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HANNIBAL, MO. -- Hannibal historians may have another link to people who inspired Mark Twain's writings.

A 19th century clock was recently donated to the Mark Twain Museum by a relative of Laura Hawkins.

"The Mark Twain Museum has had a grandfather's clock in its collection since the 1940's. And this clock was donated by the niece of Laura Hawkins Fraiser, who's known as Becky Thatcher in the stories," Museum Curator Henry Sweets said.

Hawkins was the model of Tom Sawyer's girlfriend, Becky Thatcher, in "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer."

Workers at the Ralls County Clock Company are working to get the clock ticking again.

"The Ralls County Clock Company saw the clock and became very interested in it ,and they've offered to put the clock back in working condition, and restore the cabinets and really refurbish the clock for us," Sweets said.

"All in all, we'll take our time and really go through it. This is a big project for us," Technician Matt Walden said.

An even bigger task is finding where the clock originated.

"We'll pull all the data we can off of the movement and we'll submit it to the National Academy of Watch and Clock Collectors and get some help from them," Walden said.

It's believed the clock is about 200 years old and likely came from England.

Once workers have finished inspecting the clock and returned it to working condition, it will be returned to the Mark Twain Museum.