Once in a lifetime finds!

RustyRelics

Gold Member
Apr 5, 2019
5,906
32,358
Central PA
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Equinox 600/Ancient Whites MXT
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
This past week I made some of my best finds of my entire relic hunting career. It may start off slow, but I'll build the suspense for y'all. :laughing7:




DSC_0345.jpg

Now before you think this is clickbait, NO, the spoons are not my best finds ever. They're cool though. :) They date from the 1860s, through the 1920s, and were found in the Ashland Dump, a place outside of Ashland Pa where the town dumped things from the 1850s through the 1960s. There's a lot of stuff mixed in, and most of them are crier bottles. In one area I found a broken union flask and a Coca Cola bottle right next to each other. Nothing made sense there.


DSC_0346.jpg

Really cool late 1800s pipe bowl, or the start of a Chia pet? You decide.




DSC_0348.jpg DSC_0349.jpg

I found lots of local sodas and milks, but the two gems were the Knapps Pharmacy bottles from Ashland Pa. My grandfather and great uncle dug bottles from the 1960s until about 2005. They've seen everything except these two. These two bottles were a mystery to my uncle who is still alive, as he had never found any Knapps bottles. I can't find any photos online of them either, so I think I found my first unlisted small town pharmacy bottles! Knapps pharmacy was a small pharmacy in Ashland from 1911, to 1964 I believe. These bottles date to the teens.


Also found in the dump was a WWII Dogtag, named to Arthur Brosius, dated 1943.



I also had the amazing opportunity to travel to wear my ancestors were born, raised, lived and died, the Lykens Valley in Pennsylvania. Everyone from my 8th Great grandfather, who came over on a boat from Germany in the 1750s, until even today, Trautmans and Troutmans (A Trautman married a Trautman way back when, I'm related to both) made their lives in Klingerstown, Pillow, Spain, Hebe and throughout the valley. A few of the older houses are still standing, like my 8th great grandfathers stone house built in the 1760s, (it's in shambles) and my 5th great grandfathers house built in 1834 (fantastic condition). These were the houses me and my dad went to go and photograph for posterity.

Originally we went to go see Peter Trautmans house, built in 1834 out of stone. The house is now owned by an amish family who at the time are adding an addition onto the old stone house and renovating the interior. The man who owned it was very kind and generous, and was eager to learn more about who lived there when it was built. I told him everything I knew about the occupants from 1834, until 1915, and he was intrigued. When we mentioned that we metal detect, he offered us permission to search the front yard, and Daniel Trautmans house site, which was also on his property. The name Daniel Trautman piqued my interest. Daniel Trautman was a volunteer infantryman in Co. A, 50th PA Vol. and served for nearly the entirety of the war, and fought in many battles from South Mountain and Sharpsburg, to Vicksburg, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Petersburg, Cold Harbor and many others. After the war, he fathered 17 children, 15 of which lived to adulthood. He became a well to do farmer in the Lykens valley, but was unfortunately killed by hoodlums in a botched robbery attempt in his own front yard in 1880.

The owner of the house took us to all the houses he knew of in the area that the Trautmans occupied. Daniels, Johann Peters, Martin, and even the Troutman Schoolhouse. He was just happy to see that we were happy, and his only conditions were to let him see what we had found. NO PROBLEM!

My dad and I voted to pay a visit to Daniels house site first, since I had done a lot of digging into Daniels life. When we got to the place, it was evident something was there a long time ago, but it was unfortunately an overgrown site.


After only a few minutes of detecting, I found a small 1830s-1860s flat button marked "Imperial Standard". We knew we were in the right place. In some sections, the place was very overgrown with grass, bushes, saplings, and in other places it was relatively open. This stone wall next to a very old tree was in a more open spot. There were several stone walls like this around, each one being at least 3.5 to 4 ft. high, at least 50 ft. long, and up to 3 ft. thick. In all my years of exploring I've never seen walls like that.


20210807_100237.jpg 20210807_104729.jpg 20210807_115234.jpg


After an hour or so of detecting, we were finding household items; square nails, a spoon, an 1860s lock, another flat button, and odds and ends. Then I swept my coil over a loud iron signal that made me jump. Whatever it was, it was lying right underneath the leaves. When I kicked the leaves away, I was stunned to see a butt plate to a musket!

DSC_0334.jpg


My dad was very surprised, as was I. We had stumbled into a dumping area. A worm syrup or some other kind of med was lying on top of the ground next to a broken wine bottle, a Dr. Jaynes Vermafuge bottle (broken) a clay marble, and other pieces. We ping ponged all over looking for stuff that was laying right on top of the ground. I picked my metal detector back up and went over where I found the butt plate and got another banging signal. This time I reached down and pulled out a whole barrel!



DSC_0332.jpg


his time my dad and I were both screaming, laughing, yelling, jumping - we jumped right into a hornets nest. We ran like hell, making sure to grab everything we could. We went back the next day armed with bee killer and vanquished the little backstabbers and immediately found the trigger assembly. A Springfield! We could not find the lockplate unfortunately, but as luck would have it, I'll be moving to PA later this year, so maybe I'l find it this winter. It was in the dump, so there are a lot of signals to sort though.




DSC_0335.jpg DSC_0336.jpg DSC_0338.jpg

Not shown are some farm tools, two 1860s locks, and a marble. The Indian Head Pennies are dated 1881, 1884, and 188*.


The 50th Pa Vol. were outfitted with Springfield muskets in 1863, and that is what this appears to be. It is in very good condition for the amount of time it's been buried, and is solid. The nipple, the site the trigger, is all intact. It is very, very special to me to find this musket. I've been reading about Daniel for a few years now and to own things that he and his family used, along with the musket he carried during the war, gives me goosebumps.



The man who gave us permission was ecstatic about the find, and even gave us a large board from our 5th great grandfathers attic to mount it on. It is truly a special find that will hang proudly on the wall for as long as I live.


DSC_0302.jpg
 

OP
OP
RustyRelics

RustyRelics

Gold Member
Apr 5, 2019
5,906
32,358
Central PA
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Equinox 600/Ancient Whites MXT
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
DSC_0325.jpg

This is my 8th Great Grandfathers house, built in the 1760s by Johann Peter Trautman. He was a soldier during the revolutionary war and the first of my family to emigrate to America. We didn't spend a lot of time at his house - or what's left of it - due to time constraints, but we'll be back.




DSC_0341.jpg


We found these roundballs, and oddly enough a colt .44 pistol bullet. The rosette looks period as well,, but I'm not sure.



At any rate, it is incredible to have finds like these from your very own ancestors, and I will be the proud keeper of them all.
 

releventchair

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May 9, 2012
22,168
69,276
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Wow Rusty!

provenance. Provenance! Family too...
I'd hook the Amish owner up with a lantern for his kindness. But that's me and lanterns. Which , would suit him. Likely.

Dang. So much recovered. But that Springfield is somethin else.
And you recovered it.... Without having to wrestle your Dad for it after!

Congrats.
You've had some big hunts.
Your latest excursion might have them all topped.
 

Blak bart

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Jun 6, 2016
18,537
97,622
FL keys
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Great work rusty...man you had one hell of a trip and one hell of a hunt !! Ill vote banner on that musket and the story behind it !! Congratulations on an epic hunt !!
 

Tnmountains

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Jan 27, 2009
18,696
11,647
South East Tennessee on Ga, Ala line
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Excellent. There is nothing more rewarding then researching something ( in your case family history) and then going out and finding it. Very special. Great written story for a great hunt. I have always wanted to find a musket barrel but so far only pieces.
Hope you can return and finish this hunt of a lifetime.
HH
TnMtns
 

WannaDig3687

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Jun 5, 2017
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After reading your posts in the What is It forum, I knew this was going to be an epic post. Thank you so much for sharing this personal family history with us! It is quite evident that you have done extensive research on your ancestry, and for you to be able to recover items that were your ancestors and tell us the connection of how they and the relics played a role in American history is outstanding! Definitely a Banner worthy post to me. A huge congratulations, Rusty! I wish you all the luck this fall/winter when you go back.
 

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RustyRelics

RustyRelics

Gold Member
Apr 5, 2019
5,906
32,358
Central PA
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Equinox 600/Ancient Whites MXT
Primary Interest:
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So in the beginning of this thread, I stated that it belonged to my 4th Great uncle Daniel Trautman. It seems that I was mistaken.

I started a free trial on Ancestry.com to look up some stuff, and accidentally stumbled upon the grave stone of another Daniel Trautman - this time with a GAR plaque and Co. A. 50th PA on the headstone. So there were two Daniels, and I thought both were the same guy. I cannot find much on this other Daniel, all I know is that he had a wife named Bridget. I honestly don't know how I missed this. I have a cousin who compiled a book for us about our family history, and she must have confused this Daniel for our Daniel because that's how family history has it.

All hope is not lost however, and I believe I have good explanation as to how that musket got there. Daniel Trautmans son, Emanuel, served in the 50th PA with his cousin Elias, and the mystery Daniel. Emanuel may have gifted his father the rifle after the war.


I didn't mean to be misleading, so sorry about that. I kinda got blindsided by it this morning. I'm a bit in shock.
 

Steve in PA

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Jul 5, 2010
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That had to have been a memorable trip for you guys. Finding the musket barrel and butt plate had to have been awesome, considering the families Civil War history. I once found an iron Springfield butt plate at large Civil War encampment site near Culpeper, VA.

I think you should try to get back and detect this site in the early spring when the weeds are dead.
attachment.php
 

eyemustdigtreasure

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Mar 2, 2013
3,596
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Epic story and appreciate the post script too...!
Take care,
and, Keep Diggin'...!
 

devldog

Silver Member
Mar 9, 2012
3,623
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This past week I made some of my best finds of my entire relic hunting career. It may start off slow, but I'll build the suspense for y'all. :laughing7:




View attachment 1941895

Now before you think this is clickbait, NO, the spoons are not my best finds ever. They're cool though. :) They date from the 1860s, through the 1920s, and were found in the Ashland Dump, a place outside of Ashland Pa where the town dumped things from the 1850s through the 1960s. There's a lot of stuff mixed in, and most of them are crier bottles. In one area I found a broken union flask and a Coca Cola bottle right next to each other. Nothing made sense there.


View attachment 1941896

Really cool late 1800s pipe bowl, or the start of a Chia pet? You decide.




View attachment 1941899 View attachment 1941900

I found lots of local sodas and milks, but the two gems were the Knapps Pharmacy bottles from Ashland Pa. My grandfather and great uncle dug bottles from the 1960s until about 2005. They've seen everything except these two. These two bottles were a mystery to my uncle who is still alive, as he had never found any Knapps bottles. I can't find any photos online of them either, so I think I found my first unlisted small town pharmacy bottles! Knapps pharmacy was a small pharmacy in Ashland from 1911, to 1964 I believe. These bottles date to the teens.


Also found in the dump was a WWII Dogtag, named to Arthur Brosius, dated 1943.



I also had the amazing opportunity to travel to wear my ancestors were born, raised, lived and died, the Lykens Valley in Pennsylvania. Everyone from my 8th Great grandfather, who came over on a boat from Germany in the 1750s, until even today, Trautmans and Troutmans (A Trautman married a Trautman way back when, I'm related to both) made their lives in Klingerstown, Pillow, Spain, Hebe and throughout the valley. A few of the older houses are still standing, like my 8th great grandfathers stone house built in the 1760s, (it's in shambles) and my 5th great grandfathers house built in 1834 (fantastic condition). These were the houses me and my dad went to go and photograph for posterity.

Originally we went to go see Peter Trautmans house, built in 1834 out of stone. The house is now owned by an amish family who at the time are adding an addition onto the old stone house and renovating the interior. The man who owned it was very kind and generous, and was eager to learn more about who lived there when it was built. I told him everything I knew about the occupants from 1834, until 1915, and he was intrigued. When we mentioned that we metal detect, he offered us permission to search the front yard, and Daniel Trautmans house site, which was also on his property. The name Daniel Trautman piqued my interest. Daniel Trautman was a volunteer infantryman in Co. A, 50th PA Vol. and served for nearly the entirety of the war, and fought in many battles from South Mountain and Sharpsburg, to Vicksburg, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Petersburg, Cold Harbor and many others. After the war, he fathered 17 children, 15 of which lived to adulthood. He became a well to do farmer in the Lykens valley, but was unfortunately killed by hoodlums in a botched robbery attempt in his own front yard in 1880.

The owner of the house took us to all the houses he knew of in the area that the Trautmans occupied. Daniels, Johann Peters, Martin, and even the Troutman Schoolhouse. He was just happy to see that we were happy, and his only conditions were to let him see what we had found. NO PROBLEM!

My dad and I voted to pay a visit to Daniels house site first, since I had done a lot of digging into Daniels life. When we got to the place, it was evident something was there a long time ago, but it was unfortunately an overgrown site.


After only a few minutes of detecting, I found a small 1830s-1860s flat button marked "Imperial Standard". We knew we were in the right place. In some sections, the place was very overgrown with grass, bushes, saplings, and in other places it was relatively open. This stone wall next to a very old tree was in a more open spot. There were several stone walls like this around, each one being at least 3.5 to 4 ft. high, at least 50 ft. long, and up to 3 ft. thick. In all my years of exploring I've never seen walls like that.


View attachment 1941901 View attachment 1941902 View attachment 1941903


After an hour or so of detecting, we were finding household items; square nails, a spoon, an 1860s lock, another flat button, and odds and ends. Then I swept my coil over a loud iron signal that made me jump. Whatever it was, it was lying right underneath the leaves. When I kicked the leaves away, I was stunned to see a butt plate to a musket!

View attachment 1941904


My dad was very surprised, as was I. We had stumbled into a dumping area. A worm syrup or some other kind of med was lying on top of the ground next to a broken wine bottle, a Dr. Jaynes Vermafuge bottle (broken) a clay marble, and other pieces. We ping ponged all over looking for stuff that was laying right on top of the ground. I picked my metal detector back up and went over where I found the butt plate and got another banging signal. This time I reached down and pulled out a whole barrel!



View attachment 1941905


his time my dad and I were both screaming, laughing, yelling, jumping - we jumped right into a hornets nest. We ran like hell, making sure to grab everything we could. We went back the next day armed with bee killer and vanquished the little backstabbers and immediately found the trigger assembly. A Springfield! We could not find the lockplate unfortunately, but as luck would have it, I'll be moving to PA later this year, so maybe I'l find it this winter. It was in the dump, so there are a lot of signals to sort though.




View attachment 1941913 View attachment 1941914 View attachment 1941915

Not shown are some farm tools, two 1860s locks, and a marble. The Indian Head Pennies are dated 1881, 1884, and 188*.


The 50th Pa Vol. were outfitted with Springfield muskets in 1863, and that is what this appears to be. It is in very good condition for the amount of time it's been buried, and is solid. The nipple, the site the trigger, is all intact. It is very, very special to me to find this musket. I've been reading about Daniel for a few years now and to own things that he and his family used, along with the musket he carried during the war, gives me goosebumps.



The man who gave us permission was ecstatic about the find, and even gave us a large board from our 5th great grandfathers attic to mount it on. It is truly a special find that will hang proudly on the wall for as long as I live.


View attachment 1941916
Great story and Family History you have there. You are so very fortunate to have found the Springfield musket that your Grandfather carried as an Infantryman in the War of Northern Aggression. This was truly a once in a lifetime find. Thanks for sharing this with us. Here's hoping you can find the lockplate to complete your Grandad's musket. It is in great shape. What a wonderful piece of your families personal History you have in your posession. Well Done, and Congrat's.
 

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