after dissolution of the watch company
to carry on manufacturing, or perhaps only the assembly on a small scale
of parts previously manufactured. The _Directory_ of 1889 lists Fowle as
an accountant on Ash Street, Auburndale. He had bought this property in
1887, presumably after disposing of "Tanglewood" which now would be too
large for his needs. In the editions of 1891 and 1893 he is listed as
United States collector of internal revenue, with an office at the Post
Office building, Boston. In 1895 he appears as an accountant at the same
address and from then to his death in 1902 he is listed as an accountant
at his home address in Auburndale.

[Illustration: Figure 22 (_above_).--AUBURNDALE THERMOMETER, about 1-3/4
inches in diameter. (In author's collection.)]

Jason R. Hopkins, inventor of the first Auburndale product, passed away
in Washington late the same year, 1902, having spent all the intervening
years as a watchmaker.

-----
[41] _The Jewelers Circular and Horological Review_, July
1884.

[42] _Newton directory_, 1884-85; Crossman, _op. cit._
(footnote 8), December 1887.

[43] Records of Veterans Administration, pension application
WE 666 675 of Mary E. Fowle (widow of William B.
Fowle).

[44] Serial 926, in author's collection.

[45] _Newton directory_, 1879.

[46] Each model of watch made at Auburndale was numbered in
its own series, starting at number 1, contrary to the
usual watch factory practice where blocks of serial
numbers are assigned to different models. Other
Auburndale products seem not to have borne serial
numbers.

[47] Crossman, _op. cit._ (footnote 8), December 1887.

[48] _Ibid._

The Lesson

The life of a pioneer has always been arduous. The story we have just
reviewed illustrates this. Hopkins was a successful workman with clever
and novel ideas. Fowle had been very successful in an entirely unrelated
field. Wales had been very successful in importing and selling watches
but the watch factory which he had owned in part had failed, the fault
more probably that of the times than of the man. The various
superintendents and foremen were first-class men with ample background in
making conventional watches. At the time no one could have had experience
in manufacturing exactly the grade and type of watch being attempted, for
this was the pioneer effort.

[Illustration: Figure 23 (_right_).--AUBURND