Ceramics from the Jeremiah Curtin House: Irish Immigrant Consumer Choice in 19th Century Rural Wisconsin
Mentor 1
John Richards
Mentor 2
Alexis Jordan
Location
Union Wisconsin Room
Start Date
24-4-2015 2:30 PM
End Date
24-4-2015 3:45 PM
Description
During field seasons that spanned 1976 to 1978, archaeological excavations were conducted at the Jeremiah Curtin house in what is now Greendale, Wisconsin. David Curtin built the side-gabled fieldstone structure in 1846. Curtin and his wife were Irish immigrant farmers who moved to Wisconsin from Detroit with their infant son, Jeremiah in 1836. Jeremiah Curtin worked on the family farm until David died in 1856. Jeremiah sold his half of the farm to his mother and used the proceeds to finance an education at Harvard University. Subsequently, Curtin became a well-known scholar and author who traveled widely and spent little if any time at the Greendale homestead. Currently, the Curtin house is owned by the Milwaukee County Historical Society and is maintained as part of the Trimborn Farm estate owned by Milwaukee County. Archaeological collections from the Curtin house excavations are housed at the UWM Archaeological Research Laboratory (ARL) and currently undergoing conservation and inventory. The project is part of a larger effort to produce a digital record of the ARL collections. The ARL houses archaeological and osteological materials collected over a span of 40 years. The inventory includes significant collections from the Midwest and Mexico representing over 1300 archaeological sites curated in 3000+ standard size (1.1 cu ft.) archive boxes. The ARL does not curate ethnographic materials but collections are supported by an extensive archive of paper records, positive and negative films, photographic prints, maps, charts, and video and voice recordings. In order to manage these collections and facilitate research, ARL collections are being entered into a PastPerfect museum software database. The inventory of the Curtin House collections has provided an opportunity to investigate the changing nature of the Curtin household by examining the kinds of ceramic items used during the period of the home’s occupation. The analysis has allowed the development of inferences concerning the Curtin’s connection to their Irish heritage, the degree to which the family shared in the pioneer experience, and the shifting socioeconomic fortunes of the Curtin household.
Ceramics from the Jeremiah Curtin House: Irish Immigrant Consumer Choice in 19th Century Rural Wisconsin
Union Wisconsin Room
During field seasons that spanned 1976 to 1978, archaeological excavations were conducted at the Jeremiah Curtin house in what is now Greendale, Wisconsin. David Curtin built the side-gabled fieldstone structure in 1846. Curtin and his wife were Irish immigrant farmers who moved to Wisconsin from Detroit with their infant son, Jeremiah in 1836. Jeremiah Curtin worked on the family farm until David died in 1856. Jeremiah sold his half of the farm to his mother and used the proceeds to finance an education at Harvard University. Subsequently, Curtin became a well-known scholar and author who traveled widely and spent little if any time at the Greendale homestead. Currently, the Curtin house is owned by the Milwaukee County Historical Society and is maintained as part of the Trimborn Farm estate owned by Milwaukee County. Archaeological collections from the Curtin house excavations are housed at the UWM Archaeological Research Laboratory (ARL) and currently undergoing conservation and inventory. The project is part of a larger effort to produce a digital record of the ARL collections. The ARL houses archaeological and osteological materials collected over a span of 40 years. The inventory includes significant collections from the Midwest and Mexico representing over 1300 archaeological sites curated in 3000+ standard size (1.1 cu ft.) archive boxes. The ARL does not curate ethnographic materials but collections are supported by an extensive archive of paper records, positive and negative films, photographic prints, maps, charts, and video and voice recordings. In order to manage these collections and facilitate research, ARL collections are being entered into a PastPerfect museum software database. The inventory of the Curtin House collections has provided an opportunity to investigate the changing nature of the Curtin household by examining the kinds of ceramic items used during the period of the home’s occupation. The analysis has allowed the development of inferences concerning the Curtin’s connection to their Irish heritage, the degree to which the family shared in the pioneer experience, and the shifting socioeconomic fortunes of the Curtin household.
