This Hanover and York Railroad stock certificate is quite interesting from a railroad collector's perspective. The thing that struck a chord with me when I spotted it in the bottom of a box at a local auction was the holder's signature - Vincent O'Bold. He was a businessman who owned among other things, a farm and a grist mill. The establishments were located east of Bonneauville.

O'Bold indentured a very young man named George Felty. He apparently violated indenture rules and allowed young George little more than slave status (according to Felty family history papers). George eventually escaped his master and joined the fight for the North in the Civil War. Strangely his closest brush with death would occur in the heart of tiny Bonneauville.

Later during the Civil War, it had been recorded that Vincent O'Bold was "nearly beaten to death" by Southern Sympathizers while attending the public sale of a Mr. Dellone. The sale was held between Bonneauville and McSherrystown. (Ref "Bonneauville History and Lore", ed. 2, page 235.)

See "Bonneauville History and Lore" and Cat. No. 2016-25 for a more detailed account of Felty's experiences.