By George, it's a real mystery whose timepiece this was

For such a small pocket watch, it sure holds a lot of mystery.

And Matt Smith hopes that Yukoners might help lift a century of fog from his unusual thrift store find.

"It's really cool," Smith said from his home in Chico, California.

He found the watch about a decade ago, when he wandered into a thrift store in Chico. He's a self-described history buff and collector, so the antique timepiece immediately caught his eye.

"I saw this little watch in one of the cases there, and I took a look at it and it had a fairly good heft to it — so I knew it was probably gold. I paid him 60 bucks, and walked out," he recalls.

It wasn't until later that Smith opened the back of the watch and found a curious inscription.

"To George," it reads, "from Passengers aboard Steamer Selkirk of the Yukon River for his 4. Birthday Sept. 27 1912."

Smith was intrigued — who was George? Why were a group of riverboat passengers giving him a fancy birthday gift? And how did his gift wind up in Chico, and still in working order, a century later?

"This watch is in perfect condition, so I know my four-year-olds probably would have just beaten the crap out of it," Smith said.

"Obviously it's really never been used — there's not a mark on it, the crystal's perfect, the gold is perfect, it's lovely."

The watch was made by the U.S.-based Waltham Watch Company, and Smith used the serial number to date it to 1865. Only 300 of that model were made, he said, and it's now estimated to be worth about $3,000.

"It was considered one of the better watches at the time," he said.

"I mean, what would band [the Selkirk passengers] together to buy a little four-year-old a beautiful little watch like this, unless he was the son of someone important?"

He had a hard time finding much detailed information on the Selkirk or its passengers, though. The sternwheeler was one of several that routinely plied the Yukon River between Whitehorse and Dawson City a century ago. It was wrecked after hitting a rock in 1920.

"It's hard to find even photographs of it," he said.

Smith was stumped. He tucked the watch away. Time went on.

Crowd-sourcing clues

When Smith recently found a popular Facebook page about Yukon history, he decided to cast a line. 

He posted pictures of the watch and asked whether anybody could shed some light on his treasure or its former owner, George.

"I'm just kind of curious whatever happened to the guy," Smith said.

The online response was immediate — though not decisive.

Some people shared information about the Selkirk, and Yukon's other historic riverboats and their crew.

One enterprising sleuth found 1911 census data from Yukon, listing a couple of three-year-old Georges (Long and McCarthney) — did one of them turn four on Sept. 27, 1912?

But others wondered whether the period inscribed in "4.Birthday" was actually a space saver, and that George may have been turning 40, not four.

However old he was then, it's safe to assume that George stopped ticking years ago. But Smith hopes he can somehow find some descendants.

"What I'd like to do, in effect, if there's George's family around, I'd love to give it to them," he said.

"I'm a history guy and I'm kind of a sentimentalist, too — and I like seeing things where they belong."