> From: "Diane Davison" <dldavison@kwic.com> > To: ORKNEY-L@rootsweb.com > Message-Id: <199906201222.IAA28064@a.kwic.com> > Subject: [ORKNEY-L] Re: South Ronaldsay Parish Token found in >construction site in Ontario > > Hi everyone. I recently acquired a token that is about an inch in length, > rectangular in shape with the corners flat. On one side it say's Parish of > St. Mary's South Ronaldsay and on the other side it says This Do In > Remembrance of Me. It is really quite old, possibly pewter with no date on > it. It is sort of wafer shaped and could possibly a baptismal token? > > Surprising enough it was found by a friend who does metal decting here in > Port Dover, Ontario. He found it in a construction site where they were > cleaning up to build a house. > > My great grandfather who was from the Parish of St. Mary's, South Ronaldsay > settled in Woodhouse, Ontario around 1871 which is about 5 miles from Port > Dover. His name was William Thomson, born 1844 and the son of John Thomson > and Margaret Annal. > > I'd be very interested in finding out exactly what this token is and any > history behind them. > > Thank you > Diane Davison > Port Dover, Ontario > This must be a communion token, hence the "This Do In Remembrance of Me". These were common in the Church of Scotland before the use of communion cards. They were an indication of the person being regarded as being "good-living" enough to be allowed to receive the sacraments. They were usually lead, and I can vaguely remember about 20 years ago work done by our electrochemistry group to restore the large collection (about 2000) held here at the University of St. Andrews. In actual fact I have just spoken to one of the staff involved (Dr Butler), and this caused considerable interest. The University has one of the largest collections in the world (and is always on the lookout for more). I think they would be interested in its condition and where it was found. The requirement for restoration was because they were usually stored in wooden boxes, which gave off an acid, causing the lead to form oxides, or salts or whatever. Restoration must be done electrolytically so that these compounds revert back to lead, and the inscription is not lost. Don't just polish it! Contact addresses here are: Keeper of Collections: Dr Ian Carradice: mailto:iac@st-and.ac.uk Chemistry: Dr A.R. Butler: mailto:arb3@st-and.ac.uk Jim Bews _________________________________________________________________ Jim Bews, Computing Officer, School of Chemistry, Purdie Building, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9ST. Scotland Tel: 01334-463830 Email: J.R.Bews@st-and.ac.uk Fax: 01334-463808 WWW: http://ch-www.st-and.ac.uk/staff/jrb/