Medium Hollow Plane
Dateca.1780-1800
Maker
Thomas Hayden
1745 - 1817
MediumBirch, iron, and steel
DimensionsLength: 9 1/2"; thickness: 1 3/16"
Credit LineGift of Thomas Elliott
Object number2024-288
DescriptionMedium hollow plane with flat chamfers which end with a line and turn-out. The wedge has a slightly-relieved ovoid finial.Label TextA carpenter, housewright, and architect, Thomas Hayden is known for his work on the 1788 addition to the Oliver Ellsworth house in Windsor, Connecticut, the 1794 addition put on to the Phelps-Hatheway House in Suffield, CT, and the 1788-1789 John Watson House in East Windsor, CT, amongst others.Before achieving a reputation for creating fine woodwork and beautiful structures, Hayden had an honorable career in the military of the fledgling United States. First answering the Lexington Alarm of April, 1775 as a serjeant, Haydon served as the 8th Connecticut Regiment's Serjeant-Major until late December of that year. Receiving an officer's commission from Congress, he became 2nd. Lieutenant in the 17th Continental Infantry in New Year's Day, 1776, and served as the unit's Adjutant for much of that year. On New Year's Day next, Haydon received a 1st. Lieutenant's commission in the 3rd Connecticut Regiment of the Continental Army, where he also served as Adjutant for some time. Though he resigned on April 15, 1778, he returned to service as a Lieutenant in the Connecticut militia in 1781 and 1782.
Living well into his seventy-third year, Thomas Hayden died on November 28, 1817, and was buried in Windsor's Palisado Cemetery. He left an estate worth about $1850, and his inventory, proved early the next year listed "Joiners and Carpenters tools amount - $69.81," in addition to lots of lumber.Mark(s)T , HAYDEN in italic relief within a rectangle, struck into the toe (Elliott, GAWP 5th ed., p.173).ProvenanceApril 2014, purchased by Thomas Elliott (Westbrook, CT); 2024, given to The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA)
