Thread: A little help, please...

If anyone can help shed some light on this razor, I sure could use the help!.

I found this hefty wedge in an antique store yesterday, and decided to grab it because I'm curious about its origin (I live in Virginia). Am I correct to suspect that this razor was born in Sheffield?

It has bug-eaten horn scales, jimps above and below, and is amazingly heavy; otherwise there's not a lot tell. The only markings are on the show side of the tang:

I. S. SYDNOR
RICHMOND VA

I assume that this is the reseller, though I haven't found any info yet.

Sorry! Looked on several sites with no luck. Beautiful razor though.

It definitely looks Sheffield-esque, but I don't know that I've seen many jimped Sheffield blades. Someone more knowledgeable should verify this, but I think a lot of smaller operations bought blanks and put their own stamps on. Very cool either way!

Well, several hours of internet research hasn't turned up anything specific about this razor. However one thing has become crystal clear: the "Sydnor" name is kinda prominent in and around Richmond! I think this is probably significant, given how unusual the name is. It turns up on multiple landmarks, on businesses, on doctors and attorneys...but nothing so far that's related to razors (such as hardware stores, barber suppliers, etc.).

But I'm hopeful. I located a family member on genealogy.com, and he's been chronicling the family history. So I've written to him, and asked if he knows of the family having any association with either the sale or manufacturing of razors. Hopefully, he'll respond, and maybe have some info.

We shall see...

What if he wants his razor back ? I hope you find out more. I have some (local to my birth state) razors with interesting history that goes no where fast.

From the October 28th, 1831 edition of the Enquirer of Richmond, VA

The I, in this case, was almost certainly an old fashioned affect for the capital J (like I. Barber razors were intended to be confused with John Barber razors).

I'd originally done some genealogical research through Ancestry and relied on a single member's tree for information, a significant portion of which proved wrong. Here's the correct info, from the Texas Biographical Dictionary Volume 1, by Jan Onofrio.

You're the man!

Thanks so much for doing this research...it's a HUGE help! And what you found is amazingly interesting, too; it sparks my curiosity to learn a lot more. Not only that, but I've learned something as well: that "I" for "J" substitution was no doubt at least partly responsible for my research running into a dead end.

So it seems that I was right that the razor probably wasn't made in Richmond; I'm still interested in trying to trace its heritage. And I hope to hear back from the family genealogist...his family clearly was one of substance and historical importance.

In the meantime, this is an awesome start! Thanks so much.

Thanks to Voidmonster, I've learned quite a bit about our "I. S. Sydnor":

• His full name was John Seabrook Sydnor
• After moving to Galveston, Texas, he became quite the big deal:
  
  • He was a key early supporter of the Texas cotton industry
  • As previously mentioned, he and his son ran one of, if not THE biggest slave markets in Texas, and he even set up in Nicaragua to get around the African slave trade embargo
  • He built the "Brick Wharf" in Galveston to facilitate ships carrying his merchandise
  • He became Mayor of Galveston
  • He was a Colonel in the Confederacy
  • His mansion in Galveston, "Powhatan", still stands
  • The city of Seabrook, Texas is named for him
• It seems likely that he or his descendants may have founded the Southern Department Store of Richmond, Virginia

While this is all really interesting, the origin of the razor remains a delightful mystery!

The razor itself was most likely made for his brief hardware & cutlery venture in Richmond between 1831, when it opened and 1834 when the focus seems to have shifted to woodcrafted items manufactured by his brother.

I'd guess one of the top producers of the time -- Greaves or Wade & Butcher, or possibly someone like the Sanderson brothers who made a lot of things but didn't put their names on much.

I previously mentioned that I had done some searching on genealogy sites, and that I located a Syndor family member who has been researching the family tree for almost 40 years. I wrote to him, and he responded. In his first note, he told me about some Isaac Sydnors, including one from the Richmond area, but none of them were good candidates for our mystery man. When I told him about Voidmonster's I~J clue, he happily agreed that we are on the right track. Here's some of what he has to say (the typos are all his!):

"So the name could J.S. Sydnor and it could be John Seabrook Sydnor. I do know his lineages and his family legend. Just you know that all Sydnors were Confederates in the Civil War. I do have a picture of him. Yes, John was quite active and did go to Texas. His mansion is open to the public now. I don't know if the weather storm have affected his property or not?

John Seabrook Sydnor had married Sarah Columbia White and they had seven children. Two of his sons Capt. John Barrett Sydnor and Seabrook W. Sydnor had served in the Civil War. John Seabrook Sydnor's parents were Col. Edward Garland Sydnor and Sarah "Sally" Elizabeth White. As you know both of these last name White are not related one to another and have different parent names. John Seabrook Sydnor is one of nine children. family of Col. Edward Garland Sydnor and Sarah "Sally" Elizabeth Sydnor. I did visit Col. Edward Garland Sydnor's home back in 1987. It was still standing and taken great care of. He also had two known quarters in the back of the house for the slaves. They are are still standing too. This lineages goes back to Fortunatus Sydnor II the third son of Fortunatus Sydnor who came to America.

I want you to know that I also work with black Sydnors and mulatto Sydnors as well. I may write about about them. I know history pretty well and what their slave masters were. Many of them were named after their masters and sometime with identical names as their children. If you seen "Roots" by Alex Haley and he also did a second movie called "Queen" is basically about the masters having black mistress. It was meant to be that the mulatto children had permission to work in their master homes and believing being part white, sort of being "educated" and learn not to steal anything from the home. I believe this was the process had taken quite often.

I see a good picture now on the razor. It is definitley looks old and it seems well taking care of. You are right it could be John Seabrook Sydnor. I have many John Sydnor but there was only one other with J.S. would be John Shackelford Sydnor but he was living in Campbell County, Virginia between 1829 - 1838, died young.

John Seabrook Sydnor is related through George Barrett Sydnor who had the Sydnor Hundley Store in Richmond County, Virginia. His brother William Barrett Sydnor whom married Sarah Thomas Austin. They had sixteen children! One of them was Henry Clinton Sydnor who was a Govenor of Missouri in the late 1800's. I have do have pictures almost all of them and most of the Hanover Sydnor family. There was another genealogist back in 1960's thru 1970's did most of the research of this family line. His name was Charles Edward Sydnor of La Jolla, California. He died back in late 1970's in his 80's. He was a reverend for the church in La Jolla. I never knew him.

If you have any questions let me know. Again thank you for sharing your information with me."

I asked him for a copy of J.S.Sydnor's photo, but I haven't gotten a response, yet.