small finds wkgrp aug2016_gkatz
TRANSCRIPT
P r e s i d e n t i a l M e m o r a b i l i a f r o m T h e
1 8 6 0 - 1 8 8 0 S , M o n t g o m e r y
C o u n t y , M a r y l a n dA S S E E N AT T H E
J A C K S O N H O M E S T E A D S I T E ( 1 8 M O 6 0 9 )
Gregory Katz, Louis Berger
LINCOLN (1860) AND CLEVELAND (1888)• Site where artifacts were recovered is the Jackson
Homestead Site (18MO609), African-American site spanning pre-/post-emancipation
• Site investigated by URS/AECOM for the ICC/MC200 project, work conducted in 2008
LINCOLN-HAMLIN MEDALLION
1860 Lincoln Campaign Medallion – Lincoln SideSpecimen from 18MO609 Image courtesy JPPM
LINCOLN-HAMLIN MEDALLION
1860 Lincoln Campaign Medallion – Lincoln SideSpecimen from Lincoln Library Image courtesy MD
SHA
LINCOLN-HAMLIN MEDALLION
1860 Lincoln Campaign Medallion – Hamlin SideSpecimen from 18MO609 Image courtesy JPPM
PRESIDENTIAL MEDALLIONS
Also called medals by collectorsAttached to pins, can be changed-out each electionPart of array of memorabilia made at the time
Image from prestokens.blogspot .com
1860 ELECTION• Lincoln ran against three other candidates Maryland Results:
• Montgomery County: Lincoln got 50 votes (2%)• “Bell and Union vs. Breckinridge and Disunion”
Votes %Abraham Lincoln 2294 2.5Stephen Douglas 5966 6.4John Breckinridge 42482 45.9John Bell 41760 45.1
MEDALLION CONTEXT
• African Americans could not vote, but clearly held a stake in the election and saw Lincoln as a hope for emancipation
• Public display by Jackson of her political support would have been problematic. Probably confined to display in her home
• Where Jackson got the medallion is unknown. – Through Quaker connections?– Through military connections?– Through the underground railroad?
GROVER CLEVELAND MATCH SAFE
Image courtesy JPPM
1888* Cleveland Match SafeSpecimen from 18MO609
GROVER CLEVELAND MATCH SAFE
GROVER CLEVELAND MATCH SAFE• Very popular at the time, many produced• Two finishes (plain brass and silvered)• Patented in 1888, may have been made also in 1884
and/or 1892 campaigns
MATCH SAFES
• Practical and portable• Came into use in the 1830s and were particularly
popular between 1890 and 1920• Popular form of campaign memorabilia
1888 CLEVELAND CAMPAIGN• Cleveland had reputation as a reformer and fighter
against corruption• Ran this campaign (2nd of three) touting his success as a
reformer and as anti-tariff• Cleveland was popular in Maryland and carried the state• Mixed and not great record on race and Jim Crow laws
MATCH SAFE CONTEXT• Cleveland was not generally perceived as a friend or
ally of African-American community• Cleveland believed in tenants of limited government
[“people should support the government, not the government support the people”], fairness (against political corruption and big-money interests), and anti-trade unionization
• By 1888, Melinda Jackson had died, and her children resided on property. Could be Cleveland aligned with their political views
• Could be practicality over politics
JACKSON HOMESTEAD / FARMSTEAD• African-American Site dating from 19th-early 20th C.• Was part of a larger plantation property owned by
Downs family• Site featured a modest cabin, home of Melinda Jackson
(b. 1825- d. ca. 1878) and her children• Cabin burned in 1916 and site was mostly abandoned
HISTORY OF RESIDENTS• 1785 Land patented by Zacharias Downs and remained
in Downs family until 1869• Zacharias Downs died 1831 and land passed to Anne
Downs• Anne Downs was owner from 1831 until 1869
– Ms. Downs owned 4 slaves in 1850– She died in 1869 shortly after she sold the property – She owned a sizeable parcel and likely lived in a different
structure than the one at the archeological site
HISTORY OF RESIDENTS• 1869 Land was sold to Melinda Jackson
– African American woman, a freed slave, born 825– Was a slave of the previous owner– Had 5 children as of 1870– No husband in the historical record– Her trade is unknown, but her children were farm laborers
• She died ca. 1878, and her children and grandchildren continued to live at the house
HISTORY OF RESIDENTS• Jackson family continued to live at the property until the
house burned ca. 1917• Property was sold in 1917 to a distant family member,
Perry Eli Johnson and his wife– Not clear if the Johnson’s lived on the property or used it in
any way– The house/cabin was never rebuilt
SITE INVESTIGATION
• Investigated as part of ICC / MD 200 road project• URS (now AECOM) were the archaeologists conducting
work• MD SHA funded the work and provided oversight
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION• Julie Schablitsky and Mark Leone (2012). Historical
Archaeology and the Importance of Material Things II. Society for Historical Archaeology, Special Publication Series No. 9.
U R S / A E C O M i n c l u d i n g Ka t h y Fu rg e r s o n , P r i n c i p a l I n v e s t i g a t o r , Va r n a B o y d , M e c h e l l e Ke r n s , a n d A n t h o n y R a n d o l p h M D S H A i n c l u d i n g J u l i e S c h a b l i t s ky a n d A p r i l Fe h rM a r y l a n d A r c h a e o l o g i c a l C o n s e r v a t i o n L a b o r a t o r y ( M A C L a b ) i n c l u d i n g Re b e c c a M o r e h o u s e
Acknowledgements:
Gregory KatzSenior Archaeologist, Louis
ARTIFACTS
Maryland Regiment Civil War Button
ARTIFACTS - PERSONAL
ARTIFACTS
ARTIFACTS - DOMESTIC
ARTIFACTS
ARTIFACTS