Hello Hal,
I have completed the metal analysis, and these are the findings I can pass along to you. As you may recall, we collected samples from both the nail and the plaque.
Metal sample from nail: The nail is made of iron, with a very low sulfur content. There is a small amount of Mn present (~0.26%). These findings are suggestive of a post 1840’s wrought iron. No additional elements were noted.
Metal sample from plaque: The plaque is made of aluminum, and is of very high purity. In addition, the carbon content is high. As such, the plaque represents a cast-aluminum, not available until the late 1800’s, at the earliest. Hence, the plaque in this case is likely more recent than the nails, the nails being post 1840’s.
I hope that this information is useful to you in some regard. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Best wishes,
Christa
Christa L. Brosseau, PhD
Associate Professor
Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Chemistry and Materials
Department of Chemistry
Saint Mary’s University
Halifax, NS, Canada
The name on one of the sticks is “Stewart Jones”. He was born “Frederick A Stewart Jones” in 1901 and died in 1980. Stewart was named after his father and grandfather.
Excerpt taken from “History of Aluminum: Quick Read” http://www.aluminum.org/aluminum-advantage/history-aluminum
The name on one of the sticks is “Stewart Jones”. He was born “Frederick A Stewart Jones” in 1901 and died in 1980. Stewart was named after his father and grandfather. His grandfather was a known shipbuilder in this area. His father was Frederick Charles Jones who was named after his descendants as well.
The process identified the metal plaque on the stick as aluminum and dated it as late 1800s or early 1900s which coincides with the birth of Stewart in 1901 and therefore the gift given to him. What is interesting to note is that the nails were dated as post 1840’s proving that the family used tools such as lumber and nails in this time period. The radiocarbon dating process also median dated one of the sticks to 1839. As explained on this site, when travelling to the new world by ship, the wood from the ship was often re-purposed and used for other needed items to help in the survival of the family(s). The family owned both sticks but then had the plaque made and nailed to one of the sticks for the child. It was then given by the family to the descendant, the child, as a gift with the plaque on it representing these important family heirlooms. Only a special gift would be worthy of a plaque such as this as in a “Family Treasure”. It’s like framing a rug hook or needle point before passing it to another generation. For the family to do this, it establishes the significance of the item as a family heirloom and so the question has to be asked why? There is a significance to this family heirloom.
The family were shipbuilders and traveled from Germany via Pennsylvania to this NEW land. Did the sticks come from the wood of the boat that brought this family to the NEW world? They had the tools and the ability to make sophisticated wood products. Hockey was played around Germany at the time they sailed as given in evidence from the artwork on this site. “Hockey” was also played in the area of Pennsylvania as well, again through art work discovered and posted to this site. Was the stick created from the wood of one of these two ships?