Country Dirt Kid
Elite Member
Somebody was saying there wasn't much posted in the Stories and Pictures of Finds so here is something.
Here in the Midwest there are opportunities to detect in places where only one household ever lived. I was able to locate the residence of Irish immigrant Charles Clifford. This man was a shoemaker, father of more than 5 kids and veteran of the civil war. Having fought for the 12th Illinois infantry, he would have been involved with some of the earliest combat. This company was known for their characteristic flat hats. After looking at the federal census of 1870 it appears that Charles bailed on his family after having a 1-year-old. A later census shows him living in the next town over with completely different kids and no mother in the household. It’s impossible to tell what happened but I wonder how much of this chaos was related to the traumatic stress the veterans experienced when they returned home. He apparently went back to being a poor shoe maker and had less than 500 dollars to his name. The coin is interesting because 1865 was the year he returned home. The gold button likely belonged to one of his daughters listed on the census. Also of interest is the horseshoe which is actually a small pony shoe. He wasn't a farmer so I think that pony was the family pet. Lastly is was amazing being able to detect a place where only one household ever lived; they left very little behind.
Here in the Midwest there are opportunities to detect in places where only one household ever lived. I was able to locate the residence of Irish immigrant Charles Clifford. This man was a shoemaker, father of more than 5 kids and veteran of the civil war. Having fought for the 12th Illinois infantry, he would have been involved with some of the earliest combat. This company was known for their characteristic flat hats. After looking at the federal census of 1870 it appears that Charles bailed on his family after having a 1-year-old. A later census shows him living in the next town over with completely different kids and no mother in the household. It’s impossible to tell what happened but I wonder how much of this chaos was related to the traumatic stress the veterans experienced when they returned home. He apparently went back to being a poor shoe maker and had less than 500 dollars to his name. The coin is interesting because 1865 was the year he returned home. The gold button likely belonged to one of his daughters listed on the census. Also of interest is the horseshoe which is actually a small pony shoe. He wasn't a farmer so I think that pony was the family pet. Lastly is was amazing being able to detect a place where only one household ever lived; they left very little behind.
