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.
Button from 1929 Lancaster County Fireman's Association Convention in LItitz, PA. Printed "9th Convention The Lancaster County Fireman's Ass'n Lititz ,Pa. June 8, 1929." Hole in center bottom of button with a metal wire ring holding a brown metal pretzel (1.5 w x 1.25 h) Plain white paper insert in back of button.
Tankard, lidded barrel form. Copper body with brass handle, shell thumb piece and four bands encircling body. Interior is tinned. Engraved on opposite side from handle, "COMPLIMENTS/ OF/ JOHN G. SCHAUM/ TO/ FRANK J. RIEKER." One of a pair with P00.42.2.
Believed to be a presentation piece given by Schaum in appreciation for all the work he was given in Rieker's brewery. Schaum did copper, tin and sheet iron work and was the son and one-time partner of plumber/ coppersmith John P. Schaum.
Provenance
Collection of J. Harlan Miller sold at Conestoga Auction Oct. 21, 2000.
Tankard, lidded barrel form. Copper body with brass handle, shell thumb piece and four bands encircling body. Interior is tinned. Engraved on opposite side from handle, "COMPLIMENTS/ OF/ JOHN G. SCHAUM/ TO/ JOSEPH HAEFNER." One of a pair with P00.42.3.
Believed to be a presentation piece given by Schaum in appreciation for all the work he was given in Haefner's brewery. Schaum did copper, tin and sheet iron work and was the son and one-time partner of plumber/ coppersmith John P. Schaum.
Provenance
Collection of J. Harlan Miller sold at Conestoga Auction Oct. 21, 2000. Transferred from Heritage Center Dec. 2012.
Heavy tarnish overall. Moderate scratching. Slightly dented in center of and below engraving. Small nicks on rim of lid. Minor corrosion where handle and thumb piece connect to body and on bottom. Some polish residue in crevices.
Leather multi-compartment Wallet. Some remnants of a red printed logo on interior flap. Contained the Civil War discharge papers of William Sweigart, Private, 195th Regiment.
Pennsylvania Long Rifle; percussion cap; curly maple stock; iron barrel stamped "H. GIBBS" on top of barrel. Brass fittings and patch box. Some rust on iron and brass parts. Approximately .40 caliber muzzle. 44" barrel with an overall length of 61 inches.
See notes for information on Gibbs.
Provenance
Purchased by donor (Walt Dunlap) at auction in Lancaster County in 1956.
Henry Gibb Sr. and his son Henry Gibb were Lancaster City gunsmiths active for most of the nineteenth century. The father from 1812 until 1843 and the son from 1843 until 1880.
Place of Origin
Lancaster
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Corn knife used by one of the Black resistors in the Christiana Riot on September 11, 1851. Wrought iron long curved blade of 19.5" is fitted into oak or ash turned handle rounded terminal end. Tang of blade extends through length of handle and protrudes at terminal where it is clinched.
The Christiana Resistance resulted from the efforts of a Maryland slave holder to claim fugitives hiding in the home of Willam Parker, a free black man living in Chritiana, PA. This corn knife was used by one of the black resistors during this confict. The bloody confrontation, occurring in September of 1851, resulted in the death of Edward Gorsuch, the slaveholder, and the escape of William Parker and the fugitive slaves to freedom in Canada.
