Browse Items (12 total)
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Blue Empire Dress, circa 1800
Empire dresses emerged in the early 19th century and rapidly became fashionable across Europe (particularly England). -
Mary Ann Logan needlework sampler, circa 1813
This sampler was made by Mary Ann Logan in Shakertown, Kentucky. Samplers were a staple in the education of girls. The samplers were designed to teach needlework skills needed for household duties and could be a symbol of the girl's culture, religion, social class, and personal accomplishments. Sampler making was seen as the ground work for civic, social, and familial responsibility. -
Sugar Chest
Sugar was an expensive and coveted luxury item in frontier households. The chest protected sugar from theft or flies, and was also a status symbol indicating a household's socio-economic status. This sugar chest belonged to Elizabeth Tyler Sturgeon (1791-1833). The Tylers were early colonists in Jefferson County who had a cluster of family farms near Floyd's Fork. -
Iron Spider Pot, circa 1790
The spider pot was brought to Bourbon County, Kentucky, from Frederick County, Maryland, by the Liter family before 1800. During this period, cooking was the second leading cause of death for women. Overheating, skirts catching on fire, exhaustion, and infected burns were causes for serious injury or even death. Some frontier appliances made the job a bit safer. Due to the 'three-legged' nature of spider pots, it allowed them to sit right on the hearth over a bed of hot coals. The cook then used its long handle to safely remove the pot from the coals. -
Miniature portrait of Ann Rogers Clark Gwathmey, circa 1804-1805
In the era before photography, miniature portraits were popular mementos of loved ones that could be easily carried across long physical distances. The watercolor on ivory portraits were desired for the way artists could accurately capture a subject, working in such small dimensions. Ann Rogers Clark Gwathmey (1755-1822) was the sister of George Rogers Clark and William Clark. She was married to Owen Gwathmey. She and her husband moved to Louisville with at least five of their twelve children in 1797. They purchased 335 acres and built a home near Harrod's Creek, east of Louisville not very far from her sister Lucy Croghan's home at Locust Grove. The proximity to her sister and other family members ensured that Ann had a strong social network to rely on. The Gwathmeys enslaved twenty individuals on their estate, whose labor created economic advantage and comfort for the family. The portrait is attributed to Benjamin Trott and believed to have been painted when the miniatures of her son John and his wife Ann were painted. -
Elizabeth Logan Hardin
Elizabeth Logan Hardin (1786-1853) was born on the Kentucky frontier at Logan's Station (also known as St. Asaph's; present Stanford). She was one of nine children of Ann Montgomery and Benjamin Logan, one of Kentucky's early military and political leaders. who fought in the Indian wars of the 1770s and 1780s in the struggle to wrest control of Kentucky from the Native Americans. Elizabeth married Martin D. Hardin on 20 January 1809. At age thirty-nine, Elizabeth became a pregnant widow with three children between the ages of five and thirteen, and a failing farm (near Frankfort) that was $50,000 in debt. Elizabeth ran the farm as a single woman for seven years before she married Porter Clay in 1816. They sold the farm and moved to Illinois, but their strained marriage ended in separation. She returned to Kentucky and died in Shelby County where she is buried. -
Clay water jar, 2018
Cherokee artist Mary Thompson crafted this red, Lizella clay water jar using traditional coiling techniques and a hand-carved paddle stamp process. The Filson Historical Society purchased this jar from Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, an artist co-op whose members are enrolled citizens of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. This piece illustrates the cultural resilience of the Cherokee people despite their forced displacement once pioneers began to settle on their lands. Though the Eastern Band of Cherokee now reside in North Carolina, Thompson occasionally travels back to her ancestral homelands in Kentucky to gather natural materials for her artwork. This piece took 1st place in the 2018 Cherokee Indian Fair held annually by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. -
American Ornithology, or, the Natural History of the birds of the United States, 1808-1814
The natural history of the birds of the United States: illustrated with plates, engraved and colored from original drawings taken from nature.Tags art; artists; birds; faw object; imprints; lithograph; natural history; naturalist; ornithology; pamphlets; science -
Account of Richard Woolfolk with Annie Christian, 1786-1788
Account of wages due to Richard Woolfolk, with credits including cash, salt, shoes, and saddle bags, -
Map of the State of Kentucky, from actual survey, facsimile, 1795
Shows cities, towns, forts and stations, rivers, roads, etc. Includes notations on the fertility of the land and the quality of the salt licks.
The Filson has another original of this map which was removed from the 3rd London edition of Imlay's Topographical description of the western territory of North America, 1797. -
Military order book for the 16th Kentucky Militia, 1814
Military order book for the 16th Kentucky Militia, kept by Captain Aaron Gregg. Entries from the order book included are between 26 October 1814 and 10 November 1814. -
Letter from George Rogers Clark to George Mason, 19 November 1779
Sketches of the enterprise and proceedings in the Illinois Country by Colonel George Rogers Clark, Commander of that Expedition, in a letter to Colonel George Mason of Gunston Hall, Virginia. In this letter, Clark writes about the origins of the mission, his contact with Native Americans and British, and the conquest of the Illinois territory.