Muzzleldrs Paper with soldier name found in my musket buttplate. NEW provenance info added on 1/18/14.

I would not leave the paper in the butt plate. Instead I would preserve it in an acid free environment and protect it from light so that others can see it. Just don't put it on a wall. Back in the butt plate it might deteriorate and no one can see it. Imagine the feelings of a descendant being able to look at the soldier's writings.

Now you will hear from others with information on the soldier.
 
Thanks to all for the great information and comments! I was very excited to find this and now more so.


I would not leave the paper in the butt plate. Instead I would preserve it in an acid free environment and protect it from light so that others can see it. Just don't put it on a wall. Back in the butt plate it might deteriorate and no one can see it. Imagine the feelings of a descendant being able to look at the soldier's writings.

Now you will hear from others with information on the soldier.

I wondered about that. I thought I should leave it as is and display it with a photo of the paper. The Renaissance Wax is also supposed to be good for paper and photos. Maybe I should put a light coating on it?
I was happy when I first got this musket but now knowing who used it makes it really come to life.


Umm you better get that gun insured !!!!!!

Lol........my wife brought that up also!

Looks like he used horse glue on a 1 inch edge and stuck it to the plate. Kind of like a Civil War Post-it note!
 
I sure hope people on here can come up with more info for ya, It would be so interesting to find out more about him, and what happen to him, you are such a lucky dog!!!! what a wonderful e venture you are on right now, Im very excited for you...P.S. Listen too your wife!!!!!!!
 
So if that is correct then the gun was witness to Lee's surrender at Appomattox! Very nice!
Well we don't know for sure until we find more information on Jacob Havens. What if he was discharged for some reasons before 1865? It would be interesting to find out.
 
In a brief session poking around I discovered he was born about 1838. He was from Brick, NJ. Married Sarah Dorset July 1865, less than a month after the regiment mustered out.

Jacob lived a long life. He died in 1926. Appears to have been a carpenter and looks like he lived at least all of the post war years in Brick.

I could not find him or his supposed father (Jesse) in the 1860 census. I suspect they are somewhere in Brick, but I didn't do any alternate spelling searches.

He had 4 kids, I think.

Also, there are a few others with the Havens surname in his regiment. Suspect they are probably all related somehow. The ancestors of Jacob came to New Jersey in the 17th century according to published family trees. The founding ancestor in America was from England and settled in Rhode Island originally.
 
Thanks to all for the great information and comments! I was very excited to find this and now more so.




I wondered about that. I thought I should leave it as is and display it with a photo of the paper. The Renaissance Wax is also supposed to be good for paper and photos. Maybe I should put a light coating on it?
I was happy when I first got this musket but now knowing who used it makes it really come to life.




Lol........my wife brought that up also!

Looks like he used horse glue on a 1 inch edge and stuck it to the plate. Kind of like a Civil War Post-it note!
The rule with archiving is to never do anything to a document that cannot be undone. No laminating, no treatment, no cleaning. If a document is actively deteriorating an expert can stop the process, but normally just protect the artifact.

You are probably the first to touch that item since the soldier put it there.
 
U.S.CivilWarPensionIndexGeneralIndextoPensionFiles1861-1934ForJacobHavens.jpg
 
14thNewJerseyVolunteerInfantryRegimentBattleFlag.jpg

Battle Flag of the 14th NJ Regiment. This wonderful old Battle Flag, was the rallying point for the regiment and has the all names of the 14th's many battle honors listed on the stripes This image is public domain from the NJ State Archives.
 
The rule with archiving is to never do anything to a document that cannot be undone. No laminating, no treatment, no cleaning. If a document is actively deteriorating an expert can stop the process, but normally just protect the artifact.

I didn't apply anything to it. Maybe I should take it out and display it but I would have to cut it off from the glued edge. Not sure if I feel comfortable doing that. Also, wouldn't that make it harder to prove that it came with this musket?

You are probably the first to touch that item since the soldier put it there.

I did think of that when I saw it. I feel very lucky.
 
In a brief session poking around I discovered he was born about 1838. He was from Brick, NJ. Married Sarah Dorset July 1865, less than a month after the regiment mustered out.

Jacob lived a long life. He died in 1926. Appears to have been a carpenter and looks like he lived at least all of the post war years in Brick.

I could not find him or his supposed father (Jesse) in the 1860 census. I suspect they are somewhere in Brick, but I didn't do any alternate spelling searches.

He had 4 kids, I think.

Also, there are a few others with the Havens surname in his regiment. Suspect they are probably all related somehow. The ancestors of Jacob came to New Jersey in the 17th century according to published family trees. The founding ancestor in America was from England and settled in Rhode Island originally.
I live in Brick NJ, the 14th was raised from this county ( Ocean ) and also Monmouth. Havens is a name still seen in this area.
 
The rule with archiving is to never do anything to a document that cannot be undone. No laminating, no treatment, no cleaning. If a document is actively deteriorating an expert can stop the process, but normally just protect the artifact.

You are probably the first to touch that item since the soldier put it there.

Sorry Dave, this part of my 1st reply got mixed up with your quote.

I didn't apply anything to it. Maybe I should take it out and display it but I would have to cut it off from the glued edge. Not sure if I feel comfortable doing that. Also, wouldn't that make it harder to prove that it came with this musket?
 
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