Digging Out a Fence Post Leads to the Find of a Lifetime Buried in a Back Yard for 125 Years

Below the Plains
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Tom Askjem excavates a privy at the former site of the Huber residence in Yankton, South Dakota.

 

Margaret Shane

My GGgrandparents owned this home. It’s touching to see what may have been some of their belongings. Some of these things may have belonged to the previous owners of the house. I guess it may depend on when the pit began to be used for disposing of items. It was fabulous that you did this. Enjoyed the video! If you’ve found anything more, I’d love to see it. Peter emigrated to the US in 1864 and his wife emigrated in 1865, both from near Passau Germany. They moved to the Douglas St. home around 1900, from the Huber farm that was located near the Sigel Church just north of Yankton. They had 15 children, who were mostly grown, except for 3 who were young to mid teenagers, when they bought the house. Peter died suddenly, at the house, in 1905. Theresia died in 1913 and one of the daughters continued to live in the home until her death in 1974, I believe. I think another family member had the house afterwards for awhile. I have a foto of the house from early on. I’ll try to find it. German's do have a tendency to be quite meticulous, maybe the abundance of shoe polish is an indicator of this. My grandmother, I know, was very particular. If you find a solid blue, squat, pottery vase, let me know. We are missing the mate to the one we have lol

 

13Nussbaum

My family on my mothers side was related to the Sebring family in Ohio that did a lot of the Sebring pottery. Amazing that it made it that far west. A number of years ago, I was putting a tool shed addition onto my chicken coop and found an old out house pit. I dug a number of really interesting things out of it, including two horse shoes that now hang in my blacksmith shop.

 

Ellie Kennedy

I grew up in a large farmhouse in Ohio. It was built 1875. It is now falling down; I know there must be some old pits there. In about 1950 they built a new out house and filled the old one in. I am sure many things were covered at that time. Some of those bottles might be medicine bottles, it used to come in glass bottles with a cork in it. I am 78 now and remember old bottles like that. and yes, we threw everything in the outhouse.

 

Janmification

Tragically. When I started school in the early 1960’s, I am sure we had ink bottles that were triangular in profile. I can remember spilling ink, and being made to scrub the floor, here in Australia. The other triangular style bottles were larger and held glue. I certainly struggled to learn to write with a fountain pen, since I am left handed. But ballpoint pens weren’t in use in the early 1960’s.