Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object ID # |
1961.064.010 |
Object Name |
Chain, Watch |
Title |
Hairwork Watch Chain |
Lexicon category |
3: Personal Artifacts |
Date |
19th-century |
Made |
Unknown |
Place of Origin |
Unknown |
Description |
Human hair watch chain (hair is black) with tarnished gold-coloured clasp at one end and tarnished toggle at the other end. The clasp is a swivel spring snap-style fitting. The hairwork is densely and plainly woven, compared to some hairwork watch chains. |
Provenance |
The hairwork watch chain might date to the 1850s. It belonged to a male in either the McKinley or Penner families of Grey County, Ontario. The McKinleys were Scottish, and had settled in Sydenham Township, Grey County. The Penners had an Irish origin, and settled in Sullivan Township. Subsquently owned by Beatrice McDonald (née McKinley), who was married to Peter McDonald, and lived in Grey County. Beatrice McDonald later lived at Chatsworth, Ontario. She likely was also related to Wm. McKinley Sr. (b. 1819 in Scotland) and his wife Beatrice McKinley (b. 1829 in Scotland). This older couple had emigrated in 1856. They were in the 1901 census, as were her parents. |
Collection |
Jewellery, 19th-c Collection |
Material |
Hair, Human/Brass/Gold? |
Dimensions |
W-3.5 L-21.5 cm |
Found |
Grey County, Ontario |
People |
McDonald, Peter McKinley, William Penner, William |
Function |
A watch chain was used for decoration, and also to help a man keep his pocket watch from getting lost. The small bar at one end was put into a buttonhole (of his vest) to help anchor the watch to his clothing. Hairwork jewellery and watch chains were popular craft items to make in the Victorian era. The fittings would be purchased, and sometimes were gold. Hairwork was usually a feminine craft. |