The John S. Coney Civil War Sword: Finds Through the Local History Room

I have been spending time inventorying the contents of the Local History room for awhile now, and I have made several exciting finds in the process.  This is about one of them.

In 1928, the North Reading Annual Report noted the receipt and acceptance of a Civil War sword from Miss A.G. Brooks of Westborough, Massachusetts.  The donation was specifically requested to be put in an appropriate case and displayed in the Flint Memorial Hall.  There are reports in the vertical file in the Local History room about this sword in several places, but there is no mention made of what became of it after it was given.  The sword was described as a ceremonial sword presented by the Town of North Reading to Lt. John S. Coney on 19 Sep 1862 as he went to war for the second time.  He had first enrolled as a private for 3 months, which was pretty common early in the war.  After he was discharged, he later enrolled again, this time as a Lieutenant, and he went off to war again with unit that had a number of North Reading men in it. 

The mystery of the sword and its whereabouts needed solving!  I asked one of the librarians about it, and she knew about its existence and where it was likely to be.  We went searching and sure enough: it is in the Library in a storage closet waiting to be found and appreciated.  It still has a sheath but has lost any straps that would have been used to hang it from a soldier's shoulder.  It also still needs an appropriate case for display, preferably one that would let the sheath and bare sword be seen.  The sword was engraved in two places, one with Lt. John Coney's name and the other saying it was presented by the Town of North Reading and the date of presentation (Sept. 1862).

North Reading’s Medals for World War I Veterans

Did you know that way back when, soon after the end of World War I, the town of North Reading issued medals to the veterans of the town who had participated in the Great War?  And at that point it was called the Great War or the World War - we didn’t know then that there would be another. 

I didn't know about the medals - until this past Fall - when one of the medals showed up in North Reading.  The North Reading Historical and Antiquarian Society had been contacted, and I was asked as the Library’s Local History and Genealogy volunteer to help find out more about it.  As I learned, with a little internet searching, it was pretty common after that War for towns or counties or states or organizations to issue medals in appreciation of the veterans' patriotic service.  I'm sure that in some cases more than one place or organization issued a medal to the same veteran.  People on the homefront were very proud of the locals who served.

There were at least two national companies that made such medals, using blank templates, so many of the ones issued looked pretty similar.  The one in North Reading looked like this on the front

and this on the back.

If you want to know more, or know anything about this kind of medal, I’d be very happy to talk with you.  If you want to see this medal in person, it is currently on display at the Putnam House.  

Introducing Myself

I am Pat Salt, a local retiree who coordinates a genealogy meet-up group at the Library and I have also volunteered to help organize the Local History room a bit.  There is a lot of stuff in there, and it is not easy to know what is there or how to find something in particular.  My goal is to make it easier to know what the Local History room contains and where in the room it is.  More about the Local History room to come!

I have gotten more interested in the town of North Reading's history as I dig into this project, and in the family trees of the first settlers.  I don't know a lot yet, but am learning as I go.  I hope to have some family trees on display in the Library (and maybe some of the historical places in town) this year some time.