Hi happy christmas to you all sorry i have been away lately i had a suddern family death but im coping better day by day now . My question is i was given a snuff box by my wife which i want to track the history of it as its dated 1838 so it will have some history behind the owner , now im having trouble reading the name , see the pics below i think it says (w inskeep) can anyone confirm this ?? its made from brass i think anyway any help would be great , happy new year to you all … (for some reason it wont upload the pics so here they are ) box box 3 inside the box
Yes, it looks like W Inskeep. Nice box. I would rather have an old box like that than a new one made of gold and encrusted with jewels. Every time you use it you will have a connection with history and all the pinches that have gone before.
Very interesting box and interesting name on it! I forget where you’re from, Dave. I know there’s some William Inskeep around southern Ohio and West Virginia. After a quick look, it seems to be a well known name, or at least have some documentation from that time period. Yeah, I like old things like that. Would be pretty neat to get the story behind the original owner–( I’m guessing brass would be one step down from silver-plate for the time period?). Good luck with it! BTW, is that a tight sealing box, out of curiosity?
Hi thanks guys i have added a pic to of the inside of the box it seals vey well but not air tight and their is some movement when sealed , see the last pic i just uploaded you can see what holds it closed . i love the thought of who has used it and when and all the pinches from it ment something to him in his life . im from scunthorpe uk. i think its going to be so hard to trace the history but im determind to do it i just need to work out if it was a birthday gift or marrage gift first step is finding out why that year is on their maybe the year he was born . i have read he one william inskeep was a farmer with land , inskeep comes from the word inn keeper . my wife said clean it up but im not so sure i kinda like it that it looks old and has marks on the inside from age what do you guys think ??? the box is not a basic square box if you look it has groves around the edges . and yes brass why brass would this not have tainted the snuff ??? he must have been of some wealth but not to wealthy due to brass not silver or gold but i like that fact i have not seen many brass boxes and you cant buy brass snuff boxes today …or can you … see so many questions to be answerd the main one is who is w inskeep …??? im sure its william i mean it wont be burt or ben lol has to be william rright bill for short … and yes Ohio seems to be the main place for the inskeeps so why is it in the uk , sold ?? did a realative move over here yrs and yrs ago i would love to go to his family now and find out who they are and say here this was your great great great great great granfathers lol 171 ish yrs ago
Well, I guess you could say the chances are good (since there’s only one date) that it has nothing to do with the death of this fellow or his father who also may have had the name. And not many parents buy their son a snuff box with the date of their birth on it when they’re born LOL, but I could be wrong… I would guess the date to be some occasion worth remembering, a wedding, moving away, coming into money, etc. .Maybe take a chance and subtract 16-20 years from that date and look for this William who may have been born in your area about that time frame. I know many German folk came to the US toward the late 1870-1900,(at least in my area) not sure if there was an English exodus as well? Could have had the box before he left? Aye, there be many questions, but maybe start local. Have you tried rubbing it to see if you are given three wishes?
Hullo dave Thanks for sharing the pics. Always enjoy the history aspect, best of luck in your endeavors to trace the thing. Just wanted to offer this up for your consideration. If you think you might possibly part with it in the future, DO NOT CLEAN IT! Bit of a damp wipe but nothing more. Of course if you’ve no intent of doing anything with it other than to hold on to it and use it and enjoy it well…
Dave…What a wonderful gift from your wife.A little piece of history there! Like OTD mentioned…Keep it as is…I’m sure the original owner would agree!! 
The Wiz!
They are right. The patina should never be cleaned off an antique. It destroys the value, and (to me) some of the mistique. Most working men in the 1800s carried brass snuff boxes, farmers, miners etc.
I may have found him /… just need to research both couples and see what hey did option 1 Children of James Inskeep and Hope Collins William Inskeep was born November 13, 1795. He married Charlotte Harvard. Children of William Inskeep and Charlotte Harvard are: (**) Susanna Inskeep. (**) Deborah Inskeep. (**) George Inskeep. (**) Sally Inskeep. (**) William Inskeep. to date now Violet Virginia Bishop was born July 11, 1923, Pottersburg, Ohio, and died August 13, 1998, Johnstown, Ohio (Gravesite). She married Frank Russel Yantis November 01, 1941, son of John William Yantis (See Yantis) and Mary Elizabeth Hodge (See Hodge). He was born June 16, 1916 in OH, and died November 15, 1976, in Licking Co., Ohio (Gravesite). Children of Virginia Yantis and Frank Yantis are: (**) (Living). (**) (Living). (**) Philip Lee Yantis, b. August 04, 1944, Galeno, OH; d. May 30, 1956, Johnstown OH (Gravesite). (**) (Living). (**) (Living). option 2 Name William INSKEEP Birth7 Nov 1766 Death3 Nov 1845 Occupation farmer FatherAbraham INSKEEP (1745-1823) MotherSusan VAUSE (1738-1805) Spouses 1Susanna FOREMAN Birth 20 Nov 1769 Death27 Sep 1810 Father William FOREMAN Marriage 16 Nov 1790 Children Catherine (1791-1828) Abraham (1793-1810) Sarah (1796-1853) Isaac (A.G.) (1799-1878) Elizabeth (1801-1836) Foreman (1804-1882) Rebecca (1807-1844) William, Jr. (1810-1851)2Elizabeth TAYLORNotes for William INSKEEP After William’s marriage to Susanna Foreman, the couple settled on a farm near Romney, Virginia and built a house. The land and house were subsequently deeded him by his father (Hamp. Co., Deeds, Bk 10, pp. 483). Here William passed his entire life in the active pursuits of a farmer. He, following the family characteristic, added largely to his holdings of real estate. He too married a second time, a widow, Elizabeth Taylor. No record of his will can be found, nor that of his burial place. ADDED also found this / Land records: deeds - Hampshire County. Deeds, 1796-1886. 10 photostats. No. 936. Copies of deeds for land in Hampshire County, most granted to William Inskeep [b]AND FINALY THIS are they a realative ??? im temped to call them but /b 825-2863 cant be the full number to dial can it ? im dialing from the uk any help with this number would be great (edit called them and they dont know anything of their family history ) William B Inskeep (540) 825-2863 …20289 Zachary Taylor Hwy,Culpeper, VA 22701 States with the most people named “Inskeep”: Ohio (244) Indiana (130) California (115) Colorado (107) Illinois (94) After further net searching through records it has to be option 1 [u][/u] option 1 Children of James Inskeep and Hope Collins William Inskeep was born November 13, 1795. He married Charlotte Harvard. Children of William Inskeep and Charlotte Harvard are: (**) Susanna Inskeep. (**) Deborah Inskeep. (**) George Inskeep. (**) Sally Inskeep. (**) William Inskeep. to date now Violet Virginia Bishop was born July 11, 1923, Pottersburg, Ohio, and died August 13, 1998, Johnstown, Ohio (Gravesite). She married Frank Russel Yantis November 01, 1941, son of John William Yantis (See Yantis) and Mary Elizabeth Hodge (See Hodge). He was born June 16, 1916 in OH, and died November 15, 1976, in Licking Co., Ohio (Gravesite). sorry i hope this is not boring you all lol
You may be on to something. There are two William Inskeeps in the Cincinnati area and one near Dublin Ohio, which is fairly close to Columbus and the other counties you speak of above. The William near Dublin may be your man with the information. It would be nice to get the story. I’ve tried to track some old stuff down to original owners and some folks are interested and amazed that you’ve taken the time to trace a ‘living’ thing that connects people and places----and other folks seem to say, “yeah, so what…it’s an old piece of sh%t effin snuff tin!” LOL . Just so you realize not everyone you contact may be as excited as you, my friend. I think it’s worth the effort!The fact that you are so far away may make them more open to helping you. Hell , if you’re good at it, tell your wife you will soon quit your job to do this full time. I seriously believe there are people who would pay something to trace items. Good Luck.
@davec Not boring in any way at all. Appreciate it that your sharing your search and results as I find it fascinating. I’ve a feeling there are probably several folks on this forum that see it that way as well! Luck sir!
Interesting find i thought i would share In 1702 a young lady named Ann Inskeep and her brother John, both of whom had been born in Fulford and had lived there for about 30 years, emigrated to America. Ann’s 6x great-grandson became the 37th President of the United States of America. His name was Richard Nixon[u][/u]. im looking into this in detail and of couse will post my findings
Been following this thread Dave, very interesting. I wonder if the Fulford is the one just south of York
Dang, that’s pretty amazing, if it’s true Dave! Snuffgate… In your research, do they generally tell the persons occupation that you are looking up? Would be interesting to see…was Fulford or a nearby area known for glass manufacturing? The parts of Ohio you mentioned, and a bit east of the Newark area were known for their glass factories at the turn of the century, ( My father-in-laws Dad worked for Imperial Glass) Just wondering what drew this Inskeep family to Ohio, farming or something else, or just chance?
thanks for your comments guys . Il look into why they moved tomorrow i have to look deep to find out their jobs its quite hard esp when their is no records of wills etc but great fun to do . We have many glass places here il check it out if their is not any around their il find out why they moved to the usa . I will have the full family tree by wed next week i hope . I goto the usa 2x a year so its even more interesting to see were they lived etc . I have a picture of his house already lol its bigger than mine typical lol
snuff head il look into that mate !
Sorry about your loss, hope things are settling down a bit. That’s a very nice piece which I’m sure makes snuff taste all the better from.