UMass Boston Historical Archaeology Graduate Program

This week's is from Joseph Kinney: My thesis is investigating methods of understanding class differences at 19th-century rural sites. The data comes from excavations by researchers at Vermont State University at Granger House, a rural farmstead in Castleton, Vermont, built circa 1806, and a collection of Castleton probate inventories from the mid 1800s. Spatial analysis of ceramic ware types will speak to changes in household refuse disposal areas over time, i.e. changes in site use between households, while comparing the probate inventories of Granger House occupants and their contemporaries will complement archaeological data. Excavations at Granger House have produced a ceramic collection of over 10,000 sherds, so while ceramic examination is still ongoing, there are interesting findings from preliminary probate analysis to share.

Isaac T. Wright was a wealthy attorney whose estate was inventoried in 1862. Among his household goods, appraisers counted 13 works of art, listed with shorthand titles and assigned values. The appraisers listed one as "Shakespeare and His Friends," probably referring to the ca. 1858 painting, "Shakespeare and His Contemporaries" by John Faed. Wright's copy was likely an engraving.
Wright's estate is rare in this regard, as only two other estates in my study contained pictures or paintings, perhaps indicating a material distinction between classes. The level of detail the appraisers afforded these pictures is in contrast to how they lumped Wright's table wares as "crockery and glass-ware," with specific decorations or vessel forms seldom specified. The pictures commanded special attention from the appraisers, more so than Wright's table settings, and may have had a similar effect upon guests during Wright's lifetime as well.

Images: the page of Wright's probate inventory with the listed pictures (Vermont State Archives and Records Administration 1863), John Faed's ca. 1858 "Shakespeare and His Contemporaries," and a ca. 1859 engraving of the same.

Joseph Kinney

Congratulations to Katie Brauckmann who defended her thesis today, the first of several in the coming weeks!

Daniela Balanzátegui and the Latin American Historical Archaeology Lab have organized a two-day seminar on Historical Reparations in the Americas Wednesday and Thursday of this week. Here is the flyer for its distribution with an extended agenda through the QR code.