Help Identifying Family Heirloom

MDotts

New member
Hi, thank you for this great forum! I have a family treasure that I wanted to see if anyone could help identify. I haven’t found one just like it in all my searches, mostly with the handles on the side going vertical.

A little about my piece:

This was passed to me from my great Aunt and belonged to my great-great grandparents at least. She doesn’t know exactly how old it is, but she could tell me the “old-timers” used this to cook their meals. They lived in a log cabin at some point and did cook over an open fireplace.

My family has all pretty much farmed and lived on the same land in western North Carolina since our immigrant ancestor came from Sweden in about 1787. They have always been without many material belongings, but with a strong work ethic and a strong will to scratch a living out of the rocky hillsides. I can just dream about the hands before me who have used this piece to prepare all their meals, sometimes for 8 or 9 children. If I knew a timeframe it might have been produced then I could probably determine which ancestor purchased it and used it.

The lid has NO 9 and 11 n 1N. The bottom is gatemarked and has 11 on the bottom. The gate mark is also not aligned with the handles on the sides which I find odd unless these were possibly affixed to the sides after the initial pouring of the “bowl” of the piece. Also appears the three “feet” were probably affixed after the initial pouring.

Any help in identifying the maker, approximate timeframe it would have been produced would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0e5v5FgdeFIwxOlihoXTEISQw#Green_Mountain
 

Attachments

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The orientation of the gate mark has no bearing on the position of the bail attachments. Like the lid handle, the bail attachments on the pattern were hinged or otherwise movable to allow its extraction from the mold after the sand hardened without disturbing it. The legs would have been an integral part of the pattern, as attaching them after the fact would not be feasible.

Without a name or some other marking such as initials of the maker, identifying who made it is unlikely. The design of the attachments, the lid handle and the bottom gate mark all suggest early to mid-19th century.
 
Its very hard to tell who made what sometimes. Im like you, I think of all the meals cook in them, the people that used them, how they cooked, ect. Just treasure it now that its yours.
 
What do the bail handles look like? There are a few variances in shapes from different makers, though figuring out exactly who made the piece will still be a challenge.

For a bottom gate mark you're looking at a time frame of after the 1780s to pre 1900. Sprue marks are earlier, though they may have continued into the 1800s (a round "scar" vs a slash "scar"). Catalogues and information gets harder to find the further from the 1880s you go in history.
 
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