My children do not have any memories of Goshen. What I call my grandmother’s house was sold in 1990 after 180 years in the family. Windywalls. True homes in New England all have names, and a house becomes a home only after a birth, a marriage and a funeral take place within their walls. Family history can both ground one’s sense of self and be a constraint on potential. My children are wonderfully free of any history except their own.
Material fragments nevertheless remain with this provenance.
Meerschaum Pipe
According to Ernie Barker the pipe belonged to my great-grandfather Dr. Barker who received it as a graduation gift from Yale.
But his elder brother Anthony Barker was skeptical. Dr. Barker had tuberculosis and was a non-smoker. Tony concluded it was probably a racy novelty that (their father, my grandfather) Haworth Barker would have found interesting when he started smoking and its quality is such that it probably was a wedding gift from his friend Lionel Moore. They both smoked on the sly. “At any rate, it was among my father’s possessions when I was a boy–and I coveted it then–and smoked it once or twice on the sly. So, I would say that my DNA is also part of its provenance.”
Mason Watch Fob
Frederick A. Lucas, a Mason of Darius Chapter No. 16, Litchfield, Connecticut, wore a gold watch fob inscribed with the letters: H T W S S T K S — Hiram, Tyrian, Widow’s Son, Sendeth to King Solomon. During the Civil War, the “brothers” of the lodge paid burial expenses for their fallen, cared for one another’s widows, and supported surviving families. The emblem was less ornament than bond: a visible reminder that ritual can outlast chaos, that fraternity once meant obligation.
The letters should be read clockwise, starting at 12 o’clock: Here the Right Worshipful Master calls the candidate’s attention to the keystone before him, by pointing out to him the initials on the stone, which he is informed read as follows: HIRAM, TYRIAN, WIDOW’S SON, SENDETH TO KING SOLOMON.
Mason Sword
The sword was manufactured by M.C. Lilley & Co. of Columbus, Ohio, the foremost American maker of military and fraternal regalia during the late nineteenth century. Its style suggests manufacture between approximately 1885 and 1905, likely after Frederick Lucas entered the Knights Templar branch of Freemasonry. Although ceremonial rather than martial, it commemorates the transition from soldier to citizen. Having survived the Civil War, Frederick carried this sword not on campaign but in ritual, where ideals of duty, fidelity, and brotherhood were enacted rather than fought.
Pierced Formations
As part of his graduation requirements for his Masters in Fine Arts, my father held a gallery show of etchings. I have only two, both artist’s proofs, and Pierced Formations has always called to me:
His later sculptures and paintings remain in Connecticut.
WATCHES
Waltham Vanguard Railroad Watch
A late-production (1941) Waltham Vanguard railroad watch in a Keystone J.B. Boss gold-filled case. Although I know of no evidence connecting it directly to Frederick Lucas, my father carried it, together with Frederick’s Masonic fob, while portraying our ancestor during historical lectures throughout Connecticut. It became part of the performance of memory itself.
Provenance is often layered. The watch’s first owner is unknown. Its second life, as my father’s lecture watch, is documented by photographs and memory. That history now belongs to our family.
Girard-Perregaux Chronograph
Estimated Production: c. 1942–1946
Reference: Internal case number 25724
Movement: Girard-Perregaux signed Excelsior Park column-wheel chronograph. Calibre EP4/JB4 family, manual wind, two-register chronograph. Approximately 17 jewels, Column wheel, Breguet overcoil hairspring, Screwed balance, Jumping minute recorder (“sautoir”)
Case Material: Stainless steel, snap-back, marked Fond Acier Inoxydable
Diameter: Approximately 35–36 mm
Dial: Cream, Arabic numerals, blue tachymeter scale, red telemeter scale, leaf hands. Likely professionally refinished.
Eterna-Matic
Model: Eterna-Matic Automatic (need movement inspection)
Estimated Production Date: c. 1955-1958
Country: Switzerland
Movement: likely Eterna Cal. 1412U / 1414U family (to be confirmed)
Case: Stainless steel
Diameter: Approximately 34-25 mm
Lug Width: 17 mm
Dial: Original silver sunburst with applied Arabic numerals and faceted indices
Hands: Dauphine
Lume: Presumed original radium
Omega Seamaster Diver 300M
Reference: 233.30.41.21.01.001
Production date: 2014
Movement: Omega Caliber 8400
Serial: 87585686
Escapement: George Daniels Co-Axial Escapement
Certification: Master Co-Axial (first-generation antimagnetic platform)
Case: Stainless steel
Diameter: 42 mm
Purchased in Japan, December 2025
Grand Seiko
Model: SBGM221 Elegance GMT
Movement: Grand Seiko Caliber 9S66
Frequency: 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
Accuracy: +5/-3 seconds per day (Grand Seiko Standard)
Case: Stainless steel
Diameter: 39.5 mm
Purchased in Japan, December 2025
Protective Arts 