26 July 2012

When Is That Stamp?


Sometimes it is the things that we ignore that cause us to have the biggest questions. The stamp on this letter was almost ignored. What is the date on the stamp?

It can't be 1860 as the letter is dated 1869.

And if it is 1880, the question is "why?"

I don't have an immediate answer--but I'm looking at the rest of the file to see if I can determine a possible reason.

This is part of a letter from John H. Breeden that is included in the minor's pension application for William Shores, child of John Shores who served in Co. G of the 85th Illinois Volunteer Infantry.

This letter is discussed in detail in an upcoming issue of Casefile Clues. The stamp I may or may not figure out.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Could it even be something as simple as a clerk's error? Not turning the date on the stamp correctly? So, 1860 could either be 1869 if the last digit had been turned one too far, or 1870 if the clerk had accidentally wound the digit in the one's place without moving the one in the ten's place.