Friday, January 31, 2014

A LOVE KNOT...

This small trunk – the precursor of a suitcase, if you will – belonged to Miss Rebecca Gay, born in 1789, daughter of Calvin and Joanna Kingsbury Gay of Walpole, Massachusetts.
          It’s a gorgeous old thing (it’s slightly more than two hundred years old now) and it lives in my downstairs guest room. It has a rounded top, hobnailed decoration on the lid, including the initials RG; the whole thing is just over two feet long, a foot wide and ten inches deep, and it’s full of old letters, diaries, photographs and other odds and ends.
         
Rebecca lined the interior of her trunk with newspaper – there are cuttings from the Dedham, MA Norfolk Repository, a weekly publication in the early 1800s.
          Inside the lid, there’s a “programme” of “Exercises of Exhibition” from Day’s Academy, Wrentham, MA from September 15, 1809; Rebecca’s younger brother Ebenezer appears in two of these exercises: The Weathercock, a Dialogue with seven of his male classmates, and, at the very end of the exhibition, another – Mrs. Wiggins, a Dialogue with the same cast and crew.
          Riveting, I’m sure.
          Ebenezer ended up at Harvard; he became a minister, a real Bible-thumper, my grandfather said. Somewhere I’ve got a cabinet photo of him, taken in the 1880s when he was in his 90s; he’s the stuff of nightmares – long, stringy white beard, dangly mustaches, and straggly hair that droops over his shoulders.

The other piece of artwork pasted on the inside of the lid is a Love Knot. It’s a complicated, interwoven pattern (for a quilt, maybe) and has romantic notions written throughout: true love is a precious treasure reads one; entwining arms sharing kisses true love blisses proclaims another.

At the bottom, she signed her name – Rebecca Gay – in the lower right she wrote Drawn July 12, 1809.
          She drew the knot, papered and prepared her traveling trunk when she was just twenty years old; the following year, this scrawling notation appears in the Walpole town records:

This may certify that these subscribers have marriede...Major John A. Gould to Rebeccah Gay both of Walpole May 29, 1810

John and Rebecca were my fourth great-grandparents; in the bottom of this trunk is a photograph of their Massachusetts homestead and his original diary.


32 comments:

  1. Wonderful! I admit complete and utter jealously that you have such treasures, the trunk along with all it contains. I am especially enamoured with the pattern drawn and signed by Rebecca Gay.

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    1. I AM lucky, indeed! Of course it means that I come from a long line of packrats -- and I'm probably one, too. I've added some things from my parents' generation. And the pattern is amazing -- seems complicated for a quilt, but I can't imagine what else it might be...have any ideas?

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  2. Oh wow. Your trunk is so similar to the prompt illustration - so full of wonderful treasures.
    Nancy
    Ladies of the Grove

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    1. The suitcase is MUCH neater. I actually removed a lot of stuff at the top so people could see inside the thing! Thanks for stopping by, Nancy.

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  3. You are so lucky to have an heirloom like that. I read your previous post too, and found the calling cards very interesting.

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    1. Somebody told me that those calling cards evolved (of course) into our present-day business cards. But they were also used before we had autograph books, which morphed into yearbooks, etc. They are fabulous little cards, though -- and fascinating.

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  4. what an outrageous & exquisite trunk...it is the Sepia of the posts for sure. You are lucky to have it and all the information. Enjoyed reading this.

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    1. It's one of my prized possessions, Patricia! I've always said that, should my house catch fire, please save Rebecca's trunk, her husband's blanket chest (in my living room) and everything I've ever written -- in that order!

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  5. A treasure chest of a trunk and so old. I'm envious.

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    1. It even SMELLS old, Bob! That wonderful combination of paper, dust, ink, leather, etc. that we Sepians all know and love!

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  6. Perfect! What a wonderful thing to have.

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    1. It is, Kristin. I know I'm one LD (that's New England slang for "lucky duck") to have it...but, where does it go from here? I have nobody following me who is interested...

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  7. Most enjoyable post, going through the life of a woman who owned the trunk, and the romantic ideas of her love knot.

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    1. Someday I'll post the picture of her Bible-thumping brother -- he was a real piece of work; probably not as romantic as his sister!

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  8. A wonderful treasure to have come to you through all those generations who kept it safe, Having read your previous post about Rebecca Gay's start in life makes it even more precious.

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    1. I've always thought she'd be a great character in a novel, Joy -- still might do that, someday!

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  9. Love knots are just a twist of fun! Great post, always enjoy reading your thoughts, and stories!

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    1. That's sweet of you, Karen -- thank you for those nice words!

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  10. A wonderful treasure made all the more wonderful for knowing the story behind the lady. Jealous!!

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    1. I've always wanted to be able to time travel, Jackie -- then I could go back a couple hundred years and meet some of these people!

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    1. And thanks to you, Colleen, for dropping by!

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  12. I can only echo the thoughts of others - that is a wonderful historical treasure house - thanks for sharing it with us.

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    1. And I'll keep sharing it, Alan! Sepia Saturday has provided so many opportunities for me to connect with family history; it SS helps me see my ancestors in myself -- and only a Sepian could understand that!

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  13. I mustt admit I have a touch of envy that you have a trunk of over 200 years old - plus its contents. How marvelous that it has survived!

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    1. It's fared pretty well, I must say! Has some splits in the wood, one broken hinge...and goodness knows where the key is, but we've all taken good care of it. Thanks for your comments...I always enjoy hearing from you!

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  14. What a wonderful thing to own; a beautiful object in itself, with the added bonus of the family writings. Something to treasure,

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    1. I sometimes think about having it appraised, but I don't think there's any amount of money that would tempt me to part with it. It is, indeed, a treasure!

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  15. I'm quite speechless after reading this entry. How absolutely wonderful.

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    1. It's a special trunk, a special part of my family's history...it's nice to have Sepians in my corner: they all understand how wonderful it is! Thank you so much!

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