Black leather fire bucket with two metal D rings attached to top edge opposite of each other. Stenciled letters in gold on side of bucket read "G. W. Richenbach / Union." Crossed leather strips on bottom exterior of bucket.
Leather fire bucket . Painted black banner with yellow letters: "Farmer's Bank." has foliate designs on both ends of banner. "No. 9" is painted below banner in black. Stitched leather construction. Metal D rings and leather loops attach 1in wide leather handle and bucket. Tag found inside bucket: "Water Bucket of C W Richenbach Property of Union No 1". Tag is for 1931 Union Fire Company annual dinner. Tag is now in object file.
Disc-shaped "pancake" padlock, all bronze with a spring sliding shackle. Reverse is undecorated; obverse has lock name "ECLIPSE / 4LEVER" set in relief against a punched or stippled ground. (tumblers are 4 levers) Machined chamfers on edges of body. Slotted keyhole bottom edge. Rolled steel key missing.
An "18" is stamped onto corner of obverse side of shackle. This lock is pictured in the 1900 catalog of the Slaymaker-Barry Co. as either #432 or #71. See Notes
Soil and tarnish overall with expected abrasions and dents on shackle and back.
Object ID
2002.143.4
Notes
This lock with almost identical design and features (including the "4LEVER" name with same lettering design) was made by at least three other companies. Often only the name above the 4LEVER design was different.
The Slaymaker Lock Co. of Lancaster, PA was known successively as S.R. Slaymaker, Slaymaker-Barry Co., Slaymaker Lock Co., Fraim-Slaymaker Hardware Co. and Slaymaker Lock Co., Inc. opening in 1888 and producing high quality padlocks. They went out-of-business in 1986 after nearly a century of service.
The Slaymaker-Barry Co. was reputed to be the largest lock factory in the world and was established at South Connellsville in the 1890s and operated steadily and successfully until the fall of 1898 when it was almost completely destroyed by fire.
Place of Origin
Connellsville, Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Voting box, nailed butt joint construction, pine, original varnish finish, in gold lettering, "Post 118 / GAR / Swamp Angel" Box fitted with bracket to hold miniature wooden cannon barrel with original gold paint decoration, Canon swivels on bracket and has an extension that acts as a stopper for the hole where balls are placed into drawer to vote.
Gold pocketwatch belonging to James Buchanan. Simply designed, largely unadorned pocketwatch -- with only worn initials of three letters, only the third, "B," is legible on one side. Watch face is white with black Roman numerals . Small inset with seconds. Other side of watch opens to reveal two openings to wind watch. Engraved around openings "No. 16943/ Time Keeper/ Lewis Ladomus & Co/ Philadelphia Pa." On inside of cover "From/ James Buchanan/ May 9th 1865" Stamped E. T. & Co./ 18K/16943." Golden chain clipped to bow at top of stem with Albert or t-bar at other end, to attach to button hole on vest. Chain links are short and thick, giving the appearance of thick golden cord . Lighter, cooler toned gold than the watch.
Provenance
The gold watch was left by James Buchanan to his brother Edward Y. Buchanan through his last will and testament. Edward youngest daughter, Alice Cunningham Buchanan inherited from her father. Alice married Maskell Ewing and they had a total of 6 children; the youngest son, Buchanan Ewing, inherited the gold watch. Buchanan Ewing’s grandson, Edward “Ted” Ewing inherited the watch. Ted visited Wheatland two years ago in late spring. Upon meeting him, Ted was impressed by the high percentage of family artifacts on display. He mentioned that he owned a gold watch that had been handed down through the family from the Reverend Edward Buchanan and he wondered if we would want it. Pat gave him an enthusiastic yes as his answer. Ted called Pat in April 2016 and asked if he was remembered; Pat said “of course.” Ted added that he had found the watch and that he and his siblings were in agreement to donate it to LancasterHistory.org. The youngest sibling in the family would donate it because she lives in Allentown, PA. Jessie Ewing Snyder visited Wheatland on October 1, 2016 and donated the gold watch to the museum.
