Charles Terwilliger – A brief autobiography
from A Century of Fine Carriage Clocks 1987
Charles Terwilliger attended Phillips Exeter Academy and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and worked for many years in market research, promotion and sales in the magazine advertising field. He became interested in clocks, particularly the 400-Day Clock and, after observation and study, developed the Horolovar Temperature Compensating Suspension Spring for it, which resulted in the first improvement in the clock’s timekeeping in the 70 years since its invention. He also wrote a repair manual, the Horolovar 400-Day Clock Repair Guide, which is now in its ninth edition with accumulated sales of over 60,000 copies.
Today Mr. Terwilliger operates The Horolovar Company, largest supplier in the world of various repair aids for 400-Day Clock repairmen, and Clock Trade Enterprises, a subsidiary company, involved with other horological activities, including publishing and distributing horological books.
Mr. Terwilliger has been an active member of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors for many years and has served as an officer of the Association and as chairman of several of its national committees. He is currently a member of the editorial committee of the Association’s Bulletin, and a trustee of the NAWCC Museum in Columbia, Pennsylvania. For many years, he has been a member of several horological societies in the United States and Europe.
Epilogue
Tempus Fugit memento mori
Time passes all too quickly for us all, and Charles Terwilliger was no exception. Charles O Terwilliger, Jr, passed away February 17, 1988 after a long illness. Robert Terwilliger, the author of his father’s biography, included many details of his father’s life and accomplishments, but only cursorily mention his passing in the biography. Unfortunately Robert did not see the completion of his work before his own passing (definitive proof of his passing has not yet been found although it was mentioned in an article in 2022 on Watch Wiki ). In addition, it is known that all the remaining immediate members of his family, including his spouse, Roberta and daughter Anne T Olsen have passed away. As mentioned in Robert’s bio, he did not find a permanent online home for his fathers biography before his passing. However, thankfully we have been able to accomplish this as you can see.
From a newspaper obituary we learn:
Charles O. Terwilliger Jr., a clock collector and longtime Bronxville resident, died Feb. 17 at Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville after a long illness. He was 79.
The Herald Statesman Yonkers, New York · Wednesday, February 24, 1988 page 4.
Mr. Terwilliger worked in advertising with the now-defunct firm of McFadden Bartell in New York City for more than 30 years. He retired around 1973.
An avid collector of timepieces, Mr. Terwilliger was an active member of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors and a trustee of its museum, located in Columbia, Pa. He was a founder and president of the Horolovar Co. – a clock parts manufacturer and Clock Trade Enterprises.
He was also the author of the “Horolovar 400 Day Clock and Repair Guide” and “A Century of Fine Carriage Clocks.”
Mr. Terwilliger was born March 22, 1908, to Charles and Josephine Badaw Terwilliger in Pawtucket, R.I.
He spent his early years in Beacon, N.Y.
Mr. Terwilliger graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, N.H., around 1926 and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the early 1930s.
He married Roberta Thornburg on Dec. 15, 1934, in New York City.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Anne T. Olsen of Laramie, Wyo.; and a son, Robert F. Terwilliger of Coconut Grove, Fla.
The Charles Terwilliger Estate
On March 11, 1989 at 10 a.m. the auction of the Estate of Charles Terwilliger, consisting primarily of his clocks, took place in Bolton, MA. by Skinner, Inc Auctioneers & Appraisers as detailed in an advertisement from The Boston Globe, Sun, Mar 05, 1989.
The legacy of Charles O Terwilliger, Jr, hero of horology, lives on in The Horolovar Company, the continued prominence of the 400 Day Clock Repair Guide, and his other written works consulted by collectors world wide, and through his clock reproductions, which remain highly collectable.
The Beginning ⚬ Horolovar Spring ⚬ The 70s and 80s ⚬ Epilogue
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