Images(4)

Chest

Date1700-1750

OriginAmerica or Europe

MediumAsh (by micro id: Fraxinus spp./Oleaceae), yellow pine, hickory, iron, and textile (TBD)

DimensionsOH: 25 1/2"; OW: 58 1/2"; OD: 25 1/8"

Credit LineGift of Gilbert Whitehouse

Object number2026-34

DescriptionLarge rectangular dovetailed chest with hinged lid; sides dovetailed to front and back; bottom board, with quarter-round edge extending past sides, front and back, probably nailed to underside of same; lid with battens with shaped ends nailed with clinched nails to underside of ends; lid hinged to back of chest with large iron strap hinges that are riveted on exterior of chest; hinges have rounded ends on lid and are set into a shallow groove in underside of top; all three hinges are buckled (i.e., not flat) between the end and next rivet; underside of lid has groove to receive tops of front, sides, and back when closed (groove stained or painted red); large iron carrying handles are attached to sides with iron cotter pins; backplate is foliated on both ends with D shaped handle; similar double-foliate iron straps span the corners of the sides, front and back (two each) and bottom to the side, front and back (2 each); mortised lock missing, mortise patched with yellow pine with hickory across top and a piece of fabric, leaving keyhole with evidence of a missing escutcheon; iron hasp and loop nailed to underside of lid and front of chest with clinched nails; four modern castors attached to underside of bottom; reddish color to exterior of chestLabel TextThis large utilitarian chest descended in the Fry family of Virginia and is believed to have originally belonged to Colonel Joshua Fry (1699-1754). Born in England and educated at Oxford, Fry immigrated to Virginia by 1729 and lived in James City and Goochland (later Albemarle) Counties. A member of the Virginia House of Burgess representing Albemarle County (1745-1754) and professor of Natural Philosophy and Mathematics at the College of William and Mary as well as the Commander in Chief of the Virginia forces during the French and Indian War, Fry was also a surveyor, notable for having created an important map of Virgina with Peter Jefferson, published in 1753. This so-called Fry-Jefferson map remained the definitive map of Virginia with the most accurate rivers and terrain until the early 19th century. Whether used on military campaigns, surveying trips, or as a domestic storage form, this chest endured centuries of use in a Virginia family.ProvenanceBelieved to have originally been owned by Joshua Fry (1699-1754); descended in Fry’s family at Elim, the Fry house built by Joshua Fry’s son Henry c.1766 in Locust Dale, Madison County, Virginia; purchased at auction of house contents in 1918 by John Webb Fry (1853-1943), great-grandfather of donor; descended to donor.

Probable line of descent: Joshua Fry; to Rev. Henry Fry (1738-1823); to daughter Martha Fry Lightfoot (1767-1828); to son Reuben Edward Lightfoot (1800-1882); to son John Lightfoot (1836-1880); to son John Turner Lightfoot (1861-1914) and wife Lucie Elizabeth Garrett Lightfoot (1866-1947); to son Edward Valentine Lightfoot (1897-1918); sold 1918 at auction of Elim’s contents to John Webb Fry (1843-1853), great-grandson of Rev. Henry Fry (1738-1823), and great-grandfather of the donor.

Or Joshua Fry; to Rev. Henry Fry (1738-1823); to son Joshua Fry (1769-1838); to son Henry Belville Fry (1794-1836); to daughter Mary Emily Fry Garnett (1833-1921); to daughter Lucie Elizabeth Garnett Lightfoot (1866-1947) and John Turner Lightfoot (1861-1914); to son Edward Valentine Lightfoot (1897-1918); 1918 sold at auction of Elim contents to John Webb Fry.