last few months we have been anxiously waiting on the arrival of a new member of our family. We were finally alerted to the impending arrival a few days ago. Today around 10am we were able to greet the new apple of our eye. We had expected a few bumps and bruises but he is in remarkably good condition considering the rough journey he has endured over the past few months.

Mr GeniAus was overjoyed when he saw the fine unblemished body and pretty face.  Following are a  few photos I snapped of our new longcase clock shortly after his arrival. His body arrived in a big coffin size box while his head came in a smaller sturdy box.

The unwrapping

The Hood (head) was in this box

The hood is missing a finial after nearly 200 years of service

It was well cushioned in its coffin like container. The case is in remarkably good condition

A Pretty Face

The proud owner admiring the new arrival

This is the fifth clock made by Mr GeniAus' 3xGreat-Grandfather, James Gowans, that we have imported into Australia. It was purchased at an online auction in the UK early this year. 

Gowans was a clock and watchmaker in East Linton then Galashiels and perhaps Hawick in Scotland.  We have now identified the existence of 11 of clocks made by James. 

After Mr GeniAus unpacks and puts the  new clock together we will decide on its future within our family.

I blogged about James and his clocks in several previous posts. 

https://geniaus.blogspot.com/2021/04/2021-atozchallenge-o-is-forold-scottish.html

https://geniaus.blogspot.com/2019/10/number-10-new-arrival.html

https://geniaus.blogspot.com/2016/11/view-from-my-desk.html

https://geniaus.blogspot.com/2015/03/and-now-there-are-seven.html

https://geniaus.blogspot.com/2014/06/and-now-there-are-six.html

https://geniaus.blogspot.com/2010/05/tick-tock-we-think-weve-found-gowans.html

https://geniaus.blogspot.com/2010/02/james-clock.html

View from my Desk

New view from my desk

I enjoy a beautiful view from my desk out through a window to the garden but now I also have a new view straight ahead of me through an internal door. Until last Wednesday I could only see a blank wall but due to Mr GeniAus' obsession I have a pretty sight to see.

On several occasions I have blogged about Mr GeniAus' clockmaking ancestor, James Gowans (1806-1886), and our mission to find clocks made by James. We affectionately call this old chap "James the Clock". I wrote in February 2010 about James' clocks and expressed a wish that one day we would own a clock made by James.

Over the years I have devoted several posts to the  "James the Clock" saga. If you have a spare few hours you can read them, otherwise just skip over the links.

http://geniaus.blogspot.com.au/2010/02/james-clock.html 
http://geniaus.blogspot.com.au/2010/05/tick-tock-we-think-weve-found-gowans.html 
http://geniaus.blogspot.com.au/2010/11/on-road-again.html 
http://geniaus.blogspot.com.au/2010/11/2000-km-to-see-clock-was-it-worth-it.html 
http://geniaus.blogspot.com.au/2010/11/two-men-and-clock.html 
http://geniaus.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/a-4x-great-grandfather-clock.html 
http://geniaus.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/and-now-there-are-six.html
http://geniaus.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/and-now-there-are-seven.html

If you have read all the posts you will know that the cousin we met through social media had a Gowans clock with provenance; his clock has been passed down through the Gowans family. On our last visit to England in June the cousin told us that it was time for us to take the clock home. He has no offspring and decided on one of our earlier visits that, as we have four offspring and a tribe of grandchildren, the clock had a better chance of staying in the family than if it remained with him. We were thrilled that he was ready to say goodbye to the clock, we had not wanted to rush him.  On arriving home in Australia we contacted shipping agents and with the assistance of the cousin organised for the clock to join us at home.

Another plus is that the clock is a completely different style from the one that is is our living room.

Although the clock arrived on the wharf in Sydney nearly two months ago it spent some time with customs and agents and was released to make the hour's journey to our home last week. Our cousin was relieved when we told him that it had finally been delivered but wasn't so excited when I said it was in our kitchen. I reminded him that it was a very nice kitchen.

I was out when the clock arrived but Mr GeniAus unpacked it and put it together and it was ticking away beautifully by the time I got home. It bongs loudly (one couldn't call it a chime) on the half hour and hour with the midday and midnight performances being quite long. I don't mind the noise because it is such a pretty piece and lovely to look at. Take a look for yourself.

And Now there are Seven

With a team of eleven grandchildren I receive, as the family historian, requests from time to time to provide information on ancestors, family heirlooms, the olden days etc. Last year I was invited into one of the grandson's classrooms to speak aboout Family history, that was so much fun.

This morning's request is for information on our Gowans' grandfather clock.  As it is several months since I wrote about Mr GeniAus' quests to find clocks built by his ancestor James Gowans or "James the Clock" as he is affectionately known in family circles  I am updating the information I have on his clocks.

At the time of my last post we had only identified six clocks but several months ago we found  a seventh, that had a repeater movement, up for sale. Mr GeniAus signed up for the auction and submitted what we thought was a generous bid but the clock went for twice that amount. Mr GeniAus didn't feel inclined to spend a King's ransom to purchase that clock which brings the number of Gowans clocks we have found to seven.

So that my grandson can put together his story on James and his clocks I am collating a list of links to my previous posts:

http://geniaus.blogspot.com.au/2010/02/james-clock.html

http://geniaus.blogspot.com.au/2010/05/tick-tock-we-think-weve-found-gowans.html

http://geniaus.blogspot.com.au/2010/11/on-road-again.html

http://geniaus.blogspot.com.au/2010/11/2000-km-to-see-clock-was-it-worth-it.html

http://geniaus.blogspot.com.au/2010/11/two-men-and-clock.html

http://geniaus.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/a-4x-great-grandfather-clock.html

http://geniaus.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/and-now-there-are-six.html

On reviewing these posts I can see there is an omission, I can't seem to find a post about the clock we purchased in 2010.

Several months after purchase and with the help of Mr GeniAus' English cousin the clock arrived at our home in November 2010. It was a coincidence that the cousin was visiting us downunder at the time of the clock's delivery.

Surprise Packages

A Pretty Face

And a Handsome Case

We found a clock restorer who came and collected the clock and got it going for us, last year we sent the cabinet away to be refurbished. The clock which is proudly displayed in our living room is a constant reminder of our ancestry.

The Restorer installs our Clock

A Man and his Clock

The Face

Standing Proud

A 4x Great Grandfather Clock

I wrote about my husband's ancestor James the Clock several years ago and told part of the story of our search for a grandfather clock made by this Scottish watch and clock maker who worked in Linton and Galashiels.

It took Mr GeniAus eight years from when he started searching for a Gowans clock for our home until we found one, had it transported to our home and set up in our living room. Mr GeniAus is a man who doesn't give up and has been hunting for more clocks ever since that first purchase around four years ago.

To date we have identified a few Gowans clocks:

• The first one we sighted was on a UK clocks website and appeared to be in a private home.
• The second was in a distant cousin's possession in the UK, we have visited and viewed the clock.
• The third one is in the collection of  Museum Victoria in Australia. We have also visited the Museum and viewed this clock.
• The fourth is standing in our living room.
• The fifth was auctioned online last month (and guess who bought it?).

Auctioneer's photo - Clock 5

Auctioneer's photo - Clock 5

It seems as though Mr GeniAus is on a mission to locate more clocks made by James the Clock and bring them into the family fold. To that end we have listed our interests with several clock dealers and have a few Google alerts set up.

As it happens one of our children was celebrating a significant birthday this week so I suggested that we give this latest clock to him as a birthday present. By the look on their faces when they read our present IOU I think he and his wife were quite pleased with the gift that was made by his 4x Great Grandfather.

What do you think?

The birthday boy reads about his gift

I wonder how long it will be before we find our next clock.

James the Clock

"James the Clock", as we affectionately know him, is James Gowans my husband's 3rd great-grandfather.

Born in 1806 in North Berwick James grew up to be a clockmaker in East Linton (1837-1850) and Galashiels, Scotland. Since we learnt of James' trade we have been anxious to find a clock made by him. Having an object crafted by James or his son James b. 1836 , my husband's 2nd great-grandfather, would add an extra dimension to our family history. James the clock's first son, John Gowans b 1832 who emigrated to the United States was also a watchmaker .


We started searching the internet for a Gowans clock around 2002 and discovered one on a British clocks website. We willingly paid the 99p subscription to view the site and download the photos of our first "Gowans" clock find. An email to the site did not elicit an answer so we were unable to find contact details for the owner. The clock's description states " There are four handpainted 'castles' one in each corner of the dial. It has Roman numerals. In the arch it has a picture of a farm-girl carrying two pails on a shoulder yoke with a cottage in the background." The photographs are by Mike Fuss.

We would have loved to see this clock "in the flesh" on a visit to the UK but had to content ourselves with photos. Just today I paid another 99p and went back to this website to check on James' entry that had been updated in 2009, I found an inaccurate and unsourced biographical entry. I was most disappointed and sent an email off to the site.


Not long before setting out on an excursion to the UK in early 2006 a Gowans ancestor contacted us through the Genes Reunited site. After a flurry of emails in which we discovered that he had inherited a Gowans clock from an elderly aunt we made arrangements to visit him to share family history and documents and have a viewing of the clock and James the Clock's family bible.

We had a wonderful visit with my husband's 3rd cousin (1 time removed) in his charming cottage in the English countryside. We have established a friendship with him and have subsequently stayed with him on another visit. As well as the clock and bible this cousin had a photo of an elderly James the Clock (above) as well as letters and documents from later generations. Oh, to have spinster aunts who live into their nineties and are bowerbirds to boot.

We have continued to scour the internet and have made contact with clock dealers on three continents in the hope of sourcing a Gowans clock. We regularly scour auction sites in the UK. Our English cousin has been on the lookout for us and helpfully placed an advertisement in an English clock magazine. We have yet to find a clock for sale.

Early this week I did another series of searches for Gowans clocks and got a new hit. This Gowans clock is in Australia at Museum Victoria; it is only 1,000 miles away. We immediately sent off an email to the Museum outlining our relationship to the clock's maker and asking if it would be possible to view it.

I was so excited to get a response from the Museum this morning thanking me for the biographical information supplied and indicating that we may be able to visit the clock at a time to be arranged. When I have photos of this new clock I will post them on my family history website and this blog. This news will make my husband's day.

I won't give up hope....one day our clock will come.