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A CONFLUENCE OF CULTURES: FURNITURE AND IDENTITY IN WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO, 1788-1825 by Andrew Scott Murphy Richmond A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the University of Delaware in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Early American Culture May 2003 Copyright 2003 Andrew Scott Murphy Richmond All Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number 1413560 ___ ® UMI UMI Microform 1413560 Copyright 2003 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. A CONFLUENCE OF CULTURES: FURNITURE AND IDENTITY IN WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO, 1788-1825 by Andrew Scott Murphy Richmond Approved: - UJ - VIh L. Brock W. Jobe, M.A. Professor in charge ofthe' thesis on behalf of the Advisory Committee Approved: (2- js C. Curtis, Ph.D. :tor, Winterthur Program in Early American Culture Approved: Mark W. Huddleston, Ph.D. Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Approved: Conrado M. Gempesaw II, Ph.D. Vice Provost for Academic and International Programs Reproduced with permission ofthe copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. "No colony in America was ever settled under such favorable auspices as that which has just commenced at the Muskingum." —George Washington, 1788 iii Reproduced with permission ofthe copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A long, involved project generally incorporates the work, ideas, advice, suggestions, and efforts of far more people than one can easily name in a page or two. Thus, the following people are just a few of those responsible for the creation of this thesis. First and foremost, I am grateful to Jane Sikes Hageman. It is her pioneering work that has laid the groundwork for all of us who follow her. I am deeply indebted to my advisor, Brock Jobe, for his continued encouragement, thoughtful comments, and boundless enthusiasm. A meeting with him the bleakest February day can reinvigorate the furniture scholar in anyone. I am also extremely grateful to John Briley and Kim McGrew at the Campus Martius Museum in Marietta whose unflagging efforts lie at the heart of the following pages. I owe a significant debt to Bill Reynolds, also at Campus Martius, for his knowledge and his willingness to climb into the trenches with me. Thanks also to Dr. Ray Swick of Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park; we had hot weather, but a successful hunt. At the Ohio Historical Society in Columbus, Cliff Eckle and Doug White provided generous access and great ideas. Charles Carroll at the Dayton Art Institute and I spent a grand morning with John Magee’s desk, while Linda Showalter at Marietta College’s Dawes Library was kind enough to spend extra time in Special Collections as I transcribed the re-discovered Shipman daybook. I would also like to thank David Vermillion at the Dawes Arboretum in Newark, Ohio, Mike Clum, George iv Reproduced with permission ofthe copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. and Susan Delagrange, James Devilbiss, Karen Handling, the helpful folks at the Washington County Courthouse and Public Library, as well as the interlibrary loan staffs at numerous Ohio public libraries. Thanks also to Sumpter Priddy for his encyclopedic memory, and for always reminding me to believe in the process. I must also acknowledge here the life-long support and encouragement of my parents, my sisters and their families, my grandmother Ellie, and my Nana. Although I may now live 500 miles away, this thesis makes it pretty clear where my heart is. Stephen King wrote, “To write is human, but to edit is divine.” With that in mind, I must also thank my partner, Hollie, who reviewed this thesis almost as many times as I did. Not only did she prove a great companion and a helpful assistant during numerous long days traveling through the southeastern Ohio countryside, she was perpetually full of encouragement and a plethora of helpful suggestions and comments. She is solely responsible for helping me maintain my sanity over the past eighteen months. Finally, I would like to thank my cats. They indeed contributed to what follows. Elvis provided hours of service as a top-notch paperweight; John Henry frequently serenaded me while I worked; Manny provided comic relief; and Love always kept me on my toes and taught me to save my work regularly. Reproduced with permission ofthe copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. For my classmates, Anne, Cedar, Erika, Joanna, Katherine, Kristen, Lori, Sarah, and Scott, for their friendship, without which, this would have been a long and lonely experience. And for my nephews, Adam, Eric, Jacob, and Michael, whose lifetime of learning is just beginning. vi Reproduced with permission ofthe copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES..............................................................................................................x ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................xiv A CONFLUENCE OF CULTURES: FURNITURE AND IDENTITY IN WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO, 1788-1825............................................................... 1 Introduction...............................................................................................................I Settling the Land Northwest of the Ohio River.................................................... 5 Furnishing the Frontier...........................................................................................14 Furniture in Early Washington County: A Survey..............................................24 Many People, Many Styles....................................................................................40 From Philadelphia: Windsor Seating Furniture................................................... 49 Looking South: Inlaid Furniture........................................................................... 52 Native Land: Furniture and the Identity of Joseph Buell...................................58 Conclusion.............................................................................................................. 68 NOTES.................................................................................................................................71 FIGURES............................................................................................................................ 83 APPENDIX A: Carpenters, Joiners, and Cabinetmakers in Washington County, Ohio, 1788-1825...............................................................................................................117 vii Reproduced with permission ofthe copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. APPENDIX B: List of Probate Records Surveyed, 1788-1825...................................126 BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................................................................................... 128 viii Reproduced with permission ofthe copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Percentage of Probate Records Which Include Luxury Goods, by Type of Good, 1788-1825....................................................................................11