Archaeological Finds

This spring Danny Dean, son of Robert and Debbie Dean, brought his metal detector to the Ealy House and scanned the grounds surrounding the house. He found three interesting items that we can now add to the Ealy House collection and which tell us a little more about the Dorans who lived in the house in the early 1900s. 

The first item is a metal, circular plate with the words: The Ingram Company, Bristol Conn USA” printed on it. It appears to be silver-plated and to fit either a pocket watch or a small clock. 

The second item is a silver- plated teaspoon from a company called “1847 Rogers Brothers.” The pattern is “Avon” and was first made in 1901. Most of the silver has worn off the spoon at this point, so it is thought to have been buried for quite some time. 

The third item is quite a mystery! It measures about 3-3/4 inches long and has a hole in each end so that it could be mounted on something or hung from a nail when not in use. The round knob can move back and forth in a slot and the distance it moves can be changed. Another piece in the slot can be adjusted so that the knob will move the same distance each time until it is adjusted. The only identifying marks on the item are the words, “English Patent” on the knob. 

If you have ANY ideas as to the function of this piece, please pass them along and we will include them in the next newsletter. The only guess we have had so far is that the device was used to measure the length of a buttonhole or to (somehow) make sure the buttonhole was put in the correct spot. Any ideas?