By: Michelle Jones, Follow South Jersey Community Journalist
SALEM, N.J. – Salem County Historical Society Museum holds a very unique artifact, one that likely would not be expected in such a museum.
The museum holds an impressive collection featuring American made furniture, historical documents, and rare paintings. But it is the unique artifacts that makes this museum so special.
Enclosed in a glass case and so very small, that if you weren’t told what it was, you might just mistake it for an ordinary piece of jewelry. This piece of jewelry is far from ordinary and actually quite, well truth be told, morbid.
In the Victorian era, it was very common for people to receive what was called a mourning ring when someone passed away. Not unlike funerary jewelry of today, this ring would often have the name and the date that someone died engraved on it. Oftentimes these rings would be set with a black stone or painted with black enamel to indicate that the wearer is in mourning for that person.
These rings date all the way back to the 14th century and became very popular by the 18th century. It is even possible if you go to an art museum you may look at a painting from that period and see someone wearing such a ring called memento mori ring and they would be decorated with a skull and crossbones.
But as time progressed from the 14th century to the 18th century the rings began to change in design and some had very significant meaning. That is the case of this unique ring found at the Salem County History Museum. In their collection you will find this “morbid” ring, but who it remembers and how it is made is what is shocking.
The George Washington ring was donated to the museum in 1911 and was traced back to the Wolcott family. What makes this ring even more unique is that under the glass dome on the ring itself you will see a lock of George Washington’s hair. The son of Governor Wolcott of Connecticut, Oliver Wolcott, worked as Secretary of the Treasury under then President Gorge Washington. The connection to Salem is unclear, but it is in Salem where this ring now resides, and is open to the public for viewing.
It was common for those close to an important figure to receive a memento such as this to commemorate the life of the lost loved one, but also to signify the heartbreak of the wearer.
In the case of the Washington Ring it is unclear how many were made, but at his home Mt. Vernon there are at least 50 examples of his hair on display in jewelry, behind frames, and/or wrapped in paper. In this area, this particular George Washington ring appears to be a rare find. The ring is currently on display for the public.
Visiting the museum to view this literal gem is easy. The Salem County History Museum is open Tuesday through Friday from 12pm-4pm. The admission is $5 per person, or $35 for an annual member’s pass. You can even schedule a private tour of the collection at no additional cost!
The museum is located at 83 Market Street in Salem. For additional information please feel free to call 856-935-5004 or visit their website at www.salemcountyhistoricalsociety.com.
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