Finds From a House Built in 1800

Found some interesting things the other day at a house built in 1800- a few buttons, skeleton key, watch winder, late 1800s safety deposit tag, and a United Order of the Golden Cross medal (late 1800s secret society). This group would abstain from drinking in pursuit of living a prosperous life.

My favorite is the CW Staff Officers button which cleaned up nice. After doing some research I think it’s possible the owner of it was in the 10th MA Light Artillery from 1861-1865


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Skeleton keys are one of my favorite relics to find. Yours has a nice green patina. Congrats

Nice bunch of finds there Owena1 !

Looks like you had a good hunt.

WTG on the finds!

As long as you know who the owner was it will be easy to check the muster roll for the company he was in.

Very cool bunch of finds! I've always been intrigued by "secret societies", although very few were actually very secret! :lol: Here's an entry I found online regarding this society. Essentially, it was just an insurance company whose members didn't drink alcohol.

In 1876, Dr. J.H. Morgan organized the United Order of the Golden Cross to provide a means through which members can have a safe and economical method of getting life insurance policies. Though it originated in England, the strength of this secret society lies in its New York chapter. Its members today are men and women from Indiana, Columbia, Tennessee and Kentucky who pledged to abstain from taking alcoholic drinks. The Golden Cross is among the very few secret societies that treat men and women equally.

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Originally Posted by Bucknut

Skeleton keys are one of my favorite relics to find. Yours has a nice green patina. Congrats

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Thanks! Same with me, skeleton keys are always awesome to find

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Originally Posted by Lodge Scent

Nice bunch of finds there Owena1 !

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Thank you sir!

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Originally Posted by fyrffytr1

Looks like you had a good hunt.

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It was! Spent a quite a few hours there and didn’t find much else which is interesting

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Originally Posted by The Rebel

WTG on the finds!

As long as you know who the owner was it will be easy to check the muster roll for the company he was in.

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I believe I have a possible owner. The census data is kind of whacky. He lived with this family in the 1850 census at 14 years old but in the 1860 census they’re all gone from the town. I’m guessing he would have known who moved in to the old house and gone back to visit during the war. But I’ll have to try to find who lived there during wartime to get more of an idea. I’m going with this one guy for now as it so happens he was an officer which matches up with the button. More research to do though

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Originally Posted by Digger_O'Dell

Very cool bunch of finds! I've always been intrigued by "secret societies", although very few were actually very secret! :lol: Here's an entry I found online regarding this society. Essentially, it was just an insurance company whose members didn't drink alcohol.

In 1876, Dr. J.H. Morgan organized the United Order of the Golden Cross to provide a means through which members can have a safe and economical method of getting life insurance policies. Though it originated in England, the strength of this secret society lies in its New York chapter. Its members today are men and women from Indiana, Columbia, Tennessee and Kentucky who pledged to abstain from taking alcoholic drinks. The Golden Cross is among the very few secret societies that treat men and women equally.

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Haha it is pretty funny many we’re not actually secret! I saw that information too, pretty interesting. I’ve never seen anything found apart of that organization. Finds like that are fun to research

Wow, Owen, you had a good day for sure! A lot of great relics in your hand. I recently also found a Staff Officer's button, but mine is 1870s based on the backmark. Will you be returning to that site? There has to be a couple old coins lurking around too.

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Originally Posted by Full Metal Digger

Wow, Owen, you had a good day for sure! A lot of great relics in your hand. I recently also found a Staff Officer's button, but mine is 1870s based on the backmark. Will you be returning to that site? There has to be a couple old coins lurking around too.

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Nice! Always great finding them, especially when the gold gilt shines up. I hit the field across the street for about 8 hours the next day and didn’t find much besides 2 buttons. There have to be some coins out there though. Will probably go back in the spring. Have some hot spots I want to hit before the ground freezes. Try to get some colonial out

Nice finds. Love the skeleton key. Like Bucknut, one of my favorites to find!