Theodore Roosevelt’s Watch Stolen in Buffalo Returned

A 126-year-old watch that Roosevelt carried with him around the world was stolen in July 1987 from an exhibit at Theodore Roosevelt’s inauguration site on Delaware Avenue.

The watch is believed to have had multiple owners since the theft, but it was found in Florida last year. It was returned Thursday to the Roosevelt family home at the Sagamore Hill National Historic Site on Long Island, the National Park Service told the Buffalo News.

Have the police ever figured out who stole Roosevelt’s beloved watch?

“No criminal charges have been filed and no arrests have been made during the investigation,” Park Service spokeswoman Cynthia Hernandez told The News Friday.

The investigation continues, Hernandez said, adding that Park Service police are being assisted by the FBI’s Art Crimes Team.

National Park Service officials declined to comment Friday when asked if they knew who stole the watch or who knowingly possessed it as stolen property. The FBI’s art crimes team did not respond to a message seeking comment.

This unsolved mystery involves one of America’s most colorful and beloved presidents, who had a special connection to Buffalo. Roosevelt, who served from 1901 to 1909, was sworn in at the Wilcox Mansion in Buffalo. Roosevelt was vice president when President William McKinley was assassinated here in 1901.

Roosevelt mentioned the watch several times in his letters and books. He wore it during his famous climb of San Juan Hill in 1898, and during his travels in Africa and the Amazon River region.

The finely crafted silver watch had been on loan from Sagamore Hill when someone stole it from the Wilcox Mansion, a federally owned historic site, in 1987. Buffalo police said the thief stole the watch from an unlocked glass display case. The thief also took a card with information about the watch’s history.

Early last year, the watch ended up in the hands of an auction house in Clearwater, Florida. Edwin Bailey, owner of Blackwell Auctions, told The News last year that he had been asked to sell the watch. He told journalist Lou Michel that he became skeptical of the watch’s story and began researching it.

Bailey said he and the man who asked him to sell the watch had no idea it was stolen. Bailey said he contacted experts at the Smithsonian Institute, Sagamore Hill and various museums, to try to verify that it was Roosevelt’s watch.

“Someone must have contacted law enforcement” about his inquiries, he told The News on Friday.

Bailey said he vividly remembers the day in March 2023 when five FBI agents entered his workplace.

“They were very nice and polite, but they told me, ‘We have a warrant and we’re taking this surveillance,'” Bailey said.

He said he cooperated with the investigation and was assured by authorities that they did not suspect him of any wrongdoing.

Bailey said the watch and jewelry collector who brought him the watch — a former Buffalo-area man he declined to identify by name — said he got it from another Buffalo man, now deceased, a “picker” who looked for valuables at yard sales and antique shops.

“I have no idea what law enforcement knows or what they do with that information,” Bailey said. “I would have loved to sell Roosevelt’s watch, but I’m glad I did a little bit to help put it back where it belongs.”

Bailey said he had never seen any publicity regarding the theft of the watch, except for a small article published by The News in 1987.

The National Park Service is asking anyone with information about the crime to contact its Investigative Services Branch at 888-653-0009.

Bailey calls the watch a “national treasure” and estimates it would be worth at least $500,000 if sold legally.

Spencer D. Morgan, executive director of the Roosevelt Inaugural Site in Buffalo, hopes someone will be held accountable for the theft.

Morgan was in Sagamore Hill on Thursday for a ceremony where the long-lost watch was officially returned and placed on display in a new exhibit at the Roosevelt family home. He said he was honored to attend the event, where he met two of Teddy Roosevelt’s great-grandchildren, Tweed and Elizabeth.

“It made me very happy to see this important historical artifact back in its place,” Morgan said. “Who stole it?” Maybe we’ll know one day, maybe not.

“It’s a mystery, an unsolved mystery and an emotional mystery that has plagued our community for decades,” Morgan said. “Every year, around 30,000 people visit our museum. This is the only flight we’ve ever had here. It is evident that security has been considerably increased since 1987.”

According to Morgan, stealing a historical object is a “worse crime than stealing money from a bank.” He said silver can be replaced, while a historic piece like a legendary president’s watch is not.

Morgan said there were many joyful moments at Thursday’s ceremony on Long Island, including some enthusiastic remarks from Teddy Roosevelt’s great-grandson, Tweed.

“Tweed said if Teddy was still here and heard his watch was back, he would have said a word,” Morgan recalled. “He’s a brute!”