Photo’s courtesy of DATA Investigations
small space between the vaulted cellar and the exterior wall of the house. The small, oval locket, which stylistically dates to c. 1790, has a porcelain inset with an image of a classical woman’s bust facing left on one. The reverse of the object has a glass window that is hinged at the top and has a small clasp at the bottom. In the locket’s interior there is a small cavity that contains pieces of light brown hair. The locket is one of the most exquisite and mysterious artifacts found at the site, and Sarah asked if I had insight into who owned it. As I took the locket in my hands, I was delighted to tell her the story which suddenly filled my thoughts: The locket belonged to a girl named Sally who either lived here or visited here for a long time with Elizabeth, who I believe was her sister. I do not see a father figure; only an uncle. The year 1794 comes to mind. The locket also came from this time period, and Sally was given the locket when she was about sixteen years old by Michael, a young man she loved and wanted to marry. It is Michael’s brown hair in the locket. Michael was kind and very handsome, with broad shoulders, brown hair, and a bold, enticing grin. He consumed all her thoughts. Sally
loved him and would marry him, but he did not have the birthright to deserve her, or so her family thought. Her uncle was most upset about their flirtation, and he refused to let them be together. Somehow, her family had connections with his employer, and they asked that he be sent out of town on business, in hopes that Sally’s love would cool off. Michael gave Sally the locket before he left, promising to return and marry her. He set off to the northeast and traveled
alone. Two men, traveling in the opposite direction, beat him to death for his horse, and no one ever saw or heard from him again. Not knowing what happened to Michael was Sally’s worst fate, and she blamed her uncle. She never recovered from the loss and she never married. I don’t know what happened to her after this.
Sarah and I walked the acres of Menokin that afternoon, and I traveled back in time to see the terraced gardens overflowing with guests, as music played and they danced. Could Sally and Michael have fallen in love on this terrace? Or, did she feel compelled to smile at neighbor boys and meet Michael in secret? As I look back to a lost era, I
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October/November 2012
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