Found the People That Lived at This Cellar Hole!!!

[OxShoeDrew]

I am really excited about my first hunt since January. :cheesysmile: I just got back from the hunt and had to post, although I didn't really clean the stuff very well. The following was found in 2.5 hours of hunting. I think this hole has been hit, but not very well. The hole is the most preserved one I've ever seen. There are stairs leading to the cellar, beautiful central chimney, perfect (no basement) addition. Well is flawlessly round....I almost stepped into it :shocked01:
Root cellar...pen after pen etc etc.
The only problem was the 25 min hike to the hole that included very steep hills :shocked03: BUT....I had an app called "My Tracks" that allowed me to try another way out which cut my hike out in half. :)
Weird thing though, all the old iron I dug sounded in the nickel range :shocked02:

I think I have to go to the town hall and see who owned this property back then to see if any ancestors are still around. It would be cool to give them the pic. The picture doesn't do the coin justice. It is very smooth.
Also, two thirds of this site still has snow :daydream::yes: Thanks for looking!

[Tony Two-Cent]

How cool is that?!!!! The photo is still amazingly clear too. Is it a tin type?

That 1837 large cent looks really sharp too! I'd say you have a great site there. :yes:

[OxShoeDrew]

I don't know if it is a tin type Tony, I knew somebody was going to ask that :lol: It is on glass and so thin that it is peeling off when I take the top off it. Can you see the peeling at the bottom of her dress? I'm leaving the top on until it dries. :crossfingers: Thank you!

[coinnut]

I wouldn't remove it ...not worth the risk of damage to it. Just dry brush the dirt off of the frame. What a great relic, and a great hunt Drew.:shocked04:

[pulltabsteve]

WOOHOOO!!!! Awesome find Drew! That just may be the coolest thing I ever saw someone find. :clapping:
The My Tracks app is the greatest. I use it all the time. Congrats Drew!

[Digger Don]

Talk about digging up a piece of history. It would be so cool if you could you could find their ancestors and present them with that photo.
Congrats on o really cool find

[Ronandari]

That picture is one of the coolest finds EVER. :perfect10: I cant believe the condition it is in. Amazing!!!

[OxShoeDrew]

Thank you everyone...I think it may be an "Ambrotype" photo from 1855-1865. It is a super thin print directly on glass.

[The Rebel]

Holy Mary Mother Of God! That is the MOST amazing thing I've ever seen dug! Do NOT play around with it any further.

Clean it as good as you can but dirt or other particles will scratch the image all up.


Thank you everyone...I think it may be an "Ambrotype" photo from 1855-1865. It is a super thin print directly on glass.

http://www.phototree.com/id_amb.htm

[The Rebel]

Here are some images of my Great-Great-Great-Grandparents.


3746437465

[OxShoeDrew]

Roger, That is soooo cool. They are handsome people....I hope you inherited their good looks :lol:
Is that a thin coating on glass? The surrounding matting on the one I dug must be gold leaf as it rang up down in the 50s. I see patent info on the edges, any date?

[Timewarpdigger]

Congrats on the finds. A picture find seems to be extremely rare to see from a hunt. Awesome!!!

[The Rebel]

Thanks! I take my looks from my mothers side of the family. They were 1st generation from Ireland, Married at Christ's Church (New Haven) 11/09/1846. I've been to their grave up in Waterbury (across from the mall) where all of the family is buried.

The coating is the actual film (emulsion) on top of the plate. The information reads: Dean & Emmerson Patent Applied For Worcester Mass No 38 No Date though. Based on the clothing It's was probably taken about 1859, 60-61

[kray]

Very,very cool! Love the connection.

[KCFindIt]

I'd say you had one very cool hunt today. Just love the well-preserved photo.

[giant056]

Fantastic finds :thumbsup02: I love that old photo, it's in beautiful condition and the large cent is icing on the cake!!

.................... :congrats:

[chief5709]

WoW, that has got to be find of the year :notworthy: that is awesome. Congrats and good luck on your research.

[aloldstuff]

I have to say that the picture is the find of the day. Not to say that the LC is nice but how many pictures like that are dug, not many. Hope you can find the people....:congrats:

[Thiltzy]

So cool Drew. To be able to put actual faces to the people that lived on the settlement is incredibly interesting. Now if you could find some living descendants and giving them that picture would be priceless

[MangoAve]

Not much I can add to what others have already said. It's definitely boss to find something like that. Definitely worthy for find of the month/year. Congrats and hope u can find the descendants.

[don in ny]

To get a picture out of the ground in that condition is amazing! I think it should be in that scrolling banner at the top. Really nice looking LC too. I know what you mean about photos sometimes just not doing justice to the coin.

[Bell-Two]

That is fantastic! It is always in the back of our minds who lost what we find, wonder what they were doing etc. Now you can look them right in the eye! I was tickled to find a brass encased ID badge with the picture still in good shape behind the celluloid face that is the 1920's era but you are three generations back further...great job. Check county histories for they some times have pictures of "prominent" residents. I am truly fascinated by this find!

[Lodge Scent]

That is pretty darn cool Drew :congrats:

[RobW]

:shocked03::shocked04:.....Freakin' unbelievable.....that is amazing..and so VERY cool!!!!! To be able to literally put a face to the site and finds is really cool....maybe not monetarily valuable...but overall a VERY cool touch of history...did I mention that it's cool?:cool:

[Skamaniac]

As a digger that prefers relics to coins, all I can say is...:notworthy:

[del]

Truly an incredible and personally unique "treasure" to find Drew .:perfect10:

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

thats a jaw dropper of a find drew!~ wow!

[smeigs]

those are some awesome finds! Great way to start the year for sure... And @therebel.. that guy in your photo has an amazing mohawk and a sweeet stache!

[midas]

Pretty freaky. You will probably be haunted by their faces. I think it's a sign not to disturb their belongings or resting place.

[freemindstuck]

Sweet find! Congrats

[coinnut]

Pretty freaky. You will probably be haunted by their faces. I think it's a sign not to disturb their belongings or resting place.

:rofl: Or maybe a sign that it is ok to hunt.

[del]

Pretty freaky. You will probably be haunted by their faces. I think it's a sign not to disturb their belongings or resting place.

"resting place" :rolleyes:... come on John , Drew wasn't digging in a cemetery .


Drew , I also think it was good sign and you were meant to find it :yes: but if "bad things" start happening you can always mail it to Midas.:rofl:

[OxShoeDrew]

:lol:
You know, I think of those faces quite a bit. They are now watching my every move from my display cabinet.

[NJJOSH]

Wow i can't believe that picture has lasted. oh and nice LC too lol. Great hunt

[BTV Digger]

What a great find, and probably worth a nomination for the appropriate "find of the month" category just given the simple rarity of being preserved that well. Almost like a fossil. :) I found a similar Booth and Hayden's daguerreotype frame last fall at an old cellar hole, but with the glass broken and the image long, long wasted away. Your find is really exceptional. Way to go!

BTV Digger

[tanacat]

Try overlay at www.historicmapworks.com (http://www.historicmapworks.com) maybe there are county maps with house sites from that far back... 1877 is the oldest that I found for my county.

What an absolutely, fantastically AWESOME find Drew!!! :notworthy:

How big is the pic? It's hard to tell without anything to compare. I love digging the little necklace pic pendants but always disappointed to pop them open and find the pics had dissolved away with time.

[OxShoeDrew]

Thank you everyone....Tana, No house appears on the old maps which initially excited me...but the site is no better than all the rest. :(:lol: I have to work hard for finds there.
The picture is 4"by4" or 4'by3" I could measure it when I get home.

[mike l]

You actually took a trip back in time and saw the people that lived there. Amazing. Never saw a find like that.

[two_bit_digger]

Now that is a very cool find. Gotta love those old portraits, but why people very seldom smiled for the camera back then is a mystery to me.

[OxShoeDrew]

Now that is a very cool find. Gotta love those old portraits, but why people very seldom smiled for the camera back then is a mystery to me.Thanks everyone...I think, Twobit, that it was hard to hold a smile for the time it took to take a picture back then. I guess smiles came out blurry.

[fsa46]

An absolutely awesome find Drew. :wow:

I can't believe the great condition , truly a keeper you won't forget about.

[milco]

That old photo is such an amazing find! If it is on glass it is an ambrotype, if it is on metal, then it is a daguerreotype. If it were a tin type it would have corroded long ago. One of the coolest finds I've seen posted!

[DiggerAl]

Very nice finds, that photo seems to be in excellent condition. That is a very sweet large cent as well.

[OxShoeDrew]

Update!! I dropped off my collection of finds at our local historical society last week to be displayed for a few months. I sat with the archivist for an hour telling her what the items were and where I found them. When we got to the picture I found in this thread I told her where the pic was taken and that it had to have been taken between 1855 and 1865. When she heard that she called over the town historian, who happened in at that point. After seeing the pic the historian scurried into the back room and brought out a two-page paper entitled "The Mystery Homestead." It turns out that the people who lived there were hard to find, but after painstaking research (I too tried to find their identities and quickly gave up :lol:) they found the succession of owners. I now know who these people were!!...and the town now knows what they looked like!! When I remove the exhibit I'm going to leave the picture with them. Thanks for reading!
PS That was the guy's third wife! I guess he ran 'em ragged :lol:

[MangoAve]

Wow Drew. Crazy to even hear THEY were doing research on the people that were in that homestead and had a paper written. Were there any relatives since they found who the people were?

I am thinking to ask the town historical society if they would want the canteen. It is a great find but huge so it's not like I would display it.

[OxShoeDrew]

Thanks Jim, the paper stops after he sold the farm in 1868, probably just after the pic was taken...but learning their names I did some research and found that the guy in the pic moved to Ohio... but half our town is still related to him as he had three broods. So I think it would be a nice addition to own town collection.
That canteen would be a very cool display at your society!

[SeabeeRon]

WOW!! What an awesome update to this story!!!! :wow::notworthy:

[Lodge Scent]

Now that is too cool !

[del]

very cool turn of events Drew and very interesting , I think you did a very selfless act by letting the society keep the picture and hope they give you the credit and props for that decision . :notworthy:

[The Rebel]

Awesome update Drew! I'm still amazed that that photo survived al that time in the dirt.

Seeing you're giving them the orig, I would make sure you get it scanned and have a print for yourself on good quality photo paper.

[MangoAve]

Thanks Jim, the paper stops after he sold the farm in 1868, probably just after the pic was taken...but learning their names I did some research and found that the guy in the pic moved to Ohio... but half our town is still related to him as he had three broods. So I think it would be a nice addition to own town collection.
That canteen would be a very cool display at your society!

A lot of people moved to Ohio after the CW. I guess I can see now how it is relevant to your town now that you explain. I have seen a few homesteads listed as 'heirs' but I think most of them were eventually torn down by the town, which would mean the family name got dropped somewhere along the line.
As far as the canteen, I was thinking to ask at the town it was found. Seeing as it was and 1858 era and the map was drawn 1868, I can safely say the owner was the person named on the map for that home site. Now since I looked at the map and specified which house it was I also learned there is another site just up the road for me to check. YAY! I was unsure before because new developments nearby with new roads. Old roads are gone and the existing ones are changed just a tad to accommodate faster traffic. When I search a place, sometimes I get complacent on certain details. If I see it and know it's there I don't bother with all the rest. BUT... sometimes I do focus on one thing. Oh look, I got onto a tangent. :lol: One near me I bet the owner doesn't realize the actual age. It says 1938 and it looks as early 1900s. The old map, however, has a house near that spot and this house's foundation says 1800's. I got a co-worker who didn't realize the age of her house because the assessor sometimes puts a date of the earliest known addition or earliest known record.


I think you did a very selfless act by letting the society keep the picture and hope they give you the credit and props for that decision.

I concur. Some of the big things I got I would wonder if there would be a desire for. Maybe the Mason jar company would want the bunch of ceramic caps. Maybe it's possible to determine the clock maker in the 1800s who made all the guide plates I found, and would want them for a museum... You know. Vs keeping them in a storage box somewhere or throwing them out. Sure some would be quick to point out the situation is completely different with those relics and Drew's, but I am not trying to compare them.

[Cheap Thrills]

WOW !! I missed this . Incredible find and then to find out the history of these people . Big congrats . For a detectorist this is almost like finding a well preserved ancient hunter in a melting glacier . As a matter of fact when I first saw the title of this thread I envisioned you finding two skeletons .:shocked05::lol: