The Cadarina Greh Chest

A Material Culture Study By Mark A. Turdo

2004

Preface This is the first study to spend any time with the Cadarinah Greh Chest (hereafter Greh chest). In prior studies it is used as an illustration and is generally referred to as the earliest known New York German chest. More attention has been given to later eighteenth- and nineteenth-century chests. Yet, if this is indeed the earliest known chest, it deserves more attention than the lip service paid to its vintage. I originally selected this chest for two reasons. First it is an eighteenth-century object. Secondly, and more to the point, it intrigued me. Having seen it in de Julios catalogue,1 I was struck by the apparent contradictions of its cultural origins and owner: here was a German New York chest with an Anglo-American name, spelled phonetically in German, painted on the front. Rarely does an object shout its history so loudly, and up until now, no one has listened closely enough to it. 2 Introduction German immigration to New York began in the early eighteenth century. Arriving in 1710 to work in tar camps for the English Crown, Germans settled in compact communities. Once the Crowns plans to employ them failed, German immigration slowed. Within a few years the Scots-Irish also began settling in New York. While the Germans tended to settle in Dutchess and Ulster Counties and in the Schoharie and Mohawk Valleys, the Scots-Irish settled in Orange and Ulster Counties and New York City.3 While these were concentrations of settlement, some communities were multi-cultural, including both Germans and Scots-Irish. Much of the research that has been done has focused on their work for the English Crown, and a little on their later presence. However, once the Crowns plans failed, these German settlers remained in New York State, establishing new communities. Besides their settlements, New York Germans created many objects that reflected their heritage, among which were decorated chests. In his article on Pennsylvania German furniture, Benno Foreman says that, painted chests are by far the most conspicuous artifacts German craftsmen produced in eighteenth-century America. He goes on to say that modern collectors of Pennsylvania German art have separated the chests from their provenance, making it more difficult to trace their origins, use, and meaning.4 Even though he was writing about Pennsylvania chests, the same may be said of New York German chests. Studying New York chests can be more problematic than the study of Pennsylvania examples, since much more is known and appreciated about Pennsylvania German history and culture. Furthermore, many examples of New York German material culture have been, knowingly and otherwise, misidentified as Pennsylvania German. Historians and material cultural scholars are always on the lookout for pure cultural forms. They want to find neat boxes in which to put each object, culture, and person. However, many objects contradict such sorting, and tell a more complex story. For example, the origins and use
1. Mary Antoine de Julio. German Folk Arts of New York State (Albany: Albany Institute of History and Art, 1985), 3. 2 Corey Amsler includes the most information on the Greh Chest. However, his interest is on its construction and how it compares to the construction of other New York German chests. Corey M. Amsler New York German Chests: A Study in Craft Influences (masters thesis, Cooperstown Graduate Program, 1987), 19-20. 3 Ronald W. Howard. The English Province (1664-1776), in The Empire State: A History of New York (Ithaca: Cornell University Press with the New York State Historical Association, 2001), 157-158. 4 Benno M. Foreman German Influences in Pennsylvania Furniture, in Arts of the Pennsylvania Germans (New York: W.W. Norton & Co. for the Winterthur Museum, 1983), 135.
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of the Greh chest are part of a larger and more unusual cultural story than is at first apparent. Thought to be a German New York chest made for and used by a German-American, this object challenges us to think about the mixing of cultures in Colonial and Early America, particularly in New York State. Besides its cultural origins, the Greh chest leads to other questions, particularly about the life of the owner, Catherine Gray (Cadarinah Greh). What did the chest mean to her? What did it say about her? The Greh chest can speak to us of Catherine Grays past (her ancestry) as well as her intended future, serving as a bridge between them. It is a treasure chest of her heritage, hopes, and expectations. The Chest Sitting in a second floor bedroom in the restored Herkimer Home is a painted New York German chest.5 The chest is behind a rocking chair, a baby cradle, and underneath a basket of sewing supplies to see it, tucked away in the corner of the room. The chest may be quickly described as a six-plank chest, painted blue, with the owners name and a date, Cadarinah Greh and 1773, painted freehand in white on the front.6 Upon opening the trunk there is a wafting scent of mothballs, evidence of more recent use (or bad preservation). Not a focus of the tour, or of particular interest to most, the chest sits mute. Yet it can tell us many things. In his dissertation on New York German chests and chest makers, Corey Amsler is surprised to find how few of the chests he studied followed the general formula for German chest construction. According to Amsler, the Greh Chest follows the traditional German-American chest formula more than any other chest included in his study. His formula includes eight points: 1) wedged dovetailed joints on the front and back of the chest; 2) lids composed of two boards joined together; 3) tongue and groove joints attaching the side molding; 4) through tenons (extension of the tongue) visible on the side moldings; 5) the tenons are pegged through the molding to secure it; 6) front moldings are pegged in place; 7) grooves in the side moldings cut as tongues to secure the front molding; 8) and lastly, the lids were pseudojoined to resemble a panel (the molding rose above the lid surface on four sides).7 Amslers formula is based on Foremans description of the typical characteristics found on Pennsylvania German chests.8 The Greh Chest follows seven of the eight points of the formula established for (Pennsylvania) German chests (it does not have the eighth: a pseudo-paneled lid). Does this indicate a transplanted Germanic tradition, regardless of colony, or is the formula insufficient to the task? Lacking a large number of German chests in America, as well as a thorough knowledge of contemporary Germanic chest making practices in Europe, researchers are left to wonder. Most of the work that has been done on Germanic chest construction is based on known American German chests. Scholars have tacitly agreed that these must be representative of Germanic techniques, but there is room for doubt. The use of decorated chests began generations after the large waves of eighteenth-century German migration ended. The pattern of use and ownership
Herkimer Home is managed by the New State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Sites located in Little Falls, NY. 6 For more information regarding construction details of the Greh chest see Appendix #1. 7 Amsler, 14-15 8 Both Amsler and Peter M. Kenny rely on Foremans work to describe German construction techniques. See Amsler, Fn 24, 15; Peter M. Kenny, Two Early Eighteenth-Century Schrnke: Rare Survivals of the German Joiners Art in the Hudson River Valley. in American Furniture 2001, ed. Luke Beckerdite (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England for the Chipstone Foundation, 2001), Fn 12, 242.
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seems to reflect American contexts. It is reasonable to wonder that if chest use was reflective of this continent, then did the construction techniques reflect the same? Details Many of the details on the chest are not very revealing, but some may lead to new questions, particularly about the presence of the lock and the handles. The original box lock and keyhole escutcheon have been removed, and presumably were lost. A new brass escutcheon has been situated slightly above the keyhole. The original iron lock catch remains in place on the underside of the lid. The key has also been lost. Since the chest contained valuables items, such as textiles, a degree of security was required. Handles are present on the exterior of the sideboards (see Appendix #3, fig. 1). The handles are secured with large cotter pins, peened into place on the interior of the chest (see Appendix #3, fig. 2).9 They do not match the heavy wrought iron hardware that de Julio describes.10 Of the sixty-eight chests he studied, Amsler found only thirteen that had handles. Of those, eleven were eighteenth-century chests. The backplates on the eighteenth-century examples tended to be cshaped, unlike the Greh Chests square plates. Since so many chests lacked handles, Amsler concluded that these pieces were meant to be stationary.11 Since the Greh Chests handles do not seem to be strong enough to support the weight of the empty chest (much less a full one) , it supports Amslers conclusion that the chest was not meant to be moved often. Decoration On the front center of the chest is an astragal-ended frame, containing the name Cadarinah Greh and underneath the frame is 1773 . All of this was done freehand, executed in white paint (See Appendix #3, fig. 3). Previous studies have found that as chest construction proceeded from the eighteenth into the nineteenth century, construction became simpler, and decoration more detailed.12 The Greh Chest is certainly an example of complex construction and simple decoration. The two most popular colors for chests in New York, were blue and red. In the Mohawk Valley, blue was the second most popular color (behind red).13 Prussian blue, an artificial pigment first discovered in about 1704, was used on the Greh chest. It became extremely popular for both artistic works and house painting.14 One historian of paints has called it the ubiquitous blue, finding it on high style, as well as vernacular buildings.15 It is not unlikely that it could be found on furniture as well. While we do not have the benefit of chemical analysis, one indication that the Greh chest was indeed Prussian blue is its current color. When Prussian blue is mixed with an oil medium, it has a tendency to fade to a green.16 Under ten-power magnification, as well as in photographs, the Greh chest has a green cast to it.
Similar handles are described as being common on Pennsylvania chests. Fabian, 45. Except for its astragal shaped backplate, a similar handle is illustrated in image 26 in Fabian, 94. 10 Mary Antoine de Julio, German Folk Arts, 7. 11 Amsler, 25. 12 Ibid, 35. 13 Ibid., 30. For more on chest decoration see Amsler Chest Painting and Decoration, 30-46. 14 Richard Newman and Eugene Farrell, House Paint Pigments: Composition and Use, 1600 to 1850 in Paint in America: The Colors of Historic Buildings, ed. Roger W. Moss (Washington: The Preservation Press, 1994), 284 15 Frank S. Welsh, The Early American Palette: Colonial Paint Colors Revealed in Paint in America: The Colors of Historic Buildings, ed. Roger W. Moss (Washington: The Preservation Press, 1994), 71. His interest is in architectural paints, not furniture.
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So far no eighteenth-century chest decorator has been located in New York State. Some researchers conclude that these were home-decorated chests.17 The Greh chest supports that, since it is simply painted, with an uneven freehand design centered on the front. Clearly a professional decorator would have executed the design more evenly, possibly creating a more intricate decoration in place of the simple frame, name, and date. Only Fabian asserts that women may have decorated their own chests. Discussing European divisions of labor, he says there is a precedent for men to make furniture and women to paint it.18 There were certainly Martha Stewart-types in the eighteenth-century. However, decorating chests was time consuming, which may explain why the eighteenth-century examples, if they were indeed home painted, are plain in comparison to their nineteenth-century counterparts. Lacking any documentary evidence, the chest will have to serve as an indication of who may have painted it. Besides the plainness of the chest and the uneven freehand execution of the frame, name, and date, the letters may point us in a possible direction. The stylized script used on the Greh chest is not unusual. It can be found on many examples of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Pennsylvania and New York German furniture, as well as ceramics.19 It can also be found on embroidered textiles. A review of several collections containing known Pennsylvania German embroidery shows a striking similarity between what women produced for their homes and the script used on the Greh chest.20 Embroidery was taught to young women who were creating textiles for use and display in their homes. Like chests, it has been said that the creation of embroidered textiles, such as show towels, tablecloths, and bed sheets, was done in preparation for marriage. Based on such a precedent of skill, it is possible Catherine herself decorated her chest. Meanings & Conclusion Henry Glassie, in his book Material Culture writes: Material culture is culture made material; it is the inner wit at work in the world. Beginning necessarily with things, but not ending with them, the study of material culture uses objects to approach human thought and actions. While the chest, and the accompanying documentary research, may not reveal as much of the inner wit of Catherine Gray as we would like, it does offer some new perspectives on her thoughts and actions. The chest, as an extant object, is the starting point for this discussion, but it is by no means all there is to talk about. There is Catherine herself.

Andrea M. Gilmore, Analyzing Paint Samples: Investigation and Interpretation, in Paint in America: The Colors of Historic Buildings, ed. Roger W. Moss (Washington: The Preservation Press, 1994), 182. 17 De Julio, New York-German Painted Chests, Antiques, Volume 127, #5 (May 1985), 1157. 18 Monroe Fabian. The Pennsylvania-German Decorated Chest (New York: Main Street Press Books, 1978), 57. 19 for furniture see Wendy A. Cooper, An American Vision: Henry Francis du Ponts Winterthur Museum (Wilmington: National Gallery of Art & the Winterthur Museum, 2002), 128 1768 Lancaster County schrank; Beatrice B. Garvan, The Pennsylvania German Collection (Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1982; reprint 1999), 19 for a 1781 German chest; 21, German chest; for ceramics see Garvan, 174, 1808 plate. 20 The author wishes to thank Andrew Albertson for pointing out the similarity between the scripts on the Greh chest and a Pennsylvania example.

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It was hoped that there would be a great deal of primary source material related to Catherine. Perhaps there might be a sampler with matching script from her hand, or a few pages of a journal hidden in a museum collection in New York. Unfortunately, very little recorded information remains regarding Catherine. She lives on in two ways: as a mother and as the owner of a chest. Otherwise, little of her life has been recorded. By combining genealogical information, our understanding of womens roles in the eighteenth century, and what we know of the chest, perhaps we can still find something of Catherine. Catherine Gray was born in Stone Arabia (now known as Palatine21), New York in 1752. Her father was Adam Gray, a Scots-Irishman who came to America sometime in the early eighteenth century.22 Her mother was Maria Elizabeth Horning, who was of German descent. Catherine was born in 1751 or 1752 (no certain date of birth has been located), and was the third of nine children. In 1776, the same year her father died, Catherine married John M. Smith.23 Originally thought to have been an Anglo-American, one genealogical source records his name as Johannes M. Schmidt.24 John was born 7 March, 1748. Catherine and John had five children , all male, between July 1776 and November 1785.25 While not much is known of their life together, we do know that John died in the town of Herkimer in 1822, and Catherine three years later in 1825. She was buried in the (Dutch Reformed) Oak Hill cemetery. There is not much information about Catherine beyond records of her birth, marriage, motherhood, and death. However, the chest provides some insight into her life, even if much of it is based on our understanding of eighteenth-century German culture and expectations of women. Originally it was thought that Catherine was caught between her two cultural heritages, Anglo and German. The chest led in that direction. The chest itself is a product of her German ancestry. As mentioned above, Amsler stated that it is the only chest in his study to meet all of the criteria for pure German chest construction, but the decoration of the chest was simple. It included none of the typical German motifs seen on other chests. It could be argued that Catherine was not certain into which culture she would ultimately marry, since the chest was German, but the decoration was subdued enough to fit into either culture. Her name alone would suggest that she lived between these cultures, spelling her Anglo name in German phonetics. We do not know which was her primary language (or, in fact, if she was bilingual), much less how the two cultures interacted in her parents home. These are simply possibilities. Despite questions of culture, the chest does reveal her ancestry, displaying German furniture preferences. Like so many other pre-marital pieces, the Greh chest was created for an unmarried woman, who marked it with her maiden name. Catherine would later change her name, but the

Washington Frothingham. History of Montgomery County. (Syracuse: D. Mason & Co., 1892), 19. There is some question when her father arrived in American. Herkimer Home files indicate it was c. 1730. However, a Gray Family genealogy states it was 1744. Marcius Denison Raymond. Gray Genealogy: Being a Genealogical Record and History of the Descendants of John Gray, of Beverly, Mass. (Tarrytown, NY, 1887), 19. 23 Unless otherwise cited, the previous genealogical material was taken from William Watkins research contained in the Greh chests document file at Herkimer Home. 24 Royden Woodward Vosburgh, ed. Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Herkimer in Town of Herkime,r Herkimer County, New York. (Herkimer, NY: Herkimer County Historical Society, 1986), 52. 25 Based on the birth of their first child, John and Catherine either married after she became pregnant, or they were actually married in 1775. William V.H. Barker. Early Families of Herkimer County New York. (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1986), 234.
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chest would continue to display her unmarried name, marking it as hers alone, and not her husbands property. Catherine may also have marked domestic textiles. Marking textiles with embroidery served several functions: it demonstrated a womans literacy, identified the maker and caretaker of textiles, and was possibly an attempt at immortality through continued use of the textile.26 Like other eighteenth-century women, Catherine Grays education as a future homemaker may have included embroidery. She would have learned several stylized scripts in order to mark her textiles. She used one of those scripts to paint her name and the year on her own chest. This is not so far-fetched when it is considered that this chest probably contained the very embroidered textiles the script may have matched. Her textiles were kept in her chest, both facts known to everyone through their display and use.27 Furthermore, if Catherine did indeed paint the chest, matching it to the textiles she created and stored there, she was preparing goods for future housekeeping. The chest was created in 1773, but it would be three more years before she would marry. Like textiles, the chest was created in order to prepare for her role as domestic manager. The chests lock begs questions of ownership and control. The chest is marked as Catherines, but who kept the key? There is no definitive answer to this question, but knowing that would help to explain the chests use and who controlled it. If Catherine controlled the key, then it demonstrated another level of exercised ownership. She would have controlled who had access to the items within her chest. The chests place in the home is also important. The weak handles present on the chest suggest that it was not meant to be mobile. If the chest was placed in a public space, it would have permanently and publicly announced itself as Catherines, as well as indicating something of her heritage and accomplishments as a domestic manager. Lastly, the chest may hint at the economic status of the Gray Family. The chest was home, not professionally, decorated. The design is simple, which required a minimum amount of time and materials. While the use of Prussian blue may indicate an expense, it was common enough that paint from another household project may have been used. The hardware is extremely plain, almost to the point of being simple. Beyond the chests construction, it does not appear that much expense went into the Greh chest. Perhaps the family simply could not afford significant ornamentation. Taking all of this together, we can paint a picture of what the chest may have meant to Catherine. The chest displayed her multi-cultural heritage, using a German form with an Anglo family name on it. Like marked domestic textiles, Catherine may have marked the chest herself in order to establish ownership. These were her things, necessary to meet eighteenth-century expectations of an efficient housewife. If the chest was kept in a public room, and not moved often or easily, her painted name announced her ownership and identity to visitors. Control of the key meant she controlled access to the chest and the items inside, moving beyond symbolic ownership of the chest, as demonstrated by her painted name, to a practical ownership.

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, The Age of Homespun: Objects and Stories in the Creation of an American Myth (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001), 116-117. 27 A similar possibility exists among some textiles associated with Hadley chests. Ulrich, 117.

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Unfortunately, these interpretations are difficult to verify through documentary research, but such questions need to be asked if we are to continue to search for the meaning of peoples lives. Objects such as the Greh chest raise questions about ownership and daily interaction. Ultimately, the study of such objects leads to questions about peoples self-awareness. While nothing of Catherines thoughts can be said with certainty, her chest can help tease out possibilities. If Glassie is correct and material culture reveals a persons inner wit, than this is indeed a treasure chest of Catherine Grays life. Afterward I would like to thank the staff, particularly Tom Kernan, Site Director, of the Herkimer Home Historical Site for allowing me access to the chest. Thanks to Anne Cassidy of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for locating files on the chest. Thanks to William Watkins for sharing his work, as well as offering some leads for more information. Finally, I would like to thank my first year classmates, specifically those living at 47 Chestnut Street, who endured the constant discussion of my chest project with great patience and even (feigned?) interest.

Appendix #1: Greh Chest Construction Amslers thesis is the most comprehensive source for information regarding New York German chest makers, construction techniques, and required tools.28 Unlike preceding authors, he does spend some time describing the Greh chest. What follows is an expanded version of his description. The chest measures: Front and back boards: 47 x 19 3/4 Side Boards: 19 x 15 5/16 Chest Cavity: 46 x 19 Lid (including molding): 49 X 20 Lid (inside molding): 47 1/16 x 19 The box itself is joined together with front and rear facing wedged dovetails. The sideboards reveal the rectangular corner grooves created by the dovetailing. Each of the four sides appears to be a solid board. The lid is bordered on three sides by applied shaped molding. The molding, except for some warping, sits flush with the lids board. The molding was originally applied with tongue and groove joints, secured with wood pins, but there are later metal nails as well. The side moldings shows visible tenons cut through them. The lid consists of two pieces (as is the bottom board). The lid is attached to the body of the chest with wrought-iron flame-tipped strap hinges. The hinges are applied to the bottom of the lid, and are visible on the exterior of the rear board running almost to the bottom of the chest. The chest has molding at the base, with bracketed ogee feet.29 However, these feet are purely decorative. The sideboards run to the ground supporting the weight of the chest.30 An off-center chamfered board, attached with nails indicating that it may have been a later addition, provides additional support. The base molding was originally applied with wood pins, and later with metal nails. The chest has square iron wire handles with iron backplates on the sideboards. Inside, the till can be found on the left side of the chest, dadoed into place. The lid is hinged with extensions (forming dowels) from the board into holes drilled into the front and backboards.31

For makers see Amsler, 5-10 & 46-60; For techniques see Amsler, 14-30 ; For tools see Amsler, 47. His appendices are also very helpful in identifying possible makers and the presence of necessary tools. 29 Fabian points out that turned feet were popular on Pennsylvania chests in the 1760s and 1770s, but bracketed feet were the most common. Fabian, 41. 30 This is an unusual support system on Germanic chests. Amsler, 28. 31 Pennsylvania German chest makers tended to put the till in the left side, while there does not seem to be a standard placement in New York German chests. Amsler., Craft Influences, 25-26. Foreman also states that tills were found in the left side. He does not consider another option, indicating its consistent use in Pennsylvania examples. Foreman, 140.

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On the upper edge of the sideboards are a series of small tacks with the remnants of white linen fabric surrounding them. The linen was placed there as a damper, to reduce the sound of the lid closing on the boards edges (see Appendix #3, fig. 4). The Greh Chest is painted Prussian blue on three sides. The back is unfinished wood, as is a small strip on the upper edges of the front and sideboards, just under the lid molding. It is unlikely paint may have worn away from constant abrasion from the lid, because the unfinished strip is too clean. Abrasion would have left some paint remnants, but the boards show none. Finally, on the backboard of the chest a small rectangular piece has been removed and covered with wire mesh, secured with two nailed chamfered battens (resembling lath). This is a later alteration to the chest, presumably to allow the contents to air (see Appendix #3, fig. 5). Appendix #2: Current Provenance of the Chest The following provenance was originally researched and created by Williams Watkins. More work is required to verify or change this provenance. The original research in the chests document file at Herkimer Home is not annotated, and a telephone interview with Watkins did not add any significant details. There are no dates associated with any of these exchanges. Catherine (Gray) Smith 1751 or 1752 - 1825 Charles Gray Born 1796 (Catherines nephew; Married Elizabeth Petry, Daughter of William Petry) Unknown Resident of Herkimer, NY Robert Earl Born 1867 (President Herkimer County Historical Society; Great-Grandson of William Petry) New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Sites

Appendix #3 Images

Figure 1: Handle, exterior

Figure 2: Handle, interior

Figure 3: Cartouche

Figure 4: Tack & linen remnants

Figure 5: Rear vent Works Cited Amsler, Corey. New York German Chests: A Study in Craft Influences. masters thesis, Cooperstown Graduate Program, 1987. Cooper, Wendy A. An American Vision: Henry Francis du Ponts Winterthur Museum. Wilmington: National Gallery of Art & Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, 2002. De Julio, Mary Antoine, New York-German Painted Chests, Antiques Volume 127, #5 (May 1985): 1156 1165. _________, German Folks Arts of New York State. Albanny: Albany Institute of History and Art, 1985. Fabian, Monroe. The Pennsylvania-German Decorated Chest. New York: Main Street Press Books, 1978) Foreman, M. Benno. German Influences in Pennsylvania Furniture in Arts of the PennsylvaniaGermans, edited by Catherine E. Hutchins, 102 170. New York: W.W. Norton Company for the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, 1983. Garvan, Beatrice B. The Pennsylvania German Collection. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1982; reprint 1999. Glassie, Henry. Material Culture. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1999. Howard, Ronald W. The English Province (1664-1776), in The Empire State: A History of New York, edited by Milton M. Klein. Ithaca: Cornell University Press with the New York State Historical Association, 2001. Kenny, Peter M. Two Early Eighteenth-Century Schrnke: Rare Survivals of the German Joiners Art in the Hudson River Valley. in American Furniture 2001, edited by Luke Beckerdite, 221 242. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England for the Chipstone Foundation, 2001. Raymond, M.D. Gray Genealogy: Being a Genealogical Record and History of the Descendants of John Gray, of Beverly, Mass., and Also Including Sketches of Other Gray Families. Tarrytown, NY, 1887. Ulrich, Laurel Thatcher. The Age of Homespun: Objects and Stories in the Creation of an American Myth. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001.