Rocking chair: full view |
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Object Description
| Brief description | Rocking chair used by the Seeley family, Elk Grove, Lafayette County, ca. 1830-1850. |
| Object name | Rocking chair |
| Alternate object name | Slat-back chair |
| Date | ca. 1830-1850 |
| Dimensions | 42 1/4"H x 21 1/2"W x 27 1/2"D |
| Materials and techniques | Bark seat; Turned legs |
| Location of use | Elk Grove, Lafayette County, Wisconsin |
| Current location | Lancaster, Grant County, Wisconsin |
| Description | Four slightly curved, broad slats are slotted into the turned stiles, which terminate in acorn finials. The turned front legs are mortised into the arms and reinforced with small nails. The arms are shaped with a draw kinfe and terminate in open holes. The broad rockers are slotted into the front and back legs and secured with large bolts. Traces of blue paint remain on the original woven bark seat. |
| History |
An exhibit label provided by the Grant County Historical Society reads “By a letter from C.M. Seely to Marcia Grindell: 'This bark seat, handmade chair belonged to Grandmother Dunn, the sister of Obediah Fields who was a halfbreed Kentucky Indian who went with the Lewis and Clark Expedition from St. Louis to Glacier National Park. Uncle Obediah Fields could speak Indian. He was one of the U.S.A. Expert riflemen in 1815. (I was very proud of my Indian relatives.)'" A second label states “Handmade chair used by the David Seely Family, Elk Grove, prior to 1850.” According to the History of La Fayette County (1881), the Seeley family was among the first settlers to arrive in the county, in 1829. Like many early Anglo settlers in the lead region of southwest Wisconsin, the family came from the Upper South. The 1850 federal census for Elk Grove, Lafayette County, Wisconsin, documents David Seeley, smelter, born in Missouri; wife Sophia, born in New York, two children born in Illinois, and six children born in Wisconsin. No information has been located concerning Obediah Fields or “Grandmother Dunn,” but the Dunn family is significant in the early history of the county--Charles Dunn, born in Kentucky in 1799, came to Illinois in 1819. In 1836 he was appointed Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Territory, and served in the State Senate as a representative of Lafayette County in the 1850s. |
| Sources | History of La Fayette County, Wisconsin (Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1881), p. 462; Charles Dunn biographical sketch, History of Grant County, Wisconsin (Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1881), pp. 878-80. |
| Owner | Grant County Historical Society |
| Rights | © 2009 by the Grant County Historical Society. Contact the owner for more information. http://grantcountyhistory.org/ |
| Digital collection | Wisconsin Decorative Arts Database |
| Digital identifier | GCHS003 |
| Digital format | XML |
| Type | Physical object |
| Keywords | Furniture; Rocking chair; Chairs (furniture forms); Seating furniture; Furnishings (artifacts); Furnishings and equipment |
| Date digitized | 2009-07-14 |
| Date modified | 2010-10-01 |
Description
| Object name | Rocking chair: full view |
| Rights | © 2009 by the Grant County Historical Society. Contact the owner for more information.http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/localhistory/directory/viewsociety.asp?id=65 |
| Digital collection | Wisconsin Decorative Arts Database |
| Digital identifier | GCHS003a |
| Digital format | image/jpeg |
| Type | Physical object |
| Date digitized | 2009-07-14 |
| Date modified | 2010-04-29 |
