Excellent! Connie checked the census from 1850 as well as the Scottsville Register, and found proof that two brothers, T.W. and C.E. Little, were living in Scottsville and doing business in an 1850 and 1867 record. The Scottsville Register has old advertisements from local merchants and one from the Little Brothers’ store was found. Although their advertisement did not specifically list oil, many other advertisements from this time had “paints and oils” listed, and therefore it is likely that the Little Brothers were selling some sort of oil as well!
So, Connie and Cindy had now figured out who the owner of the Little’s White Oil Bottle originally was. But what type of oil was in this bottle and why was it in Iowa? There were more questions left to be answered.
Historically, the 1800’s were a time when oil lamps were beginning to replace candles for light. At that time, oil was often ordered from Richmond, shipped to Scottsville via the James River and then rebottled for sale in local stores. Scientifically, adding water to kerosene oil can give it a whitish look, so it is possible that this oil was for lamps. That does not, however, explain why it ended up in Iowa. There had to be another explanation. How do you think the bottle got to Iowa?
