Bill D. (VA)
Silver Member
I've been trying to get myself onto a nice local site to hunt during the week, and decided to go back and check out some of the chancery court records I researched last year. I found one that was about a land dispute from 1802, and the documentation included a detailed plat map showing the property boundaries along with several house sites. One of the homes was labeled as "old house" which was very interesting. I then did a little bit of land patent research and found out this area was first settled around 1640, and the patentee's name was the same as the property owners shown on the chancery map. So I knew I was onto a good spot. I drove by the site yesterday afternoon, but the property was very intimidating with large brick columns on the main road followed by a long lane passing through a vineyard and horse farm leading to several homes with a magnificent view of the river from a high bluff. I decided to take a chance and drive back to the owner's house. She was an elderly lady who was a little standoffish at first, and I hadn't gotten the first 2 sentences out when she said "we don't allow any digging around here". The conversation almost ended right there, but as I began to show her the research materials I had printed out she became more friendly, and next thing I knew she invited me inside for a great 45 min chat. I also got permission to search the field, but she told me it had been hunted a lot over the years. She also told me a lot of fascinating history of the property including a visit from Captain John Smith, and the big Indian massacre in 1622. And she told me the W&M archaeology folks were turned down when they requested to do a major dig at this site. She then directed me to the exact spot where the long-gone house was located, and it was precisely in the same spot as indicated in the chancery records. I quickly found an iron patch (not very expansive or dense) and started working it slowly. But the targets were few and far between, and most were low tones as is usually the case when others have cherry picked a site. I dug a couple musketballs, several buckle pieces and leather ornaments, and 2 or 3 buttons, but not much for a 2 hour hunt. It was also apparent that just about all the finds were 18th century and not the 1600s I was hoping for. Not long before I was getting ready to head out I got a nice surprise when a little cut pistareen popped out. And then on the next row over another silver was revealed. Those coins were a welcome sight as this has been a very sub-par year for me in that department. Later when cleaning the finds what I thought was a flat button turned out to be a thin copper coin. I can barely see some lettering at a couple spots around the edge but not nearly enough to ID it. I also recovered a cool looking early pewter button with a star design on the front. The owner wants me to come back and sit down with her and her sister-in-law and go over all the research materials I have, and to make extra copies for them. That should ensure my permission remains intact. Also, the chancery map shows another early home close-by on the neighboring property, and she knows the owner well. That bodes well for possibly getting another permission, so hopefully both of these new sites will keep me busy until planting begins in a few weeks.
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