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Lot Essay
According to family tradition, this dressing table belonged to Laura (Hazard) Robinson (1819-1915) of Wakefield (part of South Kingstown), Rhode Island and in all likelihood had been inherited from a family member of her grandparents' generation. As her father married three times, there are potentially several candidates, but with close ties to Newport during the mid-eighteenth century, the parents of both her father and his first wife stand as the most likely first owners.
Her paternal grandfather, Carder Hazard (1734-1792) was a prominent citizen and political leader in South Kingstown, located just across the Narragansett Bay from Newport. He held numerous judicial posts and his career culminated in his appointment as Chief Justice in 1787. As his professional duties entailed frequent trips to Newport, he was familiar with the city and may have patronized its craftsmen. He married first Alice Hull (1739-1760) in 1756 and second, Alice Hazard (d. 1793). In 1792, after falling from a chair, he died at the home of his son and Laura's father, Dr. George Hazard (1763-1829). In 1790, Dr. George Hazard married his first cousin, Sarah (Hazard) Gardiner (b. 1751) and the table may have been made for her parents, George Hazard (1724-1791 or 1797) and Martha Wanton (b. 1725) who married in 1745. The brother of Judge Carder, this George settled in Newport, became a successful merchant and held many political offices including Mayor of Newport (Caroline E. Robinson, The Hazard Family of Rhode Island 1635-1894 (Boston, 1895), pp. 53, 55-57, 100-102; Thomas R. Hazard, Recollections of Olden Times (Newport, 1879), pp. 196-197).
Another possibility is the Hull family. Dr. George's third wife, and Laura's mother, was Jane Hull (1781-1862). Jane's grandfather, Captain Robert Hull (1718-1768) was born in Jamestown and in 1738 married Thankful Ball, daughter of the Hon. Peter Ball of Block Island. A representative to the General Assembly, Robert Hull maintained ties to the Newport region and shortly before his death moved back to Jamestown. Jane's father, Captain Edward Hull (1742-1804) followed in his father's footsteps and fought for the patriot cause during the Revolutionary War. In 1762, he married Mary Weeden of Jamestown (Dr. George's second wife, Mary Hoxsie (1786-1808) pre-deceased her parents, so would not have inherited from their estates; see Charles H. Weygant, The Hull Family in America (Hull Family Association, 1913), pp. 283, 299).
Laura Hazard married Attmore Robinson (1804-1890) in 1841 and the couple resided in Wakefield throughout their lives. Interestingly, a similar dressing table was owned in the area around the same time by Isaac Peace Rodman (1822-1862), a famous Brigadier in the Civil War. The families undoubtedly knew each other as they were distantly related and Rodman's father, Samuel, and Attmore Robinson purchased land together in the 1830s. The table then descended to Laura and Attmore's son, George Hazard Robinson. His wife Sarah Delamater was the daughter or Cornelius and Ruth (Oakley) Delamater who in the late nineteenth century owned the Pope valuables cabinet now at the Peabody Essex Museum (see Robinson, pp. 171, 186, 219; Sotheby's New York, June 17 and 18, 1997, lot 647; Christie's New York, The Joseph and Bathsheba Pope Valuables Cabinet, January 21, 2000, lot 111).
Her paternal grandfather, Carder Hazard (1734-1792) was a prominent citizen and political leader in South Kingstown, located just across the Narragansett Bay from Newport. He held numerous judicial posts and his career culminated in his appointment as Chief Justice in 1787. As his professional duties entailed frequent trips to Newport, he was familiar with the city and may have patronized its craftsmen. He married first Alice Hull (1739-1760) in 1756 and second, Alice Hazard (d. 1793). In 1792, after falling from a chair, he died at the home of his son and Laura's father, Dr. George Hazard (1763-1829). In 1790, Dr. George Hazard married his first cousin, Sarah (Hazard) Gardiner (b. 1751) and the table may have been made for her parents, George Hazard (1724-1791 or 1797) and Martha Wanton (b. 1725) who married in 1745. The brother of Judge Carder, this George settled in Newport, became a successful merchant and held many political offices including Mayor of Newport (Caroline E. Robinson, The Hazard Family of Rhode Island 1635-1894 (Boston, 1895), pp. 53, 55-57, 100-102; Thomas R. Hazard, Recollections of Olden Times (Newport, 1879), pp. 196-197).
Another possibility is the Hull family. Dr. George's third wife, and Laura's mother, was Jane Hull (1781-1862). Jane's grandfather, Captain Robert Hull (1718-1768) was born in Jamestown and in 1738 married Thankful Ball, daughter of the Hon. Peter Ball of Block Island. A representative to the General Assembly, Robert Hull maintained ties to the Newport region and shortly before his death moved back to Jamestown. Jane's father, Captain Edward Hull (1742-1804) followed in his father's footsteps and fought for the patriot cause during the Revolutionary War. In 1762, he married Mary Weeden of Jamestown (Dr. George's second wife, Mary Hoxsie (1786-1808) pre-deceased her parents, so would not have inherited from their estates; see Charles H. Weygant, The Hull Family in America (Hull Family Association, 1913), pp. 283, 299).
Laura Hazard married Attmore Robinson (1804-1890) in 1841 and the couple resided in Wakefield throughout their lives. Interestingly, a similar dressing table was owned in the area around the same time by Isaac Peace Rodman (1822-1862), a famous Brigadier in the Civil War. The families undoubtedly knew each other as they were distantly related and Rodman's father, Samuel, and Attmore Robinson purchased land together in the 1830s. The table then descended to Laura and Attmore's son, George Hazard Robinson. His wife Sarah Delamater was the daughter or Cornelius and Ruth (Oakley) Delamater who in the late nineteenth century owned the Pope valuables cabinet now at the Peabody Essex Museum (see Robinson, pp. 171, 186, 219; Sotheby's New York, June 17 and 18, 1997, lot 647; Christie's New York, The Joseph and Bathsheba Pope Valuables Cabinet, January 21, 2000, lot 111).