The golden pocket watch awarded to Klaas Abrahams de Groot,
Kornelis Röhne’s grandmother’s father

On the inside of the lid of the watch-case over
the clock-face, the following inscription:

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

TO
Capt.  K. A.  De Groot

FOR

The rescue of the Crew of the

AM. SHIP  LUCY H. GIBSON

1871

On the outside of the lid of the watch-case
over the watch-face the engraving of
a motive of distress at sea.

On the backside over the works of the watch an engraving of an eagle and text:

* * UNITED * STATES * *
AMERICA

Watch-face :  American Watch  Co

The photo inside the watch is a small picture of my grandfather Kornelis Henricus Holthuis.

On the inside of the lid of the case :  WALTHAM

The president of the USA, 1869-1877:  Ulysses S. Grant, republican.

Sea-captain Klaas Abrahams de Groot’s son-in-law, Kornelis Henricus Holthuis in-herited the watch and I, Kornelis Röhne (born Holthuis), inherited in my turn the watch after my grandfather (father’s father) Kornelis Henricus Holthuis, who was married to Jacoba de Groot, daughter of sea-captain Klaas Abrahams de Groot. At the time of the rescue de Groot was captain of the Dutch brig ENGELINA. He was in command of the ENGELINA from 1870 till 1876. She sank in a hurricane on the river in Buenos Aires. In 1879 de Groot became captain of another brig, the ADMIRAAL TROMP, built in 1876. The LUCY H. GIBSON was a merchant three-masted schooner, formerly the gunboat U.S.S. KINEO.