Really Cool Bracelet With Names From Colonial Homesite, Other Relics Too!

[FoundInNC]

***Update on identity of "bracelet" Thanks to ErikInNJ, I have a positive identification. The names are the manufacturer of an 18th century Lorgnette or spectacle company. He was able to identify them because the only surviving pair was recovered in an archaeological dig in Burma in 1914. This was documented in a text that is published in Google Books(an amazing reference). I dug one today, and some fellow dug one a hundred years ago. It sure is neat how things come together. It is still probably my favorite find of the day!

Back to the original story......

Hey Everyone, I had to cut my hunt short I was so excited to see what I had found. I went to one of the oldest homesites that I am allowed to hunt and found some good stuff in a short 30 minute dig around the foundation of the house. My first signal that I dug is the most significant, I think. I thought it was a copper wire at first, but before I put it in my pouch, I noticed a letter on the side. I started brushing dirt off and it was covered in letters, that made NAMES! I was shocked because I love finding personal effects like that. The other two finds would have made my day to find either, but they were my second and third finds! The second find was that cast tombac button, which I have never dug or seen one like, and the third find was a neat piece of slate that when I was rubbing the dirt off, I noticed it had a hole in it, for a NECKLACE! I dug the slate while digging a nail signal. There are tons of pottery shards.

The bracelet is missing a section, but the four names that I can see are, *in this order:

GEORG WEIGET (or WETGET)
*** (three stars)
JON ERHARD
MAY SEFTIGE
ERREN JO (then it is broken)

Any help on the bracelet would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for looking, now back to the site to dig up some more stuff, that will be added later tonight.

One bit of assistance I have on the identity of the individuals on the bracelet is that there is a small cemetary about 300 feet from the housesite, but that is ALL there is on the 100 acre farm. The tombstones are simple rocks marking head and foot. The only tombstone that is engraved reads JOHN STEPHENS March 20 1795 Feb 29 1851. Hopefully this helps.






Eyeglass frame and large cent for size comparison


some hammered nails, half a pewter button, and a tombac material button? wagon wheel design


GORG WEIGET

JON ERHARD

MAY SEFTIGE

ERREN JO or TO (JO is the beginning of a last name)

 

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[Erik in NJ]

Here's the description from Christie's (notice some of the same names):
Lot Description Two late 17th/early 18th-Century Nuremberg reading glasses,
with thin copper wire frames, the larger stamped J. E. MAY SEEL.ERE - IOH.HIERONIMUS SCHNEIDER -- IOH.ERHARD MAY SEEL.ERE -- 5cm. (2in.) diameter; the other -- 4.3cm (1¾in.) diameter (2)

N.B. that both J and I are used in this description. Could IOH. be a title?

Not exactly yours, but very similar. Found here.
View attachment 692109

 

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[reednc]

Congratulations Brad. That is a fascinating piece of history.

 

[FoundInNC]

Not exactly yours, but very similar. Found here.
View attachment 692109

@ Gtoast, AMAZING. You and Erik NAILED it. I am SO grateful for you guys, It is such a good feeling to know that I do not have to do any more looking at family trees!

@Bov13, that is what makes this the best forum out there. I went to FMDF first , but ended up here and will be here for the duration. Plain and simple, there are lots good folks that love the hobby just as much as I do.

 

[Erik in NJ]

You're welcome! It's been an interesting journey so far. With the pics that gtoast posted that little bend on your item makes sense and it seems that there might be another piece of these "eye glasses" out there for you to find! Wish I was closer--would love to help you find the missing piece. There's still research to be done as there still seems to be some descrepency with the names from the various sources we have found. There's the enigmantic "IOH"--would love to know what this represents.....a title perhaps? And it would be nice to learn a little more about the gentlemen listed on the copper band who now it appears were from Nuremberg, Germany. The find is old--late 1600's to early 1700's which is fantastic. Any German speakers here might be able to help. Also if you post on the "What Is It?" forum, some of the guys that frequent that forum are excellent with the research.

@ Gtoast, AMAZING. You and Erik NAILED it. I am SO grateful for you guys, It is such a good feeling to know that I do not have to do any more looking at family trees!

 

[Bavaria Mike]

This has been a really good post! I happen to live 45 minutes from Nuremburg Germany and it's always exciting to learn a little more about the town and how influential it has been. "IOH" is an abreviation for Iohanne or Johannes. I had to research the letter "J" replacing the "I" and I'm still confused but understand it better, way too much info to type out here, LOL. IOH.HIERONIMUS SCHNEIDER's metal shop was in Fürth, a suburb of Nuremburg and dates from the late 1600s to the mid 1700s. That makes your find a very early piece of American history. HH, Mike

 

[HISPAN]

Nice finds ...congrats !

 

[Erik in NJ]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for doing some research into the Nuremburg origins of these names. The names on the find are actually:

IOH GEORG WEIGEL
IOH ERHARD MAY
SEELIGE ERREN

And here's the link to a book which describes the spectacles that were unearthed in Burma in the early 1900s:

Report of the Superintendent - Burma. Archaeological Survey - Google Books

The author ponders the meaning of "IOH" and reads as "EDWARD" what we clearly see as "ERHARD." At least one of these names is also found on the item that was auctioned by Christie's. "Schneider" is named on another similar item, but his name is not found on the item that was dug (at least not on the fragment that was found). Again here is the description (note the alternate or possible misspellings of some names, e.g. SEEL.ERE).

Lot Description
Two late 17th/early 18th-Century Nuremberg reading glasses,
with thin copper wire frames, the larger stamped J. E. MAY SEEL.ERE - IOH.HIERONIMUS SCHNEIDER -- IOH.ERHARD MAY SEEL.ERE -- 5cm. (2in.) diameter; the other -- 4.3cm (1¾in.) diameter (2)
Would it be possible to explorer your sources searching for the three names I listed who in all likelihood resided in Nuremburg during this timeframe? Thanks, Erik

This has been a really good post! I happen to live 45 minutes from Nuremburg Germany and it's always exciting to learn a little more about the town and how influential it has been. "IOH" is an abreviation for Iohanne or Johannes. I had to research the letter "J" replacing the "I" and I'm still confused but understand it better, way too much info to type out here, LOL. IOH.HIERONIMUS SCHNEIDER's metal shop was in Fürth, a suburb of Nuremburg and dates from the late 1600s to the mid 1700s. That makes your find a very early piece of American history. HH, Mike