Wealthy planters, such as John Posey, ordered bottles from Europe with their names molded on the seal.

Several artifacts were found that can be associated with specific individuals, a rarity when it comes to archaeological remains. During this period, wealthier planters often served wine at their fashionable dinner tables from bottles containing their coat of arms, name, or initials. Several seals were found in the midden, including one bearing the name “John Posey.”

The identity of John Posey is well known, as he owned a ferry and plantation, called “Rover’s Delight,” located directly adjacent to Mount Vernon. Posey was a friend of Washington’s and a frequent guest at Mount Vernon during the 1750s and 1760s. Presumably the presence of the seal in the midden derives from Posey’s following the popular custom of bringing bottles of wine from his personal supply as gifts for his host.

This seal, with the Fairfax family coat of arms, hints at the close ties the Washingtons had with their neighbors.

Another identifiable wine bottle seal from the midden bears the coat of arms of the Fairfax family who lived nearby on Belvoir Plantation. The Fairfax family of Belvoir were cousins of Lord Fairfax who owned thousands of acres in Virginia and the Washingtons benefited from a close friendship with the prominent Fairfaxes.

George Washington’s elder half brother, Lawrence, married Anne Fairfax and George was extended their patronage and friendship as he became a frequent visitor to the Belvoir manor and they to Mount Vernon. George Washington wrote to his brother, John Augustine, “I should be glad to hear that you live in perfect Harmony and good fellowship with the family at Belvoir, as it is in their power to be very serviceable upon many occasions to us as young beginner’s.”