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.
Deed between Benjamin Hershey and Benjamin Hershey, Jr. for land in Lancaster Twp.
Description
Deed between Benjamin Hershey of Lancaster Township and Benjamin Hershey, Jr. of Lancaster Township, for land in Lancaster Township. Lancaster. Photostatic copy.
James Buchanan Papers, Penn State University Libraries,
https://libraries.psu.edu/findingaids/1458.htm
Related Item Notes
James Buchanan Collection (MG0096) https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/lhdo3760
James Buchanan Family Papers
Historical Society of Pennsylvania microfilm
Photograph Collection
Curatorial Collection
Wheatland Collection
Wheatland Mansion
Notes
May 2020 PastPerfect Conversion
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Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pa.
Other Number
MG-0096, Folder 037, Insert 02
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
Digitization of the James Buchanan Collection was funded by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, PHMC Appl ID # 201808013051, 2019-2020.
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".
Dillman R. Bomberger (December 15, 1879 - 1944) was a schoolteacher and photographer who was born near Lexington, Elizabeth Township. He worked as a schoolteacher in Elizabeth Township and by 1910 was working as a bookkeeper for Bayonne Steel Casting Company in Reading, PA. He married Aimee Brubaker in 1910 and had two children: Verna and David.
The photographs in this collection are mostly of family or friends and locations in the Elizabeth Township, Warwick Township and Lititz area.
Sure I would put another wrapper on the seals may come off I forgot to tell you are toset a plate for me when you set yours and don't forget to tell Mother to get a doll for me with dark hair would certainly like to have one.
