WW1 dog tag and something else

[Hawkeye56]

Hello all, These two items were actually found last week when I had a week off, but this was the first opportunity to share them. The first is a WW1 dog tag, front and back (sorry for the bad photo) I was able to get the man's name off the front and serial number off the back, and an office co-worker was able to locate his draft card online. Here's his draft card I think I'm going to try and find his family and return it to them as an heirloom. The next photo is of a mystery, and I was hoping to get some help on identifying it. It appears to be a man in scholarly garb or priestly robes, with a mug in his left hand. There are two small "X" to the top right. The attachment looks like it was made for a ribbon. A watch fob, religious or school medal? The site where these items were found dates from 1890-1920. Any help would be appreciated. Thx

 

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[GB1]

nice finds the dog tag is cool and the second item i believe is a watch fob

 

[BLK HOLE]

Nice finds, returning that dog tag would really be something. I concur with Gold Boy it looks like a watch fob to me also.

 

[Whyme]

Nice finds! Dog tag is cool. Returning it to the family is way cool!

 

[A2coins]

Nice relics I love stuff like that, Thats a very nice thing to do to locate the Family Tommy

 

[dirtdigginfool]

AWESOME find, and yes, i agree...I bet the family would be touched to have it. Ddf.

 

[Mackaydon]

Nice gesture with your intent to return to tag to one of his kin.
Keep an open mind if you make initial contact.
You might be greeted with 'open arms' --or not.
Some will suspect you are trying to sell them the tag.
Some will have no interest due to a bad experience with that soldier.
I write from experience; but each potential recipient was (eventually) glad to receive the tag.
Please keep us posted.
Don..........

 

[Hawks88]

Couple of nice saves. Congrats

 

[peruna]

Well, it is Reformation Day...maybe you celebrated by finding a "Luther".

BTW, that is a great idea of trying to return the ID disc...praying you are able to locate his family, and that they are open and willing to receive that treasure.

It's late...better head to bed after that.

 

[Hawkeye56]

Thanks for the replies. My plan is to try to trace him through the census records to see if I can get a lead. Preliminary searches on the genealogy pages (free) have turned up false leads. Believe it or not there's only a couple of people in our county with that surname. He was born in a neighboring county and probably traveled to work after the war. No telling where he ended up.

BTW, I found several coins in the pre-1920 range and some interesting brass items. I will try to get a good photo of the group and post those as well.

 

[Mackaydon]

Suggestion:
Ask at the Reference Desk at the county libraries for the County Historian in which this soldier was born AND where he resided at the time of his induction. There's only about 300 people that live in the 'town' where he was born; asking some of the locals might lead you closer to a kin.

Also, knowing that he lived in Athens at the time he entered the Army, might be a lead to finding his former address--then ask neighbors.

You may also wish to check with the local (Athens) American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars groups for any info on this GI.
Good luck,
Don...

 

[Nick79]

Cool finds and good luck on finding some kin, nice of you to try and locate them

 

[DCMatt]

No question your brass item is a watch fob. I'm guessing it is an advertisement/give-away item. The monk represents some beer brand from back then. I don't know what brand. In the pre-prohibition days, there were thousands of breweries around the country. And EVERYBODY made watch fobs to give away as advertising.

Using a monk on the beer label would not have been unusual as, way back in the day, monks made all the beer.

The 2 X's in the background indicate the strength of the beer. In the days before monks had a scientific method of testing alcohol content, they did it the old fashioned way - they drank it to see how much was needed to get drunk. They would then mark the barrels with crosses (what else would a monk use as his mark) to indicate strength. More X's = more alcohol content.

Of course the problem was, after the test (before the barrels were marked) they would be hammered. The crosses sort of fell over and ultimately became X's. At least that's the way the story goes.

Cheers!

DCMatt

 

[CRUSADER]

Angelo's Angels WWII Dog Tag Return Project
Although this site specialises in returning WWII tags, they did help me return a WWI tag to Australia! Try them.

 

[huntsman53]

Thanks for the replies. My plan is to try to trace him through the census records to see if I can get a lead. Preliminary searches on the genealogy pages (free) have turned up false leads. Believe it or not there's only a couple of people in our county with that surname. He was born in a neighboring county and probably traveled to work after the war. No telling where he ended up.

BTW, I found several coins in the pre-1920 range and some interesting brass items. I will try to get a good photo of the group and post those as well.

Great finds and I hope you are able to return the Dog Tag to the family!

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Very nice finds and research!

 

[Hawkeye56]

Thanks for all the help guys! I'll check that site out Crusader, they may have some ideas. Thanks DCMatt for the identification, that makes all the sense in the world. I wonder if it may have been brought back from Europe as a (WW1) souvenir, this place was kind of a desolate frontier in the early 1900's. I work slow guys, but I WILL report back what I find out about the dog tag. DLG

 

[CRUSADER]

Thanks for all the help guys! I'll check that site out Crusader, they may have some ideas. Thanks DCMatt for the identification, that makes all the sense in the world. I wonder if it may have been brought back from Europe as a (WW1) souvenir, this place was kind of a desolate frontier in the early 1900's. I work slow guys, but I WILL report back what I find out about the dog tag. DLG

You are now part of it's story.

From what I gather, the WWI Aussie soldier went no-where near where I found it. But I'm 95% sure of how it got there. It was taken off him whilst in a UK hospital probably in the uniform pocket & sold to the rag man, taken on train & sold to farmers to dump on the field as shoddy.