Federal furniture [First Printing ed.] 0918804485, 9780918804488

Citation preview

FEDERAL

FURNITURE

Michael Dunbar

ITI

The Taunton Press

Cover and text photos by Andrcw Edgar. except wh crc noted . Photos. pp, 8 and 10. by John Co rco ra n .

" 1986 by The Ta u nton Press. In c , All righ ts rese rved

First printing: ｾｉ ｡ ｹ 198 6 Int ern a ti o nal Sta nda rd Boo k Number: 0 ·918804·48·5 Library of Co ngress Catalog Ca rd Nu mbe r: 85 ·52239 Printed in Denmark

A FIl>E WOODWORKI NG Book FIl>E WOODWORKIl>G"' is a tra dem ark o f Thc Ta unto n Press, Inc .• regist er ed in th e U.S . Pat e nt and Trade ma rk Office , The Ta u nto n Press. Inc . 63 South Ma in St ree t Box 355 Newtown. Co nnec tic ut 06 4 70

Acknowledgments

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ｹ wife , Carol. and I dedicate thi s bo ok to o u r good friend Dr. Doro thy Va ug h a n, During World War I, wh en s he was a tee nager, Dorothy began her lifelon g lov e affair with Po rtsmou th, New Hampshire , Th rough out mo st o f this cent ury, wh en few o the rs ca red o r were able to understand wh y, she struggle d to prot ect thi s old c ity b y th e se a from the wrecke r's ba ll. The spec ial cha rac te r a nd a rc hi tec tu ra l heri tage tha t Portsm outh ha s o nly latel y learned to c he rish we re in la rge pa rt sa ve d for us all by Do rothy. She sta nds as a b ridge betwe en Portsmouth 's pa st a nd its future. She has read a nd co mm itted to memory th e c ity's written h istory. And bef ore each re cent generation o f olde r ci tize ns slip pe d a way, s he befri ended them , keeping a live in the process two c enturi es o f o ra l hi st ory for this ge ne ra tio n. Doro thy sh a res her kn owledge lib erally. She ha s alw ay s willin gly helped me with my research, and in so doing sh e has also sha re d her uniqu e gift with you, the readers o f thi s book . I would also lik e to acknowl ed ge th e c o ntrib u tio n to this book o f And y Edg a r, wh ose pati en ce a nd good hum or hel ped us bo th s u rv ive many hours o f ph o to graph y. J ack an d Dia ne ｾｬ ｣ ｇ ･ ･ Ｇ ｳ ge ne rosity b rought th e Lord bo x hom e . Fe llo w c ra ftsme n a nd woodworkers Pat Edwa rds. Al Breed a nd To m Hin ckl e y co ntrib u te d th eir s pe c ia l knowl ed ge and inf o rmati on . ｾｉ uch o f th e wo od used in th e p rojec ts fell to Ed dy Tr embla y's c ha insa w. Th rough Cha rlie LeBlanc at th e Portsm outh Public Library, resourc es were o nly a ph on e call away . And since this book co nta ins no index , Ed Hyder ha s y ie lded hi s plac e .

Contents

AN INTROHUCTIO N TO FEHERAL nJRNITlJRE THE PARLOR 1 c a,« T a ble

S

10

Project : String in lay 2 Xl irror Project : Ro pe turning

20

.l Sofa

.10

Project: Reeding by hand

4 C a n illes ta n d

.1S

Project : Sliding dovetails

5 Lord Bo .'-Proj e c t: .Jo in te d lid and "matched " veneers

6 Tip -T op Tal)le

50

Proj ect: IIinge block

7 Sec re ta ry Pro j e c t:

58

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ｮｳ

THE IHNI N(; ROOM 8 Tncy

,-

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74

Project: Edge band ing

9 l lep ple snh ite C lu cir

so

Project : Angled mortise-and-tenons

10 Gcctcleg T a b le

90

Project : Wooden h inge

11 Fa ncy C h a i r

100

Project: Reeding with a pla ne

12 Bello w s

lOS

Project : Front-hoard decorat io n

TilE KITCHE N l.l Willds o r C Ila i r

1 l(, 1 IS

Project: S hap ing the sea t

14 Display 8 1,e U' Project: Stop dadoes

15 Ca n d le Bo s:

l.12

Project: Sliding lid

16 Desk

O il

F ru llI e

l.1 8

Project : Simulated four- way m it e r joi n ts

THE HEIH{OOM 17 l l igh -Po«: Bcd

14() 14 8

Project: Roping the fra me

18 Pembroke Table

15h

Project : Rul e jo ints

19 Brueket-Bas e Blanket C hes t Project: Ra bbeted lid mol d in gs

20 C hes t of Dru seers

170

Project: Si mu lated coc k bead ing

AI»I»ENHICES SOI/n.' es of S l/ p p ly G loss a ry HibliogmpllY

179 180

I S .l

AN INTRODUCTION TO FEDERAL FURNITURE

T,

waning yea" of the 18th century marked a n exhilarating period in Arne ricar history. With the end of the Revolu-

tionary War in 1781 and the ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1788 , Americans embarked on one of the most radical political experiments in history. The produet of their struggle was the Federal Republie-an achievement of which they were acutely proud. At the same time they were also unknowingly laying the groundwork in America for what would begin in England and spread elsewhere as another of history's greatest changes: the Industrial Revolution . The arts of America bear the influence of this exciting era , and many innovations in style heralded the new republic 's birth . In furniture the emerging style in America was known as Federaland was produced roughly from around 1790 to 1820. A large, well-established middle class dominated the populace of Federal -period America. This population was well e d ucated, and politically, technologically and artistically sophisticated . While Hollywood has thoroughly familiarized us with the pioneers who settled the American frontier, we remain largely unaware that our Colonial and Federal forebears also created wealthy, cosmopolitan centers like Philadelphia, Boston and New York. The social conditions of these Federal-period cities and the new republic 's established commercial network made possible a high level of accomplishment in the arts and in manufacturing, arenas that converged in the woodworking trades of architecture and furniturernakin g. During the 17th and early 18th centuries, England had provided the major influence on American architecture, furniture and decorative arts . In the mid-18th century, England, like the rest of Europe , became fascinated with the archaeological discoveries at classical Greek and Roman sites. The decorative objects and the paintings of daily life yielded by sites like Pompeii gave rise to an enthusiastic revival of interest in the classical world . In reaction to the excess of the Gothic and rococo styles from the Chippendale period in the mid-18th century, the neoclassical movement produced a reinterpretation of Greco-Roman antiquity that emphasized simplicity , geometric forms and classical ornament. With the end of the Revolu tionary War and the normalization of relations and commerce between England and America, neoclassicism spread to the new republic . For Federal -period Americans, the similarities of their own political experiment and the democratic experiences of the classical world added significance to their embrace of the neoclassical movement that went far beyond the desire to copy the most up-to-date European fashion . -1-

The new Fed eral furniture was light and delicate in appe arance . Fav oring simpl e . geom etric lines, it observed rigid sy nunc t rv in it s o ve ra ll design and borrowed e n th usi as tic a lly from classical decorative motifs. Among th ese m otifs were vases . urns, plum e s. swag s. b ow s and re eding: patriotic cl em ents lik e the e ag le found th eir way in to many Fed eral pi e c e s a s well . In a dd itio n to classical o rn a me nt. Federa l furnitur e also made frequent use o f s tring and pictorial inlay and ven e ering. Th e c ha rac te ris tic delicacy o f Federal furniture is also th e feature th at m o st o b vio us ly di stingui sh es it from th e larger. more robu st Ch ip p e nd a le furniture that immedi ately preceded it and th e heavier Em p ire styl e th at foll owed . Federal furniture 's apparent daintin ess. however. wa s largely an illu si on. created by removing from the indi vidual c le m e n ts o f a piece all wood unnecessary to th e s t ruc tu ra l integrity of the whole . Som etim es thi s delicacy was achi eved b y sc ali ng down th e pi ece . so that whil e ad equ at ely s ize d for its function . it wa s ge ne ra lly smaller th an a co m pa ra b le Ch ip pe nd a le o r Empire e xa m ple . Yet d espit e it s a ppea ra nc e . Federal furniture wa s by no mean s fragile . O n th e co n t ra ry. th e pi e c e s pres ented in thi s b ook - all o f whi ch are from th e collec tio n of Fed eral fu rn itu re m y wif e . Ca ro l. and I own-arc an av erage o f 17S yea rs o ld , and all s till remain s ta b le a nd in daily use. Th e int rodu cti on o f ne o cla ssi ci sm in Am erica wa s ha st en ed b y th e importation from England o f pattern . or drawing. b ook s publi shed in th e late 18th c entury b y indi vid ua l c a b ine tm a ke rs or o t he rs in th e furniture trade . Co m pa ra ble to what today would b e a cross b etwe en a mod ern furnitur e c a ta log a nd a hom e -and-garden IlJ agazin e . th e se d rawing books illustrated th e lat est fashion in furniture and interior d ec orating and provided pattern s for cabinetmakers working o u ts ide London wh o

needed to accomm odate th eir custom ers' requ es ts for th e mo st up-to -date designs . The engra vings in th e drawing books frequently presented both what th e lates t fu rn itu re was to look like and how it wa s to b e accesso rized . arranged and us ed in the hom e . Alth ou gh numerou s pattern b o ok s were published . th e best kn own are Til e Ca bine t-Ma ke r and Unlio lstere r 's G u ide ( 1788) by Geo rge Heppl ewhite and Tile Ca binetMak er's and Un hols te re r 's Dra soing-Book ( 1791 -93) by Thomas Sh eraton . Th e e ngra ving s in these bo o ks , two o f whi ch are found o n th e facing pa ge , co nt ras t ma rke dly with the plans we us e today in building furnitu re. The y include very few measurements and u sually p resent o nly front vi ew s o f pieces. For th e u ser of o ne o f th e se b ook s. additi onal inf ormati on wa s unnecessary : a train ed cabinetmaker needed only a picture o f th e d es ired piece to proportion and construct it. l lc pple wh ite and Sh eraton u sually illu strate d fu rn itu re that wa s far more e la b o ra te than the actual pi ec es ins p ired by th eir bo oks . It is unlikely th at the y intended th e furniture to be so intensely d evel oped . but pro ba bly o vc rado rne d their e ng ra vings to give ca b ine tma kers a nd their cu s tomers a wid e se lec t io n o f o rna me nt from wh ich to ch oo se . It is o fte n thought that Hcpplcwhitc a nd She rato n designed th e furniture th at b e ars th eir name s. b u t ins tea d o f prom oting their o wn d esign s. b oth men merel y illu strated th e s ty le th en current in En gland . Ironic all y . neith er Hepplewhite nor Sh era ton left an y furn iture t hat can be attribut ed to th eir hands . Actually . th e traditi onal distinction b etween ll c pp le wh irc a nd Sh eraton furniture is m isleadi ng. s ince th e pi ece s illustrated in th eir patt ern b ook s were quite s im ilar. Thi s sys te m of classificati on arose in t he lat e 19th

ｾｉ｡､･ aruuud 1770, the robu ..t Chippendale ..ide ehllir ..hown at left above feature ....quare ｍ ｡ ｲ ｬ ｢ ｯ ｲ ｵ ｾ ｨ ｬ･ｾ .. and a shaped and pierced "ribbon bacl•." The more deticarc, Federal-period Sherllton ..ide chair, center, ha.. a ..erpentfnc-sbaped ..cat, turned and tluted front leg", and II .. quure bucl. thut the milker undoubtudly copied from Sherlltoll'" ..eeond de .. ｩｾＱｉ ill the lower ･ｮｾｲｬ Ｂｩｮｾ 011 the ｦｬ ･ｩ ｬｾ page, The Empire ..ide ehuir, riAht, made around 1820, i" ha ..ed 011 the KIi ..mo" chair illu ..truted 011 ancient Gree lc ' ·II"e".

-- 2 --

From ｇ･ｯｲｾ･ Hepplewhitc's pattern book, this sofa ､｣ｳｩｾｮ feutuees thc turned legs that arc usuallv associatcd with Sheraton furniture. (80th cngra,'ings ｣ｯｵｲｴ･Ａｩｾ Ｇ of

Dover Puhtiearlnns.)

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a nd early 20th centuries when antique collectors and the museum world tried to organize and codify, somewhat arbitrarily, the various styles of furniture being collected. A Sheraton chair, for example , is generally perceived as having a square back. turned legs and feet. and often reedcd decoration on both turned and flat surfaces: yet it is possible to find examples of Hepplewhite chairs with one or severa l of these characteristics. By contrast. the traditio na l Hc p plcwh itc -style chair is characterized as having a curvilinear back (often in the shape of a shield). tapered legs and spade feet-all features that are occasionally fou nd on Sheraton furniture as well. And someti mes a feature designated as Sheraton or Ilepplewhite is actua lly an amalgam of designs from both pattern books.

.Just as Federa l-period cab ine tmakers found motifs and features intermingled in pattern books . they too borrowed free ly from various sources for their own designs. They occasionally incorporated an element th a t remained popular from an earlier period or style . Such an clement. called a surv ival feature . is more common on informal and country furniture than on formal. One of several examples of survival features found in this book is the thumbnail molding on the desk on frame on p . 138. a feature carried over from the Chippendale period. Late in the Federal period, cab inetmakers also borrowed from the newly emerging Empire style, ca lled Grecian by the men who made it. This style of furniture was heavily intluenced both by Greek class ica l forms and by arc haeologica l discoveries th e n be ing made in Egypt.

Thi" Hepplewhite engraving advised that furniture, when not in use, was to he symrneteiently di"tributed around the perimeter of the room. (Engraving eourtesy of Dover Publfearlons.}

-

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Cabinetmakers and their clients In the Federal period , almost every large city had numerous cabinetmaking shops where one could purchase rcady-made furniture or place a special order. Most major cities, among them Philadelphia. New York and Boston, also shipped Federal furniture as cargo to ports all along the East Coast, where it was usually purchased by furniture dealers , who were often cabinetmakers themselves. Any good-size town and many rural villages also had at least one cabinetmaker creating furniture for local use . The great variety of cabinetmakers and the differing needs of their customers produced several categories of Federal furniturc: formal. or high-style, furniture: informal furniture: and country furniture. Formal furniture was usually made in cities with an established cabinetmaking industry by craftsmen who had trained in traditional apprenticeships. Their work was fashioned after that in the pattern books and ornamented in varying degrees. Whatever the extent of its decoration. formal furniture was usually made of mahogany, though occasionally cabinetmakers worked with native woods like cherry or used a highly figured variety , like crotch-grain birch , for veneer. Informal furniture was made both by urban cabinetmakers-sometimes in the same shops that produced more expensive. formal pieces-and by rural artisans. This utilitarian furniture generally carried less ornament than did formal work and it was frequently painted. The wood used for informal furniture was usually a native species like cherry. birch. maple . pine , tulipwood . poplar or walnut. Country furniture was made by rural craftsmen. This furniture is often similar in appearance to informal furniture . and frequently it's impossible to distinguish between the two. While generally simple. country furniture could be ambitious in design . Yet even th e best country furniture usually indicates the maker's inexperience with high -style interpretations of Federal furniture. perhaps the result of a more informal apprenticeship. Country furniturernakers occasionally used mahogany in their work but more often employed locally available . native woods. These craftsmen seem to have frequently copied designs from memory and clearly felt free to express their individuality in interpreting a design, Their work varied widely in quality ; yet a piece like the candlestand on p. 38 displays how successful country furniture could be . Whether making formal. informal or country furniture. a Federal-period cabinetmaker knew how his work would be used by the client. As advocnrcd in the pattern books , most furniture, when not in usc, would be placed against a wall. essentially ringing the room (see the engraving on the facing page) . When needed, it would be moved to the center of the room. Most pieces therefore had to be portable. a requircmcnt made possible by the furniture 's delicate design and light weight. The custom of moving furniture about offered cabinetmakers an opportunity to enhance their designs, and they frequently fashioned pieces like the tip-top table on p. 50 that altered position-and thus character-for storage and use .

Often Federal furnituremakers designed pieces that also changed character in the varying light of day and evening. They knew that a piece would be seen in its entirety in the even, natural light of day ; and that, by contrast , in the oblique candlelight of evening, the piece would lose detail. and its proportions might become distorted amidst the shadows. To use these lighting conditions to advantage , these craftsmen created such intriguing designs as those for the card table on p. 10 and the bellows on p . 108. The cleverness and subtlety of Federal cabinetmakers ' designs displays considerable sophistication . Our Federal ancestors certainly developed and nurtured a keen visual sense, which we, I suspect, have lost from exposure to such passive forms of entertainment as television. Unlike the diversion we electronically pipe into our houses , visual entertainment was built into the Federal-period home itself. A Federal interior was a complex and well-planned composition. meant to be studied over time and enjoyed . Architecture and furniture together contributed to a harmonious whole that engaged and entertained the eye. Perhaps because Federal Americans created their own diversion, they lauded cleverness in conversation and in decor. For this reason , cabinetmakers incorporated delightful surprises and subtleties in their work . Such visual cleverness. for example, can be seen in the choice of veneers on the Lord box on p. 44 and the unusual design with which the maker of the secretary on p . 58 circumvented the rigid symmetry of Federal furniture . Because almost all Federal furniture , formal or informal, was made of wood, Federal cabinetmakers and their customers regarded wood differently than we do today. Though their formal furniture displays an appreciation for bold figure . they understood that furniture 's success did not always depend on seeing the wood itself. An opaque , painted finish was seen , on occasion , as a means of enhancing the success of a piece. Certainly the painted finish on a piece like the Windsor chair on p. 118 serves to unify it and elevate it from a study in grain to a sophisticated composition in line. From my study of Federal furniture , I found that even the most ordinary, functional furniture of this period was better designed and better constructed than modern massproduced furniture . (Only time will tell whether the work of contemporary custom furnituremakers is as enduring as Federal furniture.) Yet despite excellent workmanship , this furniture has inevitably suffered various degrees of damage during nearly two centuries of use, most of it due to wear and abuse . The cracking, warping and shrinking found in many pieccs , however, is the product of wood movement. In the environment for which it was createdhomes heated by fireplaces-this furniture remained relatively stable. Yet in the much drier environment produced by modern central heating, the wood has unavoidedly undergone change.

--5--

Liv ing with Fede r a l furniturc

Using thi s book

Th e indi vidual pi e c e s o f furniture presented in this b ook have a gre a t dc al in co m mo n with one a no the r. Not o nly were th e y all mad e at a bo u t th e same tim e , th ey were a lso fas h ioned as middl e -cla ss furniture , that is , ne ither ove rly e la bo ra te nor e xceed ing ly simple . Yet th e se pieces ha ve so me th ing e lse in co m mon , too . Carol a nd I hav e asse m b le d th em al ong wi th o the r Fede ra l pi e ce s to furni sh o u r Fe de ra l-pe rio d h ouse , whi ch wa s built a ro u nd 18 0 0. Wh en we bought o u r home in 197 6 , it had changed so little o ve r it s lifetim e th at we decided to re st ore it e xac tly to it s o rigina l appearanc e , including duplicating th e o rigina l colo rs a nd wallpapers . As th e wall s, woodwork a nd tloo rs were re s tored , we ad ded to o ur growing collec tio n o f Federal -period furniture. A d ocum ent we have found vita l in furni shing o u r h om e is th e in ventory of th c c ontents o f thc hou se taken in 18 05 . Since co ns u me r goo ds we re very ex pe ns ive bef ore th e Ind us tria l Re volution and hou seh old furni sh in gs ge ne rally mad e up a s u bs ta n t ia l part of a personal estate , the judge of probate usu all y o rde re d a househ old inv ento ry taken upon so meo ne 's d eath. Th e 1805 inv ento ry to whi ch I refer is that o f th e es ta te o f master marin er .J ohn Seaward , .lr. . wh o built thi s h ou se so me time between 17 94 (wh e n h e b ought th e lo t) and 180.1 (whe n h e wr ot e a will leaving th e house to hi s wife , Hannah ) . In March 18 05 , Se award sa ile d o u t o f Boston as captain of th e sh ip Pet er and died while in Sava nna h, Geo rg ia . This in ventory . wh o se te xt is p rovided o n th e facing pa ge , gives a fas ci na ting lo oli at th e co nte n ts o f a typica l m iddl e -cl a ss. Fe de ra l-per io d h ou seh old . Am on g o the r things. th e modern reader will doubtl es s be impressed by th e number o f c h a irs listed-five d iffe rent se ts , to ta ling a s u rp ris ing 4 0 chairs in th e h ou se 's six com ple te d roo ms . (T ho ug h the inv entory lists four se ts in the kitch en, it 's unlikel y to ha ve h eld .10 c ha irs . Pr obably c ha irs from vari ous sets were in th e kitch en a nd th e inventory takers ask ed Mrs . Seaward h ow many of e ac h sh e had .) We haven 't adh ered slavish ly to th is in ventory in furn ishing thi s hou se , th ough we have bought some piec es becau se sim ila r item s were o nce part o f th e house 's furnish ing s. We have a r ra nged this furniture as it would have be en in a typical Federal house , o fte n placing piece s in locations s ugges te d by th e inv entory and , in sofar as possible , using th e se pi e c e s as o rigina lly intended . As a woodworker and Wind sor chairrnakcr since 1971 , as well as a n inv eterate s tu de nt o f Federal-period life , I wanted to address the s u bjec t o f Federal furniture both from the point o f view o f th e pe opl e wh o lived with this furniture a nd from the perspective o f th e c ra fts me n who mad e it. Unfo rt u n ate ly. schola rs s tu dy ing historical furniture a rc se ldo m concern ed with th e craftsman 's point o f view . and fe w a re them selv e s woodworkers. Fo r th ese rea sons, mu ch va lua b le inf ormati on ha s go ne und etect ed . and o u r und erst anding o f th e subjec t is incompl et e . I a m th erefore pleased in thi s b oo k to invite you into my hom e a nd to share with yo u m y findin gs abo u t Fe de ral fu rn itu re and Fede ra l-period life.

This book consis ts of 20 chapt ers, ea c h d ev o ted to o ne piece of furnit ure and all arranged in four se cti on s by room . Every chapter contains a ge ne ra l di scussi on o f th e de sign and co ns tru c tio n of the piece , as well as a proj ect se c tio n o n a particular a spect of constru cti o n o r o rna me nt that is e ithe r typ ic ally Federal o r unusu al to mod ern woodworkers-for e xa m ple , h ow to produ c e the sim u lated cock beading o n a drawer front . Th e p roj e ct sec tio n contains s te p -by-ste p in struction s, d e tailed d rawings a nd process ph otographs ; and e a c h chapter concludes with a compl ete se t of mea sured drawings fo r th e full piece. Th e 20 pi eces included in thi s b ook were ca refu lly sel ect ed from the larger c o lle c t io n of Fed e ral fu rn itu re with which we liv e. Firs t and foremost. I c h ose th e se pieces because th ey are good exa m p les o f Fede ra l-pe rio d d esi gn and workmanship. The y a re not ne cc ssaril y what th e antiqu e market would d eem the most " importa nt" piec es in th e coll ection. but th ey represent th e broad s pe c tru m o f Fe de ra l st yle . I hope th ey will ap pea l to differing taste s and add to th e furni shings o f man y different ho mes . If you , to o , are a wo odworker, you will b e inte res te d in what can b e learned from Fed eral -p eriod ca b ine tmake rs . Th ey used som e woodworking techniqu e s th a t a re no lon ger wid el y known . They also used hand tools, so me of which , though s till ava ilable , are not well kn own ei ther. Since l a wn few machine s and usuall y work with h and to ols , I have chosen to s ho w in this bo ok how to do the proj ects with th ese traditional to ol s. O fte n, h ow e ver, I su ggest alternative e lec trica l tool s that can b e used fo r a particular job , and wh en using an unu sual anti qu e to ol. I have o ffe red advice o n how to adapt a no the r com monly available to ol. Som e o f the pi ece s presented in thi s b ook co uld be interpreted differently from th e o rig ina l o r co uld b e sc a le d up o r d own in size . In b oth c ases. I ha ve men t ion ed th e po ssibl e changes, but I urge you to think th rough each change th oroughly b efore b e ginning work on a p roj e ct , since limited s pace obv iously prevented in cluding all th e inf ormation needed for s u c h changes . Also I o fte n mention th e fini sh used o n th e o rigina l pi ece. In so me very humid o r ve ry dry clima tes , th e original fini sh mi ght not work we ll. For thi s re ason , ke ep loca l conditions in mind wh en ch oo sing a fini sh . I h ope yo u find the furniture in this b ook as interes tin g as I do and that you will decide to make so me o f th e p ieces , e ithe r for yo u rse lf or for your custom e rs. II' yo u do , please send me a slide o f your work .

-- 6--

To Capt. Edw ard Sargent, M. Daniel Smith and M. Samuel Drowne, all of Portsmouth in said County

By the Hon, N at hl Rogers, Rocklngham-s-s«, Judge of the Probate of Will s &e. for said County.

Gre eti ng. You are her eby a u t horit

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