monthly archives: January 2010

This clock (with calendar) was made in the XIX century at the Ithaca Calendar Clock Co. (New York) in 1870th (see original brochure). At that time, only 3 units were imported to Oporto. This one was bought in this city at the end of the XIX century (beginning of the XX), by my great-great-great-grandfather Roberto Alves de Sousa Ferreira (b.1854-d.1920). With a law degree and a PhD, he was a lawyer and the mayor of Vila da Feira, member of Parliament and Economics Full Professor of the “Universidade do Porto”. He was a founder and administrator of the “Companhia de Gás e Electricidade do Porto”.
The other two units still belong to its original buyers: one is at the Oporto’s court law (tribunal) and the second is located on the old commercial house “Casa Daniel Barbosa” lying at Rua dos Clérigos, Porto.
The clock had three owners:
- Roberto Alves (at his lawyer office at Rua da Restauração, Porto since 1900 to 1920).
- His daughter, my great-great-aunt Branca (b.1894-d.1989), who placed it on her two houses in Gaia (Miramar and Mafamude) between 1927 and 1945 and after in Oporto (Praça Mouzinho de Albuquerque / Rotunda da Boavista) since 1945 to 1989.
- Since my aunt died (1989) the clock is in our home, in Braga =)
Inside the clock, there are three stamps of three repairs made in Oporto. Later, it was cleaned and tuned at the “Relojoaria Maurício Queiroz”, Braga.

The house in the photo is “Casa da Quinta da Cruz”, Vila da Feira, and it belonged to José Alves de Sousa Ferreira, father of Roberto Alves. Beyond all his work, Roberto Alves was also a photographer and had a wonderful collection of cameras (now I know the origin of the photographer genes of the family! :)