Upholstered wingback commode chair has four turned Sheraton legs. Has replacement of original soiled handsewn homespun linen (remnants in this file), now an orange fabric with potted and vining flower design. Solid pinewood seat under cushion has center hole with fitted removable wooden disc.
This chair was from the Pownall home at Gap, where it was used by Dickinson Gorsuch, Maryland slaveholder, during his recovery from wounds sustained during the Christiana Riot of Sept. 11, 1851. His father and two others were killed during the skirmish at the home of freedman William Parker, and Dickinson was transported to the Pownall home for recovery. William Parker later published his story in the "Atlantic Monthly" in 1866, making it highly publicized.
This incident "is an important example of the struggle over the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act and the escalating tension between the North and the South. This act gave slave owners broad powers to recapture runaway slaves". (ExplorePAhistory.com)
Polaroid photos of chair before re-upholstery, in file.
Likely Lancaster or Chester Co.
Provenance
Provenance: Chair owned by the Pownall family & given in 1973 to the Lancaster County Historical Society by Mrs. Levi Pownall of Lancashire Hall (569-7279).
It was initially loaned to the Heritage Center (# L.77.9 and # 161.64.80) but soon donated to HCLC. Board minutes of Dec. 8, 1975 include Richard F. Smith's Museum Committee report noting a donation of a "Sheraton armed wing chair commode, used by the Pownall home in nursing Dickinson Gorsuch following Christiana Riot in 1851." Later unsigned note (Bruce Shoemaker?) states John Aungst of LCHS was consulted & chair was removed 11/9/84 from list on LCHS loan form, settling an apparent question of ownership.
Ornate chased finial of cane or walking stick. Cane itself is not attached. Foliate and floral motifs. Thin metal filled with heavy-weight, dark substance. Tip engraved with: "Presented/ H L/ to/ Trout/Upon his Retirement/ From Lancaster City Council/ After/ Fifteen Years Service/ April 3 1907".
Leather fire bucket . Painted black banner with yellow letters: "Farmer's Bank." has foliate designs on both ends of banner. "No. 9" is painted below banner in black. Stitched leather construction. Metal D rings and leather loops attach 1in wide leather handle and bucket. Tag found inside bucket: "Water Bucket of C W Richenbach Property of Union No 1". Tag is for 1931 Union Fire Company annual dinner. Tag is now in object file.
Coverlet of red wool and blue-green cotton. 2 loom widths decoratively and strongly seamed in the center with red wool. This coverlet is comparatively light weight. Self-fringes of red wool on both sides. Foot end is rolled and hand-stitched. Red wool fringes appear to have been individually applied.Top/head edge is finished with a 1.5-inch wide folded silky red binding. Some machine stitching in black thread and also hand-stitching to attach the binding.
Center field contains rows of circular designs. Roses border the lower edge and foliage in urns border the sides.
Unlike most coverlets, Satler's weaver's blocks in bottom corners are oriented to be read from the top of the coverlet.
