The SAR MAGAZINE is the official quarterly publication of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution published quarterly.
Issue link: http://sar.epubxp.com/i/258013
14 SAR MAGAZINE By Rae Ann Sauer, NSSAR Archivist, and Joseph W. Dooley, President General F orrest Proper of Joslin Hall Rare Books in Northampton, Mass. recounts an interesting story. In April 1917, William Lanier Washington auctioned several items at Mitchell KennerlyÕs Anderson Galleries, a leading auction firm in New York City. (Lanier is pronounced LAN- yer, not La-NEAR.) Lot 27 in this auction was a set of Sheffield candlesticks said to have been used by George Washington on his desk at Mount Vernon. Prominent bookseller G.D. Smith happily bought the candlesticks. William Lanier Washington also sold Washington memorabilia door-to-door. In 1920, he arrived at G.D. SmithÕs home in New York, and not realizing Smith had already bought a set of Washington candlesticks, attempted to sell him another set, also purportedly used by Washington. Smith questioned just how many candlesticks George Washington kept on his desk. He and William Lanier Washington got into a heated argument, and Smith dropped dead on the spot. So, how is this relevant to the SAR? When SAR President General Messmore Kendall passed away in 1959, he left in his will a special gift to the SAR: a seal ring believed to have been owned by George Washington. The ring was in a varnished, wooden box with a shield on the front and a brass knob. Accompanying the ring was an affidavit, dated Feb. 16, 1922, purporting to verify its authenticity and signed by a lateral descendant of George Washington: William Lanier Washington. According to the affidavit that accompanies the ring, William Lanier Washington was the fourth-great- grandnephew of President Washington. The line of descent proceeds from George WashingtonÕs nephew William Augustine Washington (1757-1810), to his son George Corbin Washington (1789-1854), to his son Lewis William Washington (1812-1871) to his son James Barroll Washington (1839-1900), father of William Lanier Washington. This lineage can be verified independently in Genealogies of the Families of the Presidents. The affidavit also asserts that George Washington gave the seal ring to William Augustine Washington, his eldest nephew, and that the ring had never left William Lanier WashingtonÕs possession since his fatherÕs death in 1900. In February 1920, William Lanier Washington held another public sale of Washington artifacts in New York, under the management of The American Art Association. (The organizations that hosted William Lanier WashingtonÕs various sales no longer exist.) Listed in the 1920 program as Item No. 16 is ÒGold Ring with Washington's Coat-of-Arms: Cut in carnelian. Given by General Washington to his nephew, Colonel William Augustine Washington. In black morocco case with inscription.Ó While a 1920 photo of this ring is not of high quality, the ringÕs square shape clearly indicates it is different from the ring that ultimately would come into the SARÕs possession. The collection catalog of the Mount Vernon LadiesÕ Association indicates that Mount Vernon owns a ring with a similar description as Item No. 16 in the 1920 sale. That ring was donated to Mount Vernon by the William Randolph Hearst family in 1963. Like G.D. Smith and others, William Randolph Hearst purchased many items he thought had belonged to George Washington. It is also interesting to note that the ring sold at the 1920 auction was in Òa black morocco case,Ó while the SARÕs ring sits in a wooden box. In 1922, William Lanier Washington held another public sale. Item No. 134 is listed as ÒContemporary Seal Ring. Gold. Enriched with coat-of-arms finely cut in carnelian.Ó This description more closely matches the ring owned by the SAR. But it should be noted that as of this writing, no account of George Washington using a seal ring has been found in contemporary documents. It also should be noted that many of the items sold by Photos by MGM Photography Washington's Ring? WINTER_14_sar5-17 copy.indd 14 2/4/14 11:08 AM