1. P r e s i d e n t i a l
M e m o r a b i l i a f r o m T h e
1 8 6 0 - 1 8 8 0 S ,
M o n t g o m e r y
C o u n t y , M a r y l a n d
A S S E E N A T T H E J A C K S O N
H O M E S T E A D S I T E
( 1 8 M O 6 0 9 )
Gregory Katz, Louis
2. LINCOLN (1860) AND
CLEVELAND (1888)
• Site where artifacts were recovered is the Jackson Homestead
Site (18MO609), African-American site spanning pre-/post-
emancipation
• Site investigated by URS/AECOM for the ICC/MC200 project,
work conducted in 2008
6. PRESIDENTIAL MEDALLIONS
Also called medals by collectors
Attached to pins, can be changed-out each election
Part of array of memorabilia made at the time
Image from prestokens.blogspot
.com
7. 1860 ELECTION
• Lincoln ran against three other candidates
Maryland Results:
• Montgomery County: Lincoln got 50 votes (2%)
• “Bell and Union vs. Breckinridge and Disunion”
Votes %
Abraham Lincoln 2294 2.5
Stephen Douglas 5966 6.4
John Breckinridge 42482 45.9
John Bell 41760 45.1
8. MEDALLION CONTEXT
• African Americans could not vote, but clearly held a stake in the
election and saw Lincoln as a hope for emancipation
• Public display by Jackson of her political support would have
been problematic. Probably confined to display in her home
• Where Jackson got the medallion is unknown.
– Through Quaker connections?
– Through military connections?
– Through the underground railroad?
11. GROVER CLEVELAND MATCH
SAFE
• Very popular at the time, many produced
• Two finishes (plain brass and silvered)
• Patented in 1888, may have been made also in 1884 and/or
1892 campaigns
12. MATCH SAFES
• Practical and portable
• Came into use in the 1830s and were particularly popular
between 1890 and 1920
• Popular form of campaign memorabilia
13. 1888 CLEVELAND CAMPAIGN
• Cleveland had reputation as a reformer and fighter against
corruption
• Ran this campaign (2nd of three) touting his success as a
reformer and as anti-tariff
• Cleveland was popular in Maryland and carried the state
• Mixed and not great record on race and Jim Crow laws
14. MATCH SAFE CONTEXT
• Cleveland was not generally perceived as a friend or ally of
African-American community
• Cleveland believed in tenants of limited government [“people
should support the government, not the government support
the people”], fairness (against political corruption and big-
money interests), and anti-trade unionization
• By 1888, Melinda Jackson had died, and her children resided on
property. Could be Cleveland aligned with their political views
• Could be practicality over politics
15. JACKSON HOMESTEAD /
FARMSTEAD
• African-American Site dating from 19th-early 20th C.
• Was part of a larger plantation property owned by Downs family
• Site featured a modest cabin, home of Melinda Jackson (b.
1825- d. ca. 1878) and her children
• Cabin burned in 1916 and site was mostly abandoned
16. HISTORY OF RESIDENTS
• 1785 Land patented by Zacharias Downs and remained in
Downs family until 1869
• Zacharias Downs died 1831 and land passed to Anne Downs
• Anne Downs was owner from 1831 until 1869
– Ms. Downs owned 4 slaves in 1850
– She died in 1869 shortly after she sold the property
– She owned a sizeable parcel and likely lived in a different structure
than the one at the archeological site
17. HISTORY OF RESIDENTS
• 1869 Land was sold to Melinda Jackson
– African American woman, a freed slave, born 825
– Was a slave of the previous owner
– Had 5 children as of 1870
– No husband in the historical record
– Her trade is unknown, but her children were farm laborers
• She died ca. 1878, and her children and grandchildren continued
to live at the house
18. HISTORY OF RESIDENTS
• Jackson family continued to live at the property until the house
burned ca. 1917
• Property was sold in 1917 to a distant family member, Perry Eli
Johnson and his wife
– Not clear if the Johnson’s lived on the property or used it in any way
– The house/cabin was never rebuilt
19. SITE INVESTIGATION
• Investigated as part of ICC / MD 200 road project
• URS (now AECOM) were the archaeologists conducting work
• MD SHA funded the work and provided oversight
20. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
• Julie Schablitsky and Mark Leone (2012). Historical Archaeology
and the Importance of Material Things II. Society for Historical
Archaeology, Special Publication Series No. 9.
21. U R S / A E C O M i n c l u d i n g K a t h y F u r g e r s o n , P r i n c i p a l
I n v e s t i g a t o r , V a r n a B o y d , M e c h e l l e K e r n s , a n d A n t h o n y
R a n d o l p h
M D S H A i n c l u d i n g J u l i e S c h a b l i t s k y a n d A p r i l F e h r
M a r y l a n d A r c h a e o l o g i c a l C o n s e r v a t i o n L a b o r a t o r y ( M A C L a b )
i n c l u d i n g R e b e c c a M o r e h o u s e
Acknowledgements:
Gregory Katz
Senior Archaeologist, Louis Berger
gkatz@louisberger.com
Greg.katzogby@gmail.com
Hannibal Hamlin was from Maine and was a former Democrat. Didn’t join Lincoln ticket in 1864
Image is 1888 Benjamin Harrison medallion
Bell’s party was Constitutional Union Party [pro-Union and anti-abolitionist]{TN}, Breckinridge’s was Southern Democratic Party (anti-abolitionist, favored federal slave law allowing expansion of slavery, somewhat pro-succession){KY}. Quakers in border states seem to have favored Bell and the preservation of the Union.
Cleveland did not serve in Civil War, dodged conscription. Opponent, Benjamin Harrison served on Union side. Brigadier General, saw action in GA and TN
