The pocket watch of the Lake Michigan shipwreck in 1860 returns to the hometown of British politicians
When Mrs. Elgin sank in Lake Michigan in 1860, British journalist and politician Herbert Ingram was lost, but 165 years later, his pocket watch returned home.
The ship soon fell on September 8, 1860, when it collided with a schooner in a storm in Winnetka, Illinois, killing more than 300 people, and many were unable to reach the lifeboat before it landed.
Ingram and his son both died on the sunken man, his gold watch with them.
After sinking, Ingram's body was restored and he was sent back to England and buried in his hometown of Boston, Lincolnshire.
Mysterious 18th-century warship found at ground zero to acquire new home
In 1860, when Mrs. Elgin sank in Lake Michigan, British journalist and politician Herbert Ingram died in depth, but 165 years later, his pocket watch returned home. (WXMI)
The pocket watch was discovered by divers in 1992, but remained in the United States until May when it was sent to historians for inspection.
Back in 1992, when my team recorded Mrs. Elkin’s body, scattered over a mile from the bottom of the lake, other divers were visiting the site,” Valerie Van Heest, co-founder of the Michigan Shipwreck Research Association, told Fox 17.
She added that Ingram was “a member of the Parliament. He was also the founder of Illustration News in London, which was the first time the image was printed in the newspaper. So he was indeed the founder of Painting News.”
Van Heest told BBC News that she soon realized that the watch “does not belong to the United States. It belongs to Boston, England, where Herbert Ingram comes from, and his statue still stands.”
Titanic passenger's postcards sold for several days at the sinking auction
Mrs. Elgin sinks the day before the Pier Pier in Chicago. (Photo12/Universal Image Group via Getty Images)
According to People, experts say that due to the cold and low oxygen environment of the lake, the watch is in relatively good condition on the lake.
Ingram is celebrated for his “favorite son” in the small town of Lincolnshire where he was born and buried, where his statue stands.
Van Fleet bought the watch and donated it to the Boston Municipal Museum, which happened to have an exhibition in Ingram at the time.
“They don't have any artifacts on their body, and here I offer not only artifacts, but Herbert Ingram's personal watches,” Van Heest said. “It was an extraordinary, accidental event.”
“The fact that a small number of his people returned to his hometown was really special,” Sarah Sharpe, a member of the Boston Borough Council, told the BBC.
The watch was sent back to Herbert Ingram's hometown of Boston, England, where he remains one of its most influential figures. (Photo of SSPL/Getty Images)
The museum celebrated the return of the watch on May 24, calling it a “day to remember.”
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“Today, Boston gathers together to honor the life and legacy of Herbert Ingram – a journalist, a reformer, and one of the most influential figures in our town – as his long-standing gold form recovered from the wreckage of Mrs. Elgin,” the museum wrote on Facebook. “From the private tribute on his grave, to the ritual handover of Ingram Memorial, to the powerful story shared by Gill Hall, Boston – every moment is filled with reflection, pride and awe.”
The museum added: “Thanks to everyone who joined us today – personally and spiritually. Boston's history is still alive and ticking.”
