Enjoy this bit of good news!
The FBI and the National Park Service have made a historic announcement.
Theodore Roosevelt's 126-year-old pocket watch, a significant artifact from his life, has been returned to his New York home after almost 40 years since it was stolen.
Roosevelt received the watch from his sister, Corinne Roosevelt Robinson, and his brother-in-law, Douglas Robinson Jr., just before heading to the Spanish-American War in Cuba in 1898.
According to the park service, inside the silver Waltham 17 jewel pocket watch is an inscription that reads, "THEODORE ROOSEVELT FROM D.R. AND C.R.R."
Courtesy of National Park ServiceCourtesy of National Park Service
The watch was only rediscovered after it ended up in the hands of a Florida auctioneer and was estimated to be worth $100,000-$200,000. After some research, the auctioneer realized he was holding an extremely unique piece of history, which must have been the watch stolen back in 1987.
Talk about a lucky find! (Although the auctioneer must have been disappointed that he wouldn't be raking in $100-$200k on this one.)
Once the auctioneer figured out the watch's true significance, he contacted the historical sites and the park service before the FBI got involved.
The watch was kept as a keepsake after the 26th president died in 1919 and was later given to the park service to be displayed at the Sagamore Hill National Historic Site on Long Island. In 1971, it was loaned to the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site in Buffalo, New York.
Then, on July 21, 1987, the watch was stolen from the display at the Ansley Wilcox House in Buffalo.
Fast forward 36 years to last year, the watch showed up at that small Florida auction house.
According to a news release from the FBI, the watch is back in Roosevelt's home at the Sagamore Hill National Historic Site and will be publicly displayed for the next three months.
Let's just hope they've got some tight security around there!
NPS does a great job in enforcing and recovering our national property.
The repatriation of the watch would not have been possible without the close collaboration between the FBI and NPS. This partnership ensured that this historic treasure could be returned safely for future generations to enjoy.
According to park services, this shiny piece of history traveled with Roosevelt during the war, while hunting in Africa and exploring the South American Amazon.
He really seemed to love and cherish this watch. He thanked his sister and brother-in-law for the watch in an 1898 letter:
You could not have given me a more useful present than the watch; it was exactly what I wished ... thank old Douglas [D.R.] for the watch - and for his many, many kindnesses.
Later, in another letter to his brother-in-law, he again thanked him for "sending a Waltham watch" that he would use in battle to measure his "crowded hour" in Cuba.
Roosevelt even mentioned the pocket watch in his 1914 book Through The Brazilian Wilderness, writing, "One result of the swim, by the way, was that my watch, a veteran of Cuba and Africa, came to an indignant halt."
This pocket watch, which traveled all around the world with a great American president, was stolen, missing for decades, but has finally been returned home — what a great piece of history!
Now, someone, please keep a close eye on it!
P.S. Now check out our latest video 👇
