This Is So Cool!

As a genealogist, I take notice of articles about ancestry. This is especially true when I hear one about someone confirming something he/she has heard about an ancestor all their life but was just short of proving it. I saw this article on http://www.foxnews.com/ and thought I would share it with you.

This is a story about Jonathan Dillon who was a watchmaker on Pennsylvania Avenue. Dillon was in his shop in 1861 holding the pocket watch of President Abraham Lincoln. It was at that time that Dillon heard that the Civil War had begun in South Carolina. The watchmaker's story doesn't sound too eventful up to this point but his actions after he heard about the war makes all of this interesting.

A story had been passed down from generation to generation that Dillon had inscribed something inside of Lincoln's watch. In fact, Dillon went to the press in 1906 and told them his story. A reporter published the story at that time but still no proof of the inscription had ever been found. Proving it was not really pursued and it just became "family talk".

Finally, Doug Stiles, the great-great grandson of Jonathan Dillon decided to tackle the task of proving what he had heard in "family talk". He went on the Internet and found the story published by the New York Times in 1906. He passed the information along to the curators at the Smithsonian. Evidently, the curators thought it might be worth a look.

So, on March 10th, Abraham Lincoln's pocket watch was opened at the National Museum of American History by George Thomas, a watchmaker who volunteers at the museum. Mr. Stiles was invited to come up and read what his great-great grandfather had inscribed inside the watch. Part of the inscription reported in the article I read states:

" ' Jonathan Dillon April 13-1861,

Fort Sumpter was attacked by the rebels

on the above date' ". Another part reads,

" ' Thank God we have a government' ".

I can only imagine the joy and pride Mr. Stiles must have felt. He had finally proven that the inscription "legend" was not a legend; instead, his diligence was rewarded with a proven fact.

The watch went back on display but now it is accompanied by the story of Jonathan Dillon and a photo of the inscription.