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Christmas Eve 2005 I sat down to read email at my home in Texas. My inbox showed a December 22 email from a person I didn’t know: "I am a watch collector and have a watch I would like you to see so please let the pictures download. This watch was originally sold by your grandpa’s jewelry store. I would like you to see the pictures. It was made between 1903 and 1904. I thought it would be nice to share this with you. This watch will still keep excellent time. Regards Rich Morris"

Unfolding before me onscreen were two photos. A clear image of a pocket watch face, with Sam’l G. Parker, Dyersburg, Tenn. just below the 12. The second photo showed the reverse of the watch, with the same inscription and a series of numbers.

My great-grandfather, Samuel G. Parker, owned a jewelry store in Dyersburg, a small town in west Tennessee near the Arkansas and Missouri borders. He was born in 1849 in Haywood County, Tennessee, the son of Nelson and Mary Parker. He learned the jewelry trade, and eventually moved to Dyersburg and opened a store bearing his name in 1873. In 1893 at age 44 Samuel married Bettie Coker, 20 years his junior. Samuel G. died in 1927 at the age of 78, and the jewelry store closed. Bettie survived him by many years, passing away at age 90 in 1960.

Even though the jewelry store was in operation for over 50 years, there were no heirlooms, be it watches, rings, silver items or the like passed down to subsequent generations. For years my mother, her five siblings and other family members, including myself, have scoured antique stores, placed ads in the local Dyersburg newspapers, and later searched Ebay and other Internet sites for a pocket watch, piece of jewelry or other remnant of Samuel’s jewelry store, without success…until Christmas eve when I received Rich Morris’ e-mail.

Looking at the photos, I was speechless, and a little bit wary. It had been a long time since I had made any inquiries about Samuel G. Parker’s jewelry store. How did this man know that I was looking? So I cautiously responded to Mr. Morris,"How did you connect me to Samuel G. Parker? Is this watch for sale?"

He promptly responded, "The world of the Internet is an amazing place. I am a member of the N.A.W.C.C., which is The National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors. Someone had a post on our message board asking for information on Elgin Jewelers Watches. I sent him all the information with the pictures and he sent me this site asking if I wanted to see where the watch was originally sold and this is what he sent me. Click on this link. /tndyer/fampics/parker-store.html.

"When you look at this picture just think this watch could be in the display case at the right of the screen where the man is standing just below him. I do sell on e-bay and have not thought of selling the watch. Since you are a family member I would sell you this watch. I do not like to sell my collection but this would be a very nice thing to keep in the family and to pass down the line. I pulled this watch out of a junk box and have had it restored. I have $175 in this watch and would sell it to you at what I have in it plus $5.50 insured postage with delivery confirmation to you. Like I say I usually do not sell my watches out of my collection and private label watches are very collectable and hard to get. Elgin did not sell many of these watches. Most private label watches were made by the Illinois Watch Company; that is why I have it in my collection. On a scale of 1 to 10 I will give this a 9; it is a very nice clean watch. Let me know if you would like to have this I will just ask for my investment back and when first contacted you had no intentions of selling it."

The weblink took me to a site I was very familiar with. It is the Dyer County Tennessee GENWEB site; in 2003 I submitted a photo of Samuel G. Parker’s jewelry store, including his biography from "A History of Dyer County", compiled in 1982 by Albert and James Hulme. The photo was taken around 1910, and shows Samuel, his two young sons, Samuel, Jr., my grandfather, Napoleon, and Samuel’s wife Bettie, as well as two men that worked at the store. My name and email address was included as the photo’s submitter.

SAMUEL G. PARKER JEWELER, DYERSBURG, TENNESSEE ca1910. From left Samuel G. Parker, unidentified man, Samuel Parker, Jr., Napoleon Parker, unidentified man, Bettie Parker, Howard Coker.

At this point, I was truly not believing what I was reading in the email. I question myself and wonder if I am really awake or is this a dream? I promptly respond to Mr. Morris’ offer with an emphatic "YES!", ask for mailing instructions, and learn that he lives in Montana.

How did a watch from west Tennessee end up in Montana? I wondered, asking Morris where he bought the watch. "I found the watch at a swap meet in California from a person that did estate sales and sold old pocket watches. After arguing with him over his asking price I stepped up to the plate. This watch was not running, had a broken balance staff and main spring; the crystal was broken so I sent it to a friend in Nevada that restored the watch. I wish I had before and after pictures to show you, you would not believe what this guy had done to the watch. It now looks almost new and it was a pile of junk in some people’s eyes. The Elgin watches with jeweler’s names are very hard to find and I knew what it was. I am so happy you decided to [take] the watch for your family. This is a 17-jewel watch and an 18 size, has a glass crystal and a very nice dial. This is a large watch - about 2 1/8 inches across. The person who originally purchased it was a wealthy person. These watches will never be made again and if they were, people could not afford them the way they were made."

That night, when my family gathered for our traditional Christmas Eve celebration—my mother and her siblings living in the area, their families, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, cousins and friends--I shared the story about the watch and they were amazed at my news. In the midst of our singing, viewing old photos, taking pictures, and exchanging gifts—the best gift of all was knowing that my great grandfather’s watch was on its way back to our family. Although I was a bit nervous that something would happen – the seller would change his mind, the package would get lost—I was full of anticipation.

Christmas Day I awoke thinking about the pocket watch. Then I remembered that Samuel G. Parker died December 23, 1927, and was buried December 25 in Dyersburg’s City Cemetery. Mr. Morris’ first email was sent December 22, 2005; I read it on December 24. These dates were too much of a coincidence, and I was overcome with the belief that Samuel was trying to connect with his family.