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.
Page 192 of "Gleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion" from 1854. Includes an article on James Buchanan with images of him as Minister to England and of Wheatland. Also includes musings on "What is the hardest mode to die?"
Printed document is a naturalization certificate infilled for "Jacob Dickart" (sic), a prolific gunmaker of Lancaster. Printed on now-brown laid paper, it is a printed form for naturalizing foreigners who did not swear oaths. Now mounted in a modern black frame.
The certificate was designed for non-Quakers who had resided in the Commonwealth for seven years and who had never taken an oath of allegiance to King George II because of conscience, eg. Mennonites, Moravians & other sectarians who believe the Bible prohibits the swearing of oaths. Although Jacob is believed to have been raised in a Lutheran home, he later followed the Moravian faith.
Edward Shippen, Jr., Prothonotary of the Supreme Court of the Province of PA filled out this form for Dickert, who appeared before Judges William Atlin, William Coleman, and Alexander Stedman, in Phila. on Sept 24, 1765. An embossed seal is created out of a small square of paper and affixed to the upper left corner of the document.
HJ Kauffman notes that Dickert was born in Mainz, Germany in 1740, came to America with his parents in 1748. Family settled in Berks Co. and later, son Jacob moved to Lancaster in 1756, where he likely apprenticed with the gunmaker Matthias Roessor (as did Wm. Henry). Dickert worked c. 1760-1820. In 1764, he married Johanetta Hofer of York, PA, and the following year he travelled to Phila. to obtain this document. Kauffman states he was active in the Moravian church.
He died 1822.
See G90.7.1 file on Dickert rifle with family info. Transparency of a document with
General signs of age: soiling, minor foxing, dog eared corners with some minor losses. Fold line 3" from top, small holes along bottom. There is a backing of acidic paper which is attached with adhesive.
Mounted in a modern black frame by Lancaster Galleries for 2006 exhibit.
On front, James Buchanan written along the top above a heatshot engraving of James Buchanan. Beneath the portrait, "IN GOD WE TRUST/15th President/1857-1861". On back, Statue of Liberty, showing top half only. "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" written alongside the outer edge of the back of the coin. Underneath arm holding torch is "$1". "DE" inscribed in tiny letters on the cover of the book the Statue of Liberty is holding. Copper colored edges. "E PLURIBUS UNUM" inscribed on edge. "2010 P" and 13 stars also inscribed on the edge.
