I was reminded by a site I visited in old Setauket, NY that was being
excavated by Edward Johanneman, MA, nearby the 17th century Brewster
House, on the west shore of the harbor depicted by American genre
painter William Sydney Mount (good reference is one by Frankenstein,
or the nearby Museums at Stony Brook) in "Eel Fishing in Setauket". He
one of the first to depict African Americans in fine art painting. His
relation, an uncle or cousin, taught dance, as much of the family was
involved in the arts. The story I was told on site, of his former
residence, was that, in correspondence, he had apparently developed an
addiction to alcohol, to knock the pain off, I imagine. Family
correspondence was to the local proprieter to stop selling him
alcohol. The archaeologist was excavating a large deposit of "almond
extract" like bottles, which were at one time about 120 proof (or
more) it was thought. I am not sure if that reflects the archaeology
of a "recluse" but shows pehaps one of the effects of social isolation
that results in an unusual deposit?