Warmer, Foot

Object Name:

Warmer, Foot

Object ID:

2020.008

Place of Origin:

United States

Date:

circa 1850

Description:

Foot warmer, owned by Thomas P. Cheney (1833-1916) of Ashland, NH. Rectangular, mortise and tenon, doweled, slat-top, maple frame with scored lines on sides and turned baluster supports that hold a perforated tin box with wire-rimmed, hinged door. Box top has three perforated bands; box sides feature large punchwork circle in center with overlay of small punchwork diamonds. Wire bail handle hooked through loops on frame top. Wire loop pull on door. "Thos. P. Cheney / Ashland / N.H." engraved in script on a silver-plated brass panel attached to side.

Material:

Wood
Maple
Metal
Tin
Brass

Dimensions:

H-5.75 W-7.9 L-8.9 inches

Provenance:

According to the donor, the foot warmer was acquired in the 1960s by her aunt, an antiques dealer.

Thomas Perkins Cheney was born in Holderness (now Ashland), NH, February 24, 1833, the son of Person and Annie Wadleigh (Morrison) Cheney. Cheney was educated in Ashland common schools and at the Tilton Conference Seminary, Tilton. At the age of ten he went to work at a woolen mill, where he worked for one and a half years picking black wool. Cheney next went to work in a paper mill and at age sixteen became a clerk in the country store of Jesse Ladd. After he had saved some money, Cheney attended the Tilton Seminary. At twenty-one he married Mary Elizabeth Keyes. They moved to Amesbury where he worked in a dry goods store until 1857, when he returned to Ashland. After saving enough money, he opened a store, became a telegraph operator, and served as deputy sheriff of Grafton county from 1859 to 1861.
In 1861 Cheney enlisted in Co. A., 6th Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteers, serving with the rank of lieutenant until illness forced his resignation in 1863. In 1864 he was appointed Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms in the United States House of Representatives, serving through 1869. On July 1, 1869, President U. S. Grant appointed him superintendent of railway mail service in New England, and he served for fifteen years. In 1884 he was appointed U.S. pension agent for the District of Vermont and New Hampshire by President Chester A. Arthur, serving until 1886, then again under President Benjamin Harrison. Meanwhile, he held the office of Ashland town clerk, later serving in the state house of representatives, 1865-66, 1887-88, and the state senate, 1889-90. In 1894 Cheney was appointed colonel on the staff of Governor John B. Smith. Cheney was a member of the O. W. Keys Post, No. 35, Grand Army of the Republic; Mt. Prospect Lodge, No. 69, F. & A. M.; Pemigewasset Chapter, Knights Templar; Mt. Holyoke Commandery; and the Squam Lake Grange, Ashland. Mr. and Mrs. Cheney were Free Will Baptists.

Credit Line:

Gift of Robin Chamberlin

People:

Cheney, Thomas P. (1833-1916)

Subjects:

Heaters