M. C. Lilley & Co button -- SER Y

[chirogal10]

I found this button along with two bullets in a box of items left to me by my grandfather. They were in a box marked "Civil War". Does anybody know what kind of button this is? I have seen other types of buttons that were post-Civil War by this company, but I don't know anything about.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Agony and Death on a Gold Rush Steamer: The Disastrous Sinking of the Side-Wheeler Yankee Blade - Grab it through Amazon!

[TheCannonballGuy]

Your grandfather's button is not a Military button, nor is it from the civil war era. M.C. Lilley & Co. did not exist until 1870. It lasted from that time until around the end of World War Two... so this button can be from anytime in that range. I should mention, the Lilley Co. was not a button maker, it was a (fraternal) lodge & military goods dealer/seller. I have not seen a button with the "SERy" logo before. I think it might be what button-collectors call a Career Uniform button (hotel staff, railroad workers, etc.).

You might already know, but in case you don't:
The bullet on the left is a Confederate-made Enfield-pattern .577-caliber Minie-bullet. The one on the right is a yankee "US Regulation" .58-caliber Minie-bullet, manufactured by Williams & Co. for the US Army.

 

[DCMatt]

SERy may be a railroad button. I found references to SERY as the Seashore Electric Railway in Maine and as the Stockton Electric Railway in California.

I found other examples of the button but no definitive information about the origin.

 

[Red-Coat]

I would be sure that the ‘Ry’ part of the lettering is for ‘Railway’.

For information, “M.C. Lilley & Co.” was founded in 1865 at the end of the Civil War and operated under that name until 1881. Then in 1882 they changed name to “The M.C. Lilley & Co.” and continued under that name until 1925 when the company name was shortened to “The Lilley Co.”

By 1870 they were a major producer of both ready-made uniforms and metal fitments/accessories for fraternal organisations, state militias, telegraph operators, and railway workers.

 

[alabama11]

A Col Eli Lilly US established a drug company after the war. This came from a newspaper article. I do not have the copy to add.
Best JT

 

[Red-Coat]

A Col Eli Lilly US established a drug company after the war. This came from a newspaper article. I do not have the copy to add.
Best JT

?

Mitchell C. Lilley (with an 'e') founded this uniform and accoutrements company in 1865, having previously been a bookbinder and publisher in Columbus, Ohio.