Fellow HistArchers:

I am looking for information on the chronology of straight pins.  While
excavating on a multi-component (British, Second Spanish, and 19th century)
houselot in downtown Pensacola, we recovered over 25 brass straight pins with
"wrapped" heads.  After digging around in the archives for the history of the
lot, I found a widow who lived there around the turn of the 19th century who
was a dressmaker.  I would like to attribute these pins to the widow.
Unfortunately, the straight pins looked remarkably similar to ones found in
First Spanish context at the site of First Pensacola (Presidio Santa María de
Galve, 1698-1719).  Other than land transactions, we know very little about
the late colonial occupation of the lot.  Is it a happy coincidence that both
colonial and 19th-century seamstresses lived at the same lot?

Thanks in advance!

Marie Pokrant

Marie E. Pokrant
University of West Florida
Pensacola, FL 32514
850-474-3015