Bottle Seals - Page 1
17th and 18th Century Bottle Seals Excavated at Ferryland, NL
![Bottle Seal IR Bottle Seal IR](images/bottle-seals-john-rayner.jpg)
Bottle Seal IR
Recovered from the 1673 storehouse destruction level. May have belonged to John Rayner, sea captain and agent in Newfoundland for Cecil Calvert (2nd Lord Baltimore) 1661-62.
![Bottle Seal PK Bottle Seal PK](images/bottle-seals-phillip-kirke.jpg)
Bottle Seal PK
Three seals likely belonging to Phillip Kirke I, third son of Sir David and Sara Kirke. Phillip was a planter, merchant, and boatkeeper at Ferryland. He operated five boats at Ferryland in 1675. He died as a prisoner of war at Placentia in 1696-97.
![Bottle Seal John Curtis 1695 Bottle Seal John Curtis 1695](images/bottle-seals-john-curtis-1695.jpg)
Bottle Seal John Curtis 1695
Possibly the seal of John Curtis who was a planter operating out of Port Bonavista as early as 1675. Curtis owned one boat and employed two men.
![Bottle Seal Sloss 1699 Bottle Seal Sloss 1699](images/bottle-seals-sloss-1699.jpg)
Bottle Seal Sloss 1699
The owner of this seal has not been identified.
![Bottle Seal Wm. Smith 172? Bottle Seal Wm. Smith 172?](images/bottle-seals-william-smith.jpg)
Bottle Seal Wm. Smith 172?
Possibly the seal of William Smith who was a successful planter operating out of Trinity. Smith owned 3 boats and employed 27 servants. He died in 1754?
![Bottle Seal Tho Holdsw in Da?? 17?? Bottle Seal Tho Holdsw in Da?? 17??](images/bottle-seals-thomas-holdsworth.jpg)
Bottle Seal Tho Holdsw in Da?? 17??
This is the seal of Thomas Holdsworth of Dartmouth. The Holdsworths were adventurers in the Newfoundland fishery (Ruggles Brise 1949:20, 113).
![Bottle Seal John Strang Bottle Seal John Strang](images/bottle-seals-john-strang.jpg)
Bottle Seal John Strang
This seal was recovered form the destruction layer of a possible house. It is probably the seal of John Strang, merchant of Bideford and Barnstaple and commander of a number of ships resorting to Ferryland. He petitioned the Board of Trade in 1707 for protection of the fishery at Ferryland.
![Bottle Seal P Gely 1752 Bottle Seal P Gely 1752](images/bottle-seals-philip-gely.jpg)
Bottle Seal P Gely 1752
Excavated north of the seawall, the area consists of a layer of sand, gravel and rock that was dredged from the pool in 1961. The seal belongs to Philip Gely, a resident of Lympstone, Devon, England who was born in 1720-21. Philip conducted a survey of Bengers Plantation in Ferryland in 1754.
![Bottle Seal George Davis Bottle Seal George Davis](images/bottle-seals-george-davis.jpg)
Bottle Seal George Davis
George Davis was a merchant of Topsham, Devon, Poole, Dorset, London and Carbonear, Newfoundland. He was baptized on March 11, 1724-25 and died in Newfoundland (possibly Carbonear) in 1789. He began his career as an agent for merchants Pike and Green in Carbonear in 1757, but shortly after he became a merchant himself. By the late 1770s, Davis experienced financial difficulties and owed a large quantity of money to his creditors.