Heritage, Volume 10, Number 2, Spring 1992 Page: 14
39 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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living conditions from the late 1860s to the
1880s.
The source of the debris thrown into
this cellar in the late 1860s-1870s came
from the other occupants of this block.
Street directories tell us about a boarding
house just to the west, and maps indicate a
newly built (ca. 1875) private residence to
the immediate southeast. More than 10,000
artifacts were recovered from a sample of
various layers preserved in the cellar and
revealed discarded glass and ceramic
tablewares, food remains, children's toys,
household implements, jewelry, medicinal
items, architectural debris, gaming pieces,
firearm items, smoking implements, and
decorative ornaments to name only a few.
Artifacts from the lowest level of the
filled cellar include items lost or discarded
by the original occupants of the house in
the 1850s and 1860s. Although not abundant,
items include ironstone tableware
Late 19th century bottles found at excavation area.
sherds, home butchered animal bone, firearms-related
items (e.g., copper cannister
lid to "Maynard's Patent/Sep 22. 1845/..."
percussion caps; lead), olive bottle glass,
children's ceramic toys, stoneware storage
vessels, and architectural remains from the- . U
b%~"W0f0 0
iA_I tI~
0
4 cm
Bone dice, doll's heads, and buttons were recovered from Feature 160-7 and deposited during the 1860s to
1880s.Several of the items have been linked to boarders noted to be staying at the boardinghouse about 80
feet east of Feature 160-7.house itself. Covering these thin deposits
are thicker layers of debris from the destruction
of the house (brick, stone, decayed
wood) intermixed with trash thrown
into the exposed cellar hole. These trash
deposits were five feet thick.
The lower levels exhibit more generalized
domestic refuse, while the upper levels
appear to include a greater frequency of
status-related trash, as well as, possible
commercial refuse. The entire deposit
documents a shift from a single household
occupying the block in the 1850s to more
diverse occupations including boarders
specializing in professional or commercial
endeavors.
Some examples of artifacts recovered
from the lower levels of general domestic
fill include a variety of ironstone tableware,
food, ink and beverage bottles, more
children's toys, buttons, jewelry, and an
abundance of commercially sawn animal
bone discarded from meals. A metal quill
type pen point, stamped "The Capitol Pen"
was also recovered.
From the middle of the deposit and
increasing toward the upper levels are itemssuggesting special status and more unusual
activities. For example, bone dominos and
bone dice were recovered, as well as clay
tobacco pipes, more ink bottles, an eyeglass
lens, jewelry, and a vial marked
"Batchelors/No. 2" hair ointment. Liquor
bottles, as well as food bottles, sauces, medicinal,
and other glass containers were
recovered. An ornate German porcelain
tobacco pipe with about 10 names written
in black enamel and only partly legible
discarded in the 1870s seems to commemorate
an event. A three-cent silver piece
with a hole drilled in it was also retrieved.
Pierced coins were used or worn for various
purposes. This one was dated 1865 and may
represent a special tribute to Texas'
Emancipation Day, June 19, 1865, when
General Granger landed at Galveston and
issued the Executive Proclamation freeing
all blacks held as slaves.
The upper levels produced more bottles,
food remains, ceramic vessels, and ornamental
items. One bottle, reminiscent of
the explosion in dubious patent medicines
and proclaimed cures typical of the late
19th century, is labeled "KENDALL'S14 HERITAGE * SPRING 1992
Examples of ironstone tableware with makers marks found throughout the fills were identified to potteries operating
in England and include:
Ironstone Potter Location Date of Operation Date Discarded1 Depth Buried
Powell & Bishop Hanley 18764878 Ca. 182 23 f&et
Thomas Hughes Burslem 1860-1894 a1878 3.6 feet
J. & G. Meakin Hanley 1869a ca. 1875 3.9 feet
Burgess & Goddard Longton ca.1870 a. 1875 54 feet
Hope & Carter Burslem 1862-1880 ca. 1868 5.9 feet
a Year is imported with maker's iar;firim hoeh ratedsrom 1851 toprsetd
b The date discarded is proximated to within 5 years of the specific dte given this coumni unless iredatesh aca ie potte.II IC
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Texas Historical Foundation. Heritage, Volume 10, Number 2, Spring 1992, periodical, Spring 1992; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth45420/m1/14/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Historical Foundation.