gtoast99
Sr. Member
Hey everybody!! Sorry in advance for the long post, I'm capturing this for posterity, LOL.
The Backstory
My wife and I bought our farm 3 years ago. Not long after we were discussing the giant oaks on the property, and wondering about their history - what they might have seen. So I began a long process of researching who walked these lands before me. I learned of the family who moved here in 1845, the Webb's, and wanted to write their story. The journey has taken me years (and isn't over!) introduced me to new friends and new people. I've met with Webb descendants from almost every line of the family. One of them even dubbed me an "honorary Webb". I've done more research on their genealogy than my own! I've emailed with descendants of both slave and slave and slave owner. I've held in my hands their writings, letters, journals, even the family bible. To hold these relics in my hands, knowing where they came from and who owned them, is really an amazing experience. Here's some of the fruits of this endeavor, though I have more as yet unpublished.
This search is the reason I MD the way I do. I had a MD for quite some time, but I really only used it for the occasional beach trip. The reason I took up land detecting and searching for history is because I wanted to find something connected to the land and the people who lived here before me, and the greater history of our nation.
Last Year's 1927 Reunion Medal
Last July I found exactly the sort of relic I had been looking for: Capt Sam Webb's medal from the 1927 reunion of the United Confederate Veterans. In 1927, the house was owned by Capt. Sam H. Webb, a confederate veteran from the 7th NC Reserves. According to my research he was very active in the local Confederate veterans organizations (so much so that it's mentioned in his obituary). My biggest goal in MD'ing the farm was to find something I could definitively attribute to the Webb family - needless to say, this is certainly my favorite find. I found the other half of the two-piece medal in Feb at the same location. You can see more about this medal here and here.
Today's find: 1924 Reunion Medal!!
I managed to get most of my "have-to"'s on the farm done fairly early, so I had some time to MD. I was debating where to go. I'd been to too many tot-lots lately, and the only good ones I haven't cleaned out recently were a bit of a drive. I tried to call Found to see if he wanted to door-knock, but didn't get up with him. I have a couple old spots up my sleeve, but it's been so dry lately, I wanted to wait until we got some rain. So where to go....
I decided to stick to my own played-out farm. I was out there for what seemed like forever, and was getting bupkis. I finally got one nifty thing (icebox latch?) and came in to post it to the ID section. Afterwards I hemmed and hawed about going back out. It's hot, I'm tired, yadda yadda. BUT I did NOT want to get SKUNKED today. So once more I hit the fields.
I decided to try the spot where I had found Sam Webb's 1927 United Confederate Veterans reunion medal last July, and the second half of the two piece medal in February. The area had produced in the past, and I had yet to try it with my new SEF coil.
I got a tiny little buckle by the "medal" tree, a good start. The SEF is awesome at finding the smaller and deeper targets than the stock. Then I got another one, 70-73, and a small pinpoint area. Probably another small shallow target. Dug shallow - nope, deeper. I started getting excited - maybe this time an old coin?
Down Down Down I chiseled away at the sunbaked North Carolina clay. Finally I see it emerge from the hole, an oddly shaped flat piece of brass, caked in the orange clay. I was thinking (hoping?) pin of some sort. UCV even crossed my mind, how funny would that be?
I ran to the spigot and started rinsing. A building appeared... and letters... "Memphis, Tenn." I ran off to show the wife - "Dollars to Donuts" I said "This is another UCV pin!" She rolled her eyes and went back to untacking her pony, LOL.
I ran inside, and a 2 second google search proved me right. The 1924 reunion of the United Confederate Veterans in Memphis, Tenn. Another two-piece medal, so you can guess where I'll be all day tomorrow! Wish me luck on finding the other half!!!
Oh, and here's a pic of what it *should* look like, LOL Sorry for the novel, but hopefully some of you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading!!
The Backstory
My wife and I bought our farm 3 years ago. Not long after we were discussing the giant oaks on the property, and wondering about their history - what they might have seen. So I began a long process of researching who walked these lands before me. I learned of the family who moved here in 1845, the Webb's, and wanted to write their story. The journey has taken me years (and isn't over!) introduced me to new friends and new people. I've met with Webb descendants from almost every line of the family. One of them even dubbed me an "honorary Webb". I've done more research on their genealogy than my own! I've emailed with descendants of both slave and slave and slave owner. I've held in my hands their writings, letters, journals, even the family bible. To hold these relics in my hands, knowing where they came from and who owned them, is really an amazing experience. Here's some of the fruits of this endeavor, though I have more as yet unpublished.
This search is the reason I MD the way I do. I had a MD for quite some time, but I really only used it for the occasional beach trip. The reason I took up land detecting and searching for history is because I wanted to find something connected to the land and the people who lived here before me, and the greater history of our nation.
Last Year's 1927 Reunion Medal
Last July I found exactly the sort of relic I had been looking for: Capt Sam Webb's medal from the 1927 reunion of the United Confederate Veterans. In 1927, the house was owned by Capt. Sam H. Webb, a confederate veteran from the 7th NC Reserves. According to my research he was very active in the local Confederate veterans organizations (so much so that it's mentioned in his obituary). My biggest goal in MD'ing the farm was to find something I could definitively attribute to the Webb family - needless to say, this is certainly my favorite find. I found the other half of the two-piece medal in Feb at the same location. You can see more about this medal here and here.
Today's find: 1924 Reunion Medal!!
I managed to get most of my "have-to"'s on the farm done fairly early, so I had some time to MD. I was debating where to go. I'd been to too many tot-lots lately, and the only good ones I haven't cleaned out recently were a bit of a drive. I tried to call Found to see if he wanted to door-knock, but didn't get up with him. I have a couple old spots up my sleeve, but it's been so dry lately, I wanted to wait until we got some rain. So where to go....
I decided to stick to my own played-out farm. I was out there for what seemed like forever, and was getting bupkis. I finally got one nifty thing (icebox latch?) and came in to post it to the ID section. Afterwards I hemmed and hawed about going back out. It's hot, I'm tired, yadda yadda. BUT I did NOT want to get SKUNKED today. So once more I hit the fields.
I decided to try the spot where I had found Sam Webb's 1927 United Confederate Veterans reunion medal last July, and the second half of the two piece medal in February. The area had produced in the past, and I had yet to try it with my new SEF coil.
I got a tiny little buckle by the "medal" tree, a good start. The SEF is awesome at finding the smaller and deeper targets than the stock. Then I got another one, 70-73, and a small pinpoint area. Probably another small shallow target. Dug shallow - nope, deeper. I started getting excited - maybe this time an old coin?
Down Down Down I chiseled away at the sunbaked North Carolina clay. Finally I see it emerge from the hole, an oddly shaped flat piece of brass, caked in the orange clay. I was thinking (hoping?) pin of some sort. UCV even crossed my mind, how funny would that be?
I ran to the spigot and started rinsing. A building appeared... and letters... "Memphis, Tenn." I ran off to show the wife - "Dollars to Donuts" I said "This is another UCV pin!" She rolled her eyes and went back to untacking her pony, LOL.
I ran inside, and a 2 second google search proved me right. The 1924 reunion of the United Confederate Veterans in Memphis, Tenn. Another two-piece medal, so you can guess where I'll be all day tomorrow! Wish me luck on finding the other half!!!
Oh, and here's a pic of what it *should* look like, LOL Sorry for the novel, but hopefully some of you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading!!
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. Glad to see your research and perservearance is paying off. I'd put that machine in all-metal and dig it all right there.
