Historic gold watch lost in deadly Lake Michigan shipwreck 165 years ago finally returns home

The steamship quickly sank on Sept. 8, 1860, when it collided with a schooner during a storm off Winnetka, Illinois, killing more than 300 people, with many unable to make it to lifeboats before it went down. 

Ingram and his son both died in the sinking with his gold watch going down with them.

The pocket watch was discovered by divers in 1992, but remained in the U.S. until this May, when it was given to a historian to examine. 

She added that Ingram was a "member of Parliament. He was also the founder of the London Illustrated News, which was the first time a newspaper printed images in the paper. So he was really the founder of pictorial journalism."

Ingram is celebrated as the "favorite son" of the Lincolnshire town where he was born and buried and where a statue of him stands. 

Van Fleet bought the watch, then donated it to the Boston Guildhall Museum, which happened to be putting together an exhibit on Ingram at the time. 

"They didn't have any physical artifacts, and here I was offering not only an artifact, but Herbert Ingram's personal watch," Van Heest said. "It was an extraordinary, serendipitous occurrence."

Councilor Sarah Sharpe, from Boston Borough Council told the BBC: "The fact that this small part of him is coming back to his hometown to be displayed is really special and important."

The museum celebrated the watch's return on May 24, calling it a "day to remember."

The museum added, "Thank you to everyone who joined us today - in person and in spirit. Boston history is alive and ticking."