Lot 1062

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Description:

Daniel Webster's Classical mahogany gondola dining chairs Massachusetts, circa 1835
set of eight; scroll crest over vasiform splat, with slip seat in bowed rails, on saber legs; previously owned by Daniel Webster.
BH33 1/4" SH19" W19" D21"

Provenance: Accompanied by a handwritten declaration which reads "May 27th, 1961 / To Whom it May Concern: / The eight dining room chairs sold to Dr. Charles Watts by my brother Edward G. Reed were left to Mrs. Reed - by Mrs. Ross, mother of his Howard '05 classmate Franklin Haven Ross - who lived with his mother and aunt Miss Haven on the Franklin Haven estate in Beverly Farms, Mass. The chairs left to Mrs. Ross by her husband were previously owned by Daniel Webster who was a friend and frequent visitor to the estate - on which there is an oak tree which was a favorite retreat of Daniel Websters'. This is in accordance with my brother's notes. / Martha Reed Lincoln / Subscribed and sworn before me this 27th day of May, 1961 at Santa Maria, county of Santa Barbara, state of California, James Thurman, Notary public for said county and state. / My commission expires Oct. 25, 1963.


Literature: Franklin Haven is referenced in MEMORIAL BIOGRAPHIES OF THE NEW ENGLAND HISTORIC GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, VOLUME IX, 1890-1897, Boston, 1908 as being a confidential friend of Daniel Webster and one of the trustees of his estate.

Other Notes: Daniel Webster was born in Salisbury, New Hampshire on January 18, 1782, and died October 24, 1852. A statesman, lawyer, and orator, he was his era's foremost advocate of American nationalism. Webster was a farmer's son, and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1801. After a legal apprenticeship, he opened a legal practice in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1807.

Rising quickly as a lawyer and Federalist party leader, Webster was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives because of his opposition to the War of 1812, which had crippled New England's shipping trade. After two more terms in the House, Webster left Congress in 1816 and moved to Boston. Over the next six years, he won major constitutional cases before the Supreme Court, establishing himself as the nation's leading lawyer and an outstanding orator. In 1823, Webster was returned to Congress from Boston, and in 1827 he was elected senator from Massachusetts.

New circumstances enabled Webster to become a champion of American nationalism. With the Federalist party dead, he joined the National Republican party, allying himself with Westerner Henry Clay and endorsing federal aid for roads in the West. In 1828, the dominant economic interests of Massachusetts shifted from shipping to manufacturing, and Webster backed the high-tariff bill of that year. Angry Southern leaders condemned the tariff, and South Carolina's John C. Calhoun argued that his state had the right to nullify the law. Replying to South Carolina's Robert Hayne in a Senate debate in 1830, Webster triumphantly defended the Union. His words "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable!" won wide acclaim.

The annexation of Texas in 1845 and the resulting war with Mexico, both opposed by Webster, forced the country to face the issue of the expansion of slavery. Webster opposed such expansion but feared even more the dissolution of the Union over the dispute. In a powerful speech before the Senate on March 7, 1850, he supported the Compromise of 1850, denouncing Southern threats of secession but urging Northern support for a stronger law for the recovery of fugitive slaves. Webster was named secretary of state in July 1850 by President Millard Fillmore and supervised the strict enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act. Webster's stand alienated antislavery forces and divided the Whig party, but it helped to preserve the Union.

    Condition:
  • Very good restored condition.


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December 6, 2009 1:00 PM EST
West Columbia, SC, US

Charlton Hall

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