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Sea Post Clerk John Starr March's pocket watch

Postal Museum

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    Object Details

    User

    John Starr March, American, died 1912

    Description

    This pocket watch with an engraved gold-plated case was found on the body of John Starr March (1861-1912), an American sea post clerk assigned to the RMS Titanic. The watch’s hands point to 1:27, probably having stopped on the morning of April 15, 1912, as the ocean liner sank in the North Atlantic. Eyewitnesses stated that the postal clerks worked to rescue the mail as the ship was going down. None of the five postal clerks survived the disaster, including March and the two other American clerks, Oscar Scott Woody and William Logan Gwinn, and the British postal clerks James Bertram Williamson and John Richard Jago Smith. March’s body was recovered, and his effects, including this watch, were returned to his two daughters.

    Date

    1912

    Object number

    1998.2021.1.1

    Type

    Employee Gear

    Medium

    metal; glass

    Dimensions

    Height x Width x Depth: 6 x 3 1/2 x 1 1/2 in. (15.24 x 8.89 x 3.81 cm)

    Place

    New Jersey

    See more items in

    National Postal Museum Collection

    On View

    Currently on exhibit at the National Postal Museum

    Data Source

    National Postal Museum

    Carrier

    Steamship RMS Titanic, April 14-15, 1912

    Topic

    The Gilded Age (1877-1920)
    Postal Employees

    Metadata Usage

    CC0

    Link to Original Record

    http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/hm842e2e639-94d1-4200-9f4c-b5a0f5e83d8c

    Record ID

    npm_1998.2021.1.1

    Discover More

    Smithsonian Open Access

    Open Access Highlights

    titanic passengers

    The RMS Titanic

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