SMP Logo
SM Publications
Silver Salon Forums - The premier site for discussing Silver.
SMP | Silver Salon Forums | SSF - Guidelines | SSF - FAQ | Silver Sales


Welcome to the Silver Salon Forums !
Since 1993
Over 11,793 threads & 64,769 posts !!

New members' post here Forum

The Silver Salon Forums are open to anyone with an interest in silver and a willingness to share. Know little or nothing about silver? Don't worry! Anyone with a genuine desire to explore the subject of silver and related metal crafts is welcome.



Favorites: (9/09/07) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11


REGISTER (click here) How to Post Photos


customtitle open  SMP Silver Salon Forums
tlineopen  New members post here
tline3open  J.C. WILSON Silversmith

Post New Topic  Post A Reply
profile | register | preferences | faq | search

ForumFriend SSFFriend: Email This Page to Someone! next newest topic | next oldest topic
Author Topic:   J.C. WILSON Silversmith
Gloverfl

Posts: 3
Registered: Jul 2016

iconnumber posted 07-05-2016 05:41 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Gloverfl     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have a family heirloom coin silver serving spoon with maker's mark J.C. WILSON. The original owner of the monogrammed spoon, EGM (1795 -1873), lived in Romney, Virginia (now West Virginia). Family story is that the spoon was made from silver dollars that EGM earned as a drummer boy in the war of 1812. Traditionally, the spoon has been passed on to our family's oldest surviving son. I inherited the spoon in 1982.

Despite much expert assistance, I have been unable to uncover any reliable information regarding the silversmith, J.C. WILSON. However, I have found for sale a set of coin silver teaspoons and a coin silver sugar tongs. Each item had a J.C. WILSON maker's mark identical to that on the serving spoon.

[snip please properly post images]

IP: Logged

Kimo

Posts: 1627
Registered: Mar 2003

iconnumber posted 07-05-2016 10:44 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Kimo     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Please read the following page on how to post photos on this forum. http://www.smpub.com/ubb/FAQ/HowToPostPhotos.htm

I do not know anything about this silversmith so I cannot help you with this - hopefully someone here will be able to help. One thing I can help you with is that your family story about this spoon, like most every other family story that comes down with heirlooms, may be a bit romanticized. Your ancestor was, I believe, Ephraim Gilmore Means. You mention that he was born in 1795 which would make him a bit too old to have been a drummer boy in the war of 1812-1815. Most drummer boys were too young to be a regular soldier. As such they tended to be more in the 14 to 16 years old range while soldiers tended to be more in the 17 years and older. Your Ephraim would have been around 17 or 18 at the start of the war and 20 or 21 by the end of it. I did a quick look up on him and found that he did serve in the 1812-1815 war, but he served as a private in the 2nd Virginia Infantry Regiment, sometimes called Evan's Regiment named after its commander. There would be more information on him and his service and whether he received a land bounty at the end of the war (many soldiers of that war were eligible to apply to receive up top 150 acres of land out on the frontier) at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. The National Archives would likely have any pension papers he may have filed as well.

IP: Logged

wev
Moderator

Posts: 4121
Registered: Apr 99

iconnumber posted 07-06-2016 10:39 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for wev     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
A quick look at the census records shows that Means was in Hampshire VA (1820), Newark OH (1830), and Salem OH (1840). He married his first wife on 1 Jan 1815 in Allegany County MD; his second on 17 Oct 1843 in Champaign County OH. He eventually settled in Jefferson, Logan OH where he is recorded as a well-to-do farmer in the 1850 census. Given the form of the spoon, it dates from the period of his first marriage. I checked for any J. C. Wilson working in MD, VA, and OH, but found no possibilities. I have seen the original EGM monogram on this piece, which is charming, though naive in execution, suggesting a country, rather than city, origin. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell when or where it was done; it may have no connection to Wilson, who could have been a wholesaler supplying that area. As stated elsewhere, I have seen this mark on various pieces of this ilk over the years, but have found no commonality of time/location among them.

IP: Logged

Kimo

Posts: 1627
Registered: Mar 2003

iconnumber posted 07-06-2016 10:50 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Kimo     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Hi Wev. Your idea of Wilson being the wholesaler or retailer rather than the silver smith sounds like a promising avenue to explore.

IP: Logged

Gloverfl

Posts: 3
Registered: Jul 2016

iconnumber posted 07-06-2016 03:21 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Gloverfl     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thank you wev and Waylander!!
It is wonderful to receive such erudite and helpful replies.

I have resized and posted a picture of the J.C. WILSON maker's mark in the photo gallery art the address below:

[This message has been edited by wev (edited 07-06-2016).]

IP: Logged

All times are ET

next newest topic | next oldest topic

Administrative Options: Close Topic | Archive/Move | Delete Topic
Post New Topic  Post A Reply
Hop to:


Ultimate Bulletin Board 5.46a


1. Public Silver Forums (open Free membership) - anyone with a valid e-mail address may register. Once you have received your Silver Salon Forum password, and then if you abide by the Silver Salon Forum Guidelines, you may start a thread or post a reply in the New Members' Forum. New Members who show a continued willingness to participate, to completely read and abide by the Guidelines will be allowed to post to the Member Public Forums.
Click here to Register for a Free password

2. Private Silver Salon Forums (invitational or $ donation membership) - The Private Silver Salon Forums require registration and special authorization to view, search, start a thread or to post a reply. Special authorization can be obtained in one of several ways: by Invitation; Annual $ Donation; or via Special Limited Membership. For more details click here (under development).

3. Administrative/Special Private Forums (special membership required) - These forums are reserved for special subjects or administrative discussion. These forums are not open to the public and require special authorization to view or post.


| Home | Order | The Guide to Evaluating Gold & Silver Objects | The Book of Silver
| Update BOS Registration | Silver Library | For Sale | Our Wants List | Silver Dealers | Speakers Bureau |
| Silversmiths | How to set a table | Shows | SMP | Silver News |
copyright © 1993 - 2022 SM Publications
All Rights Reserved.
Legal & Privacy Notices