HI Bill, Thank you for the story, they are the things that make genealogy so interesting. Let me tell the story of another watch. A few years ago I discovered the address of my great Uncle's daughter in Andover, MA. She is now 93. Three or four times a year I would visit and still do. On about the third visit she told me the story of my grandfather's brother Uncle Eddie. He died in his 40's but what an interesting life Edward Mercier had. He became blind when in his 20's or 30's the result of sylphilis I'm told. He was before antibiotics remember. Handsome debonair man he was he went on with life and worked in the Broom factory that the blind had for income for the blind. Remember the brooms they took around door to door and sold? Anyway she pulls out a writs watch whcih she says she supposeds isn't worth much but wondered if I could get it repaired. I told her I knew a man in Candia who did repairs and brought it home. It wasa beautiful watch which he had given to the kind woman who took him into her home and let him board there. Her daughter took the watch when she died and so my great Uncle George asked her could he have it, she sold it to him. I just hung around and came from his estate to his daughters till I was shown the piece and asked did I think it could be repaired. The watch repairman said it was a 17 jewel watch and white gold with an intricate design. He cleaned it and it ran fine. The jewels were rubies and emeralds, very tiny but he took the back off and showed me each one. I never knew what they meant when they said 15 jewel watch and that there were really jewels. He told me that he had to ask a friend to clean it because he no longer had the tools to do it. I forgot to mention he was very french and had retired to live in Candia near his children and did mostly clocks, coo-coo clocks. Anyway I paid to have it repaired and returned it with great longing for ownership because again it is a part of the family and I no had the story. When I gave her the watch I was thinking how I could have been a theif and taken it and never gone back but she had trusted me and the happiness she had made me feel good. She started talking about how she and Uncle Eddie were republicans in Massachusetts when it wasn't a very big party. How she became the secretaruy and he ran for the Senate and nearly won. So for a simple kindness I gained a beautiful relative friend and store of historical stories about the family lost to each other through their mother's death in 1894. Harriet in NH ----- Original Message ----- From: William F Kane To: ACGSTalk@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 11:48 AM Subject: Re: [TalkACGS] Probate Treasure Hunt What happened to the watch. It could have gone through many hands since 1920. I just inherited two watches one of which is a man's gold retirement watch. This I know was my great uncle's who died in 1935. His wife had already died and they had no children. He gave it to his sister, my grandmother. When she died it went to my aunt. when she died it went to my cousin. She just died and I inherited it. I took it to a jeweler to see what I could find out about it. It seems it is not gold but rather gold filled and he told me most of those retirement watches were gold filled and are now not worth much on the market. Also it was pretty much beyond repair, I could have it cleaned but it would probably not work very well again. I am keeping it because it has sentimental value to me and I have it in a little glass case on my bureau. The other watch I inherited was a womens gold pocket watch that was my aunt's. The jeweler said that this one was real gold and in good working order (just needs a cleaning). He put a retail value on it at about $1500. We will do this and someone in the family will get it to wear on a chain. Problem is who. Your watch might have also had a circuitous life. Let us hope that it hasn't been thrown away by someone who said what am I doing holding on to this old thing or someone who pawned it for a few bucks. Good luck to you in your search as I know it holds much sentimental value to you. Bill Kane Community email addresses: Post message: ACGSTalk@Yahoogroups.com Subscribe: ACGSTalk-subscribe@Yahoogroups.com Unsubscribe: ACGSTalk-unsubscribe@Yahoogroups.com List owner: ACGSTalk-owner@Yahoogroups.com Shortcut URL to this page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ACGSTalk Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ACGSTalk/ b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ACGSTalk-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.