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Cowles - which one? (Coin Silver)

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Author	Topic: Cowles - which one? (Coin Silver)
Pete9077 Posts: 26 Registered: Dec 2010	posted 12-06-2010 05:04 PM [26-2084] Cowles - which one? I am new to the site and know next to nothing about silver, so I need a little help, please. I happen to know something of the provenance of this spoon which I inherited. The initials "JW" stand for Jane Wright. She was my ggggrandmother. Jane Wright was Presbyterian, a member of the Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian Church, Kingston, Ross County, Ohio. She was baptized in that church in January of 1815. She was born August 24, 1808. Jane Wright married Thomas Zimmerman on August 1, 1844. Since her initials on this spoon are "JW" it seems that she must have acquired them before her marriage. This spoon appears to be coin silver - at least that is the opinion of family lore (which might be questionable). They are "soft". I am thinking there are two primary possibilities for the identity of the maker: Ralph Cowles, who was in Cleveland 1840 and after (perhaps before?). Rev. Whitfield Cowles from East Granby, CT. One of his sons actually moved to Ohio (50 miles north of Kingston). Rensselaer moved to Worthington, OH. In 1814. It was around this time that Whitfield, who was a Presbyterian minister, had difficulties with his denomination and also moved to Ohio where he preached for a time. Perhaps he actually met Jane Wright and so somehow she acquired spoons he had made?? So - is anyone able to help me identify the maker of this spoon? What do the marks of the eagle, "T" and star mean? Pete IP: Logged
wev Moderator Posts: 4121 Registered: Apr 99	posted 12-06-2010 06:28 PM Ralph is the most likely choice and I have seen the mark attributed to him before. He was in Claridon OH by 1819 (his career there is murky) and Cleveland by 1840. The spoon were not made by him, but retailed from his shop in one of the two cities. IP: Logged
Pete9077 Posts: 26 Registered: Dec 2010	posted 12-06-2010 08:46 PM Thanks for your help on this - - there is not too much distance between these two cities and Kingston - both quite a distance back then. It does'nt help me in trying to understand how she came into possession of the spoons - I think I will never know that. Do you know what the symbols (eagle, "T" and star mean? Thanks again for your help. Pete quote: Originally posted by wev: Ralph is the most likely choice and I have seen the mark attributed to him before. He was in Claridon OH by 1819 (his career there is murky) and Cleveland by 1840. The spoon were not made by him, but retailed from his shop in one of the two cities. ------------------ Pete IP: Logged
wev Moderator Posts: 4121 Registered: Apr 99	posted 12-06-2010 09:00 PM Don't forget that many of the "big city" shops of the era used road travelers, agents who would sell wares by wagon in outlying towns and settlements. The marks are from a wholesale maker, most likely in New York State. IP: Logged
Pete9077 Posts: 26 Registered: Dec 2010	posted 12-07-2010 06:29 AM Thanks for your help on this. I should have thought of the traveling jewelry salesman...my father did that -> wholesale, first watch parts and then diamond rings! quote: Originally posted by wev: Don't forget that many of the "big city" shops of the era used road travelers, agents who would sell wares by wagon in outlying towns and settlements. The marks are from a wholesale maker, most likely in New York State. ------------------ Pete IP: Logged
Polly Posts: 1970 Registered: Nov 2004	posted 12-08-2010 11:07 AM Dangerous work, I would think. IP: Logged
silverhunter Posts: 704 Registered: Jul 2007	posted 12-30-2010 03:06 AM Nice spoon and the pattern I haven't seen before, so it's good to see such one. About the marks it was once also a question from my side, concerning a eagle stamp but that one was found at a spoon I believed from England (in my memmory) so it is explained as a retail mark and I know now that this kind are retail marks (Thank you Weve!)and were also used in England concerning the eagle stamp. I don't know where the eagle stands for but if I ever read about it somewhere I let you know. Succes with the hobby! IP: Logged
Pete9077 Posts: 26 Registered: Dec 2010	posted 12-30-2010 06:08 AM Thanks for your comments. I have recently learned that there is a reference to the mark of "eagle, T, star" in the book by Dr. John R. McGrew: Manufacturers' Marks on American Coin Silver. The book indicates that the mark is that of a journeyman working in the Cleveland, Ohio area circa 1866. Apparently the book states that while the maker is yet to be identified, silver with this hallmark is known to have been retailed by Barrington & Davenport, Cleveland. This would certaiinly be in the right area for the provenance of this spoon, but the time period is not quite right. So I am not sure quite where to go from here! IP: Logged
Kimo Posts: 1627 Registered: Mar 2003	posted 12-30-2010 09:03 AM I expect that it would be coin silver, but that term is just a generic catch-all for silver made from melted down silverware, holloware, coins, and whatever else was no longer wanted and made from silver. Pretty much all American silver from before the middle of the century is coin silver, so the term doesn't really carry any significance. The silver content could be anywhere from about 80% to 95%, give or take, but most normally it is in the high 80s to low 90s in purity. The big silver mines in the U.S. were not discovered until 1859 so the availability of large quantities of silver bullion in the U.S. for manufacturing silverware and holloware was limited until then. The way much of the silver for these things was obtained was to melt down out of fashion or damaged silver objects and coins from Mexico, South America, and Europe, or whatever was at hand. Since all of these things had different silver purities, each resulting melt would be of varying purity and there was little reason to go through a refining step to control the exact purity. [This message has been edited by Kimo (edited 12-30-2010).] IP: Logged
Pete9077 Posts: 26 Registered: Dec 2010	posted 12-30-2010 10:04 AM Thanks - I am certain it is coin silver. Family oral tradition maintained that it is. The spoons are quite soft and easily bendable. IP: Logged
wev Moderator Posts: 4121 Registered: Apr 99	posted 12-30-2010 12:01 PM quote: the book by Dr. John R. McGrew Should be taken with a grain of salt, as well-meaning as the work may be. IP: Logged
Pete9077 Posts: 26 Registered: Dec 2010	posted 12-30-2010 01:26 PM Thanks for the "heads up". IP: Logged
flabob Posts: 39 Registered: May 2004	posted 01-03-2011 07:36 AM Hi and thanks for supplying all the background info on the history of the spoon - it is always good to have and can narrow down the maker and related information too. The Eagle-T-Star marks, sometimes called pseudo hallmarks, as they tended to imitate, though not to deceive, English hallmarks, have been studied in detail by a fine gentleman - John R. Mcgrew - and published in his bok - Manufacturer's Marks on American Coin Silver. Your mark is listed on page 59 as coming from an unidentified Cleveland, Ohio maker. The book also lists the varius retailers discovered so far that have been associated with the manufacturer. Your Mr. Cowles is listed. His full name is Royal Cowles and is listed as working in Cleveland 1846-49, 55-57. I do not see information on his time of birth, so he may have been working earlier. Hope this is of soem help. Regards! IP: Logged
Pete9077 Posts: 26 Registered: Dec 2010	posted 01-03-2011 08:34 AM Thank you. Information I have seen said the Cowles might be Ralph Cowles who was in Cleveland by 1840 and in Claridon, OH by 1819. I am wondering if he and Royal are the same person or father and son. I am posting a photo of the set: IP: Logged
wev Moderator Posts: 4121 Registered: Apr 99	posted 01-03-2011 10:13 AM Father and son: Ralph Royal IP: Logged
bascall Posts: 1629 Registered: Nov 99	posted 01-03-2011 12:32 PM The George and Herbert Cowell who are mentioned in regard to Royal Cowle immigrated from England in 1852 when Herbert was five years of age. George was listed as a brewer at that time and a grocer in 1860 in Cleveland. Herbert, the second son, would have been a little young to have gone into the jewelry business with father at that time, but I guess anything is possible. Herbert's brother Samuel H was also in the jewelry business in Cleveland. [This message has been edited by bascall (edited 01-03-2011).] IP: Logged
bascall Posts: 1629 Registered: Nov 99	posted 01-03-2011 06:29 PM Page 313 of Cleveland: the making of a city By William Ganson Rose (which is available on google) mentions that in about 1869 George and son Herbert Cowell went into the jewelry business together in Cleveland which fits much better with Herbert's age. H Cowell & Co which apparently took over Royal Cowles' business became Cowell Bros and by 1881 Cowell and Hubbard. Royal Cowles is listed as a watchmaker in the Cleveland Directory for the year ending July 1891. [This message has been edited by bascall (edited 01-03-2011).] IP: Logged
Pete9077 Posts: 26 Registered: Dec 2010	posted 01-03-2011 08:02 PM Thanks for following up on this. Where I am having difficulty in the timeline is that I believe these spoons are dated before 1840. Jane Wright, whose initials are on the spoons, married Thomas Zimmerman in 1840 or 1841. therefore she would have acquired them before 1840 (or else the initials on the spoons would be JZ!). IP: Logged

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