On Track of F.A. Jones

I've been asked to write a short article on F.A. Jones. The general story of the founder of IWC is well-known, and I don't want to simply recast what's written before. So I decided to engage in some original research, even if I'm not sure yet how all this will fit within the article.

But I've uncovered a treasure trove of original documents. I even have a lead to his (undiscovered) gravesite and also a possible Civil War photo. But for right now I thought I'd share his Passport Application from January 16, 1869 --right before he left for Schaffhausen. Here it is:

If you can read the fine print, you'll notice that he was 28 years old, 5 feet nine inches tall, with blue eyes and brown hair.

Hi Mike,

I was tempted to enlist you to go to Mt. Auburn Cemetery, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Jones was purportedly buried there, but I've done additional research. His remains were interred there on 21 October 1916 but by cremation. So there's no headstone after all. And interestingly his widow, Susan was neither buried nor cremated there when she died a few years later.

I didn't bother to look up Kidder's passport but I have been told that his was issued at the same time.

For those unaware, Kidder and Jones both went together to Schaffhausen before the founding of IWC. Kidder went back to the States, where he became head of Cornell Watch Co. in Chicago, which then moved to the West Coast of U.S. Cornell pocket watches are quite nice, relatively uncommon and highly prized.

One more teaser. I uncovered this notice in an 1881 issue of the New York Times, and to my knowledge this important fact about Jones' life, especially after he returned from his failed venture in Switzerland, was never known previously.

I have checked and believe that the underlying court records may not be available, but also I believe this is "our" Florentine A. Jones --I can find no other person with the same name in the U.S. census at that time.

Thanks, Thomas. I must tell you (and others) that your chapter in the Jones book (F.A. Jones --His Life, Legacy and Watches) is an incredible example of in-depth historical research. I marvel as I read and reread it.

One picky-picky point...on page 60 of the English language edition you wrote that he filed for bankruptcy in Dayton, Ohio. I believe it was in the Southern District of New York and Robert A. B. Dayton was the "assignee". That's not the clerk or judge, but rather like a "trustee" appointed by the court --usually a lawyer in private practice whose task is to collect the assets, liquidate them and satisfy creditors according to their bankruptcy preferences.