Thomas GAUNT, jeweller & watchmaker

[woodstockaus]

My great-great-grandfather, Thomas GAUNT (1829-1890) was a successful jeweller, optician, watch and clock maker and maker of Church plate in Melbourne, Australia. I've been told that he also had shops in London and York. Can anyone please verify this for me? (BTW, the business continued after his death until the 1970s). Business names were T. Gaunt until 1893 and then T. Gaunt & Co. Thanks.

[stanmapstone]

You could try the trade directories at http://www.historicaldirectories.org/hd/

Stan

[woodstockaus]

Thanks, Stan. I've spent a fair bit of time going through the directories for York and London in the 1870s, 80s and 90s but not found any record of shops owned by Thomas Gaunt. Either my informant was mistaken or perhaps the British shops happened after the turn of the century. Looks as if this line of inquiry might have to go down as "not verified" for the time being, but thanks for the suggestion.

[cpatrick]

Hello, My great great grandfather was also Thomas Gaunt! My mother's father's father (William Stanislaus Spillane from Limerick) was married to Cecilia Gaunt, Thomas's daughter.
I have found out some info about Thomas's business in Melbourne, but have not heard of any businesses he had elsewhere. I have wondered if his father was a watchmaker in the UK - have you found any info about this.
I look forward to hearing from you

[woodstockaus]

Hi - I'm just wondering which of Cecilia & William's children you are descended from - maybe Ernest? Anyway, in answer to your question I've found out that Thomas' father (also Thomas) was listed on several of the children's birth registrations as a clock case maker - which I think would have been more related to wood and metal working than to being a jeweller/clockmaker. Many years later, on Thomas' death certificate his father's occupation was given as an organ builder so presumably he had more than one occupation over time.

[cpatrick]

Hi, Thanks for your reply. This is the first time I've responded on a RootsChat forum, and I was lucky to find your initial message.
My maternal grandfather was Reginald Spillane (William and Cecilia's 4th child), who died in a boating accident on Boxing Day 1938, along with 2 of his sons, a brother-in-law and my mother's then-fiance. A great tragedy.
My brother told me the other day that he found a T. Gaunt clock for sale in a local store - it would be great to have, but it was quite a bit out of my price range! I have a copy of Thomas Gaunt's Will and also have seen a newspaper article which seems to contradict the Will. Do you know about the proceeds from his estate?
I've been using MyHeritage as a tree builder for the last 18 months, and am progressing with building up the tree. I look forward to hearing about our connection in the larger family.
Cheers,
Patrick

[woodstockaus]

Hi Patrick
The boating accident was actually influential in bringing about the introduction of telescopes into the Victorian life-saving clubs because it was found that the inability to see the situation from the shore had been a significant factor in the tragedy.

Re Thomas Gaunt's estate, I believe that the answer to the confusion lies in the timing of the reports. When Gaunt died in 1890 his estate was valued quite highly. The will allowed the executors to continue running the company, which they did, with the expectation of being able to sell it (and the other assets) in due time and at the prices as valued. The problem was that the Land Boom ended in late 1892-early 1893. This put Victoria into recession and meant that the estate was suddenly much less valuable. It was declared insolvent because the assets couldn't be realised, but in fact they were eventually sold for more than the value of the outstanding debts.

[cpatrick]

Thanks for the information. It now makes sense re: the Gaunt estate.
Regarding the drownings, I've seen newspaper articles from The Argus but did not know about the subsequent use of telescopes. Thanks for that info.
I'm wondering what connection you have with the Spillanes.

Cheers,
Patrick

[mcteese]

Dear Patrick,

Thank you for your query re Thomas Gaunt of Gaunt and Company, Jewellers. My connection with your ancestor is through my maternal great grand-father, Henry William Vanheems who trained with him and quite rapidly became trustee of the company. It interests me that you have a copy of Thomas Gaunt's will, as Henry, who replaced Thomas as manager, was also co-executor of his will. This is, at least, my understanding. Would you be so kind as to confirm that Henry Vanheems was one of the executors i.e. his name appears on the will. Also, I should love to have a scanned copy of Thomas' will, if that would be possible.  As to evidence of Thomas Gaunt having businesses in London, this may not have been the case and that his reputation for outstanding craftsmanship appears to have dated from his arrival in Melbourne, Australia in 1868. I would be most grateful if we could correspond, as I have other information regarding Thomas Gaunt which may be of interest to you.   Yours sincerely, Robin Teese (mother: Veronica Victoria Vanheems)