Somy Field Site 7K-F-196B Phase II and III Archaeological Investigations
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A Short-Term Eighteenth- Century Occupation in a Lower County: Somy Field Site 7K-F-196B Phase II and III Archaeological Investigations South Murderkill Hundred, Kent County, Delaware Prepared for: Delaware Department of Transportation P.O. Box 778 Dover, Delaware 19903 January 2016 Prepared by 375 East Elm Street Suite 101 Conshohocken, Pennsylvania DRAFT 19428 A SHORT-TERM, EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY OCCUPATION IN A LOWER COUNTY: SOMY FIELD SITE 7K-F-196B SOUTH MUDERKILL HUNDRED, KENT COUNTY, DELAWARE PHASE II-III ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS Prepared for: Delaware Department of Transportation P.O. Box 778 Dover, Delaware 19903 Prepared by: A.D. Marble & Company 375 East Elm Street, Suite 101 Conshohocken, Pennsylvania 19428 January 2016 ABSTRACT This report describes the results of archaeological investigations at the eighteenth-century Somy Field Site (7K-F-196B) near Frederica in South Murderkill Hundred, Kent County, Delaware. The report considers archaeological evidence recovered during all phases of the investigations, from pedestrian survey (Phase I) through shovel tests and test trenches (Phase II) to various other forms of plowzone testing and feature excavation following removal of the plowzone during Phase III. The investigations were undertaken between 2008 and 2013 by A.D. Marble & Company for the Delaware Department of Transportation. Occupation of the site may have begun in the late seventeenth century ca. 1681 when the location was associated with lands owned by Bryan Onealle (O’Neal) near those of Peter Grondicke (Groendyke). Subsequently the land was acquired by William Darvall, a land speculator from New Amsterdam/New York. By the period 1739 to 1741, George Brown had obtained 498 acres—probably including 100 acres from “Williams Chance” or “Williams Choice”—from James Logan; most of the tract was known as “the Downs.” By the late-1740s, John Brown—son of George—was in possession of the Downs. John Brown was murdered around April 1754. James Duffy, who was convicted of the crime, was hanged in August of that year. The tract was divided among Brown’s wife, Elizabeth, a son and several daughters in 1759. The Somy Field Site was located on the portion given to daughter, Mary, who sold the property in 1770 after her marriage. Ultimately, the Downs was owned by Jonathan Neal, whose estate was divided in 1793, and then by John George, whose lands were allocated to heirs in 1818 and 1819. Archaeological evidence revealed scant evidence of architectural remains in terms of in-ground features and meager fragments of architectural hardware. Some very limited evidence of later seventeenth-century or early eighteenth-century occupation was recovered. Much clearer evidence of occupation during the third quarter of the eighteenth century was recovered from the plowzone and from some features, particularly the irregular and shallow Features 2 and 32. The artifacts recovered suggest an occupation of about 20 years (ca. 1750-70) or perhaps only 10 years (ca. 1755-65) in duration. The time frame therefore extends from the murder of John Brown in 1754 through the 1759 property division to the sale in 1770. The site most likely reflects the occupancy of a tenant. If that was the case, the evidence at the Somy Field Site emphasizes that tenancy need not imply poverty stricken or social marginalized in the “lower counties” of Pennsylvania that would comprise the colony and later state of Delaware a few decades later. Philadelphia-type redwares comprised most of the vessels recovered, but teawares in white, salt-glazed, scratch blue decorated stonewares were present. Additional refined English earthenwares (Wedgwood-Whieldon and agateware) were also recovered. Evidence of maize (Indian corn) cultivation and animal husbandry (cattle, pig, etc.) conforms to data from historical sources and other excavations in central Delaware and emphasizes the rural farmstead nature of the occupation. i TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ............................................................................................................................................ i Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ ii List of Illustrations .......................................................................................................................... iv 1.0 INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................1 2.0 MARSHES, MEADOWS AND MURDER: HISTORIC OCCUPATION ...................5 2.1 Heatherds, O’Neal and Groendyke: The Late Seventeenth Century .......................5 2.2 William Darvall, 1685 to 1724 ................................................................................5 2.3 James Logan and the Pennsylvania Land Office, 1724 to 1739 ..............................8 2.4 The Brown Family in Murderkill Hundred, 1739 to 1770 .......................................8 2.5 Murder in Murderkill: The Estate of John Brown .................................................11 2.5.1 Tract A: Ann Brown and Daniel Robisson ................................................12 2.5.2 Tract B: John Brown III .............................................................................12 2.5.3 Tract C: Elizabeth Brown (Widow) ...........................................................12 2.5.4 Tract D: Elizabeth Brown (Daughter) ........................................................13 2.5.5 Tract E: Mary Brown .................................................................................13 2.5.6 Tract F: Rachel Brown ...............................................................................14 2.5.7 Possible Tenancy on Tracts C, D, E, and F ...............................................14 2.6 Jonathan Neal, 1770 to 1799 ..................................................................................15 2.7 John George, 1799 to 1817 ....................................................................................16 2.8 Robert George, 1817 to 1821 .................................................................................16 2.9 Ownership during the Later Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries ........................18 3.0 FIELD SURVEY AND ANALYSIS APPROACHES ..................................................19 3.1 Pedestrian Survey (Phase I) and Shovel Tests and Test Trenches (Phase II) ........19 3.2 Phase III Methodologies ........................................................................................21 3.3 Research Questions ................................................................................................21 3.4 Temporal Analysis .................................................................................................26 3.5 Spatial Distribution ................................................................................................27 4.0 ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE ..............................................................................28 4.1 Features ..................................................................................................................29 4.1.1 Feature 2.....................................................................................................29 4.1.2 Feature 32...................................................................................................32 4.1.3 Feature 62...................................................................................................35 4.1.4 Other Nearby Features ...............................................................................35 4.1.5 Feature 26...................................................................................................35 4.1.6 Feature 45...................................................................................................36 4.1.7 Feature 48...................................................................................................36 4.1.8 Post Holes and Other Possible Feature Alignments ..................................40 4.2 Artifacts..................................................................................................................45 4.2.1 Teawares ....................................................................................................48 4.2.2 Tablewares .................................................................................................49 4.2.3 Utilitarian Wares ........................................................................................51 4.2.4 Other Objects ................................................................................................54 ii 4.3 Spatial Distinctions Reflected in Soil Geochemistry .............................................56 4.4 Faunal Analysis ......................................................................................................67 4.5 Floral Analysis .......................................................................................................69 5.0 A SHORT-TERM OCCUPATION IN A LOWER COUNTY ....................................72 5.1 Comparative Archaeological and Architectural Perspectives ................................73 5.2 Comparative Sites in Delaware ..............................................................................78 5.3 Integration of Historical and Archaeological Evidence .........................................82 5.4 Society and Mobility ..............................................................................................89 5.5 An Eastern