Remnants of a lifetime past

Heather Ainsley
ECB Publishing, Inc.

On Oct. 29, Dr. Willet Boyer took his students to the Byrd/Chamberlain archaeological dig, site 8JE2199, to brave the nippy fall air and discover a snippet of history. Together the students took to their toothbrushes, magnets and sifters and began combing through the cold, damp soil for pieces of forgotten history.
The dig site is located on the property of Michele Arceaneaux, who lives in one of the oldest homes in Jefferson County, formerly known as the Trelawn Plantation house. This beautiful relic was built in the 1830s by John Goldwire Mathers, and was purchased in 1859 by the Byrd family, who owned it for over 100 years. These days, the Arceaneaux family calls it home, and while the house has been understandably renovated and modernized since the 1800s, it still offers us a window into its lengthy history. And that window is in the ground, of all places.
It seemed that no matter where in their yard Michele and her family dug in their efforts to garden and landscape, they always seemed to discover things. Old things. The family, highly interested in the history of property history, was excited to discover artifacts and structures that had been buried and forgotten with time. Among the many hidden historical treasures that were found was an old well that had been filled in, and a spoon made of “coin silver” with an engraving of the letter “B”, a nod to the Byrd family who had lived there for about a century.
Coin silver, as opposed to sterling silver, was made in the United States from the earliest colonial times until just after the Civil War. In colonial America, silversmiths decided to forge their own silverware and goods to avoid patronizing with Britain, who manufactured sterling silver. Smiths would collect European coins, mainly Spanish reales, and melt them down to make items. Because these coins were an alloy, or mixture of metals, their silver content was lower than that of sterling silver, only 90 percent to sterling's 92. America did not adopt the sterling standard until 1870, after the Civil War ended. This makes it possible to date silver artifacts with some level of confident accuracy, based on what percentage of silver they possess. It was suspected that the area that would soon become site 8JE2199 was the original home of a detached kitchen that served the plantation in its prime.
As the students unearthed items in the soil, Dr. Boyer helped them identify an approximate age based on a variety of criteria, such as color, texture and shape, as well as possible engravings or stamps that were present on the pieces found. Among the many artifacts that were discovered were clinch nails, which add strength to joints or hinges, a small glass bottle likely used for perfume, burned bone fragments, pieces of charcoal, serving bowl fragments, pot fragments, chunks of metal from a cast iron wood-burning stove, and numerous types of glass shards.
These artifacts help paint a picture. Why, Dr. Boyer prompted his class, would pearlware and creamware from the 1700s be found side by side with pieces of whiteware from the 1800s? Indeed, if you consider the amount of time that should have passed in between these ceramics ever meeting, it seems peculiar that such fragments could be found together in the same layer of soil. The reason for this is simpler than it seems, and Dr. Boyer gathered his students for a lesson in history. It is very likely, he stated, while holding up the small shards of ceramic and glass, that the people who lived in this house, and made regular use of the detached kitchen were using not only items that were “new” to them; that is, having been made during their time, but also items that were older, being handed down from their parents and grandparents. This suggested that the once-functioning kitchen was home to both everyday dishes as well as family heirlooms. One can easily imagine the presence of a 1800s cook deciding which dinnerware to use depending on the occasion, much like we do today, saving Grandma's best china for special events like family gatherings and holiday meals.
While much of the past still lies in mystery, the history students of Jefferson Somerset and their instructor, Dr. Boyer, work diligently to discover what secrets lie in the soils of Jefferson County.
“We intend to return with this class to the same site in order to continue work on the kitchen area.” says Dr. Boyer, “We also intend to work in the area further North that may represent the living areas for the enslaved workers at Trelawn Plantation. Enslaved laborers were the workforce that made plantations like Trelawn possible, and we want to focus on their lives and the connections between the people living at this site and the modern families and communities of Jefferson County.”
One of the most important parts of including his students in real-world applications like this dig is to help them see real, tangible connections between past and present. “This region has historical links between people who came here nearly two hundred years ago and families who still live in this area today,” says Dr. Boyer, continuing on to say that he hopes that having the students of Jefferson County work first-hand with sites like Trelawn will make them aware of those connections, and help them to realize their role, as well as their families', in America's history.
Dr. Boyer works as both an instructor at Jefferson Somerset and as a historical archaeologist and Associate Scholar at the Aucilla Research Institute. All artifacts that were located at the scene will be carefully cleaned and conserved using ARI's lab facilities. From there, the students will learn to recognize and analyze the artifacts and what they can tell us about the lives of the people at Trelawn through a series of classroom exercises. Dr. Boyer would like to extend thanks to all who helped make this dig possible.
“I'd like to thank the administrators at Somerset for allowing us to begin the field program, the Board and members of the Aucilla Research Institute for providing the tools and gear for the dig, and the Jefferson County Youth Council for their generous support in doing this project,” says Dr. Boyer, “It is my hope, through fieldwork and research through students here, that we will learn more about the incredible history and heritage of this wonderful region!”