Not to beat up the subject --- here is the excerpt from our webpage. Has
the names you may check with. Looks like the rough edges or parts of the
castings still attached.
Bill Maurer
Gomez Mill House

One of the best things about working in a historic house is the opportunity
to learn something everyday and become more accurate in our presentation to
the visitors here at Gomez Mill House.
Recently a couple commented on the iron fire back that sits in the back of
the earliest fireplace and hearth of Gomez' house. They believed that the
fireback was produced at the Oxford Furnace in Oxford, NJ in the early 18th
century. The man had worked in Oxford and was familiar with the company.
We discussed how a previous owner said that the fire back was a possession
of the "Duke of Oxford" This was a general hypothesis made years ago because
in the left-hand corner was the word "Oxford" and a faint outline of a coat
of arms. In the right hand corner was a date believed to be "1760 ". (We now
have found documentation in the advertisement selling the "Sea Horse Inn"
that the fire back was in place at least in the 1920s.)
A few days later the Mill House received a phone call from a woman who
worked at the Warren County Cultural and Heritage Commission. She explained
how her organization kept a record of all fire backs attributed to Oxford
Furnace. We discussed what a typical fireback looked like. We assured her
that we would inspect ours carefully and requested a faxed picture to
compare.
Because the function of a fireback is to protect the rear wall of a
fireplace from "burning out," you can imagine how heavy, and well worn this
piece was after 240 years of use. Fire backs generally weigh between 150
pounds to 500 pounds. Our fireback was very difficult to examine, was
extremely heavy and in a dark location that was not easy to get to. Over
time many of its distinguishing characteristics were worn away and not
clear. We could feel the different indentations, but no specific design was
discernible.
Once we had the faxed image, however, the bumps and indents formed a most
interesting pattern. The coat of arms from George III, the royal family of
England, began to take the shape of a knight's armored mask, with a lion and
unicorn standing on sides and flowers and other royal markings. Our fire
back fit the description of the Oxford Furnace fire backs. The people who
had forged them were very loyal to the King. The date - upon close
examination - was no longer 1760, but now we could make out the date of
1762.
The people at Warren County Cultural and Heritage Commission keep a record
of all the fire backs. There are over 36 now known. The Mill House fireback
is now recorded as number 37. About a dozen of these fire backs are found in
the older (and larger) homes in the Hudson Valley.
The Gomez Mill House now has a complete file on Oxford Fire backs - thanks
to Susan Morgan of the Warren County Heritage Commission and a lovely man
who remains anonymous. We can further our interpretation and education of
our visitors. - EH