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| Title |
VICTORIAN MOURNING RING |
| Image |
 |
| Found in |
1999 |
| Found By |
Don Ellmore |
| Value |
500 |
| Category |
Ring |
| Heading |
Beneath its domed crystal was a lock of the young man's hair. |
| Description |
In a forested tract near an old Massachusetts church, Don Ellmore found a ring. An ordinary occurrence? Not if you know the rest of the story. Plain wedding bands and class rings are common enough, and diamond rings, desirable as they are, aren't necessarily rare. Don's find was. Engraved "William Matthew Buckley on 8th Feb'y 1850 at 27," it is 18K gold, and beneath its domed crystal was a lock of the young man's hair. Five marks within the band identify it as having been made by the firm of David Tanqueray in Birmingham, England between 1850 and 1856, when mourning rings were regarded as a fashionable yet dignified means of expressing one's loving remembrance of a departed family member, sweetheart, or friend. Presumably, the lady who honored William Matthew Buckley's memory in that manner later came to the United States as an immigrant or visitor, and lost the ring. Because the crystal was loose when the ring was found, Don had it reset by a jeweler and placed the hair in a separate container for better preservation. With research and restoration now complete, his next quest is to locate any of Buckley's living descendants so that the ring can resume its quiet commemoration of a relative now at rest.
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| General Location Found |
In a forested tract near an old Massachusetts church |
| Condition |
Very Good |
| Contact Email |
westeast@treasurenet.com |
| Keywords |
ring, hair, mourning |
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Entered s0-217-a-gte.br5.blv.nwnexus.net 2000/05/26 15:48
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