Battle of Yorktown
Yorktown, VA, April 1923
Yorktown Old English Tavern Relic Presented To D.A.R. Descendant In 1923
Relic

A turned oak gavel repurposed from a window sill from the Old English Tavern in Yorktown, Virginia, and presented to Eliza Harris Lawton Barker (1856-1930), a Daughter of the American Revolution. Ca. April 1923. Yorktown, Virginia. The gavel head is encircled by a silver band, engraved as: "Presented To / Mrs. Richard Jackson Barker / Honorary State Regent of R.I., D.A.R. / and Former Vice President General, National Society D.A.R. / at Yorktown, Virginia April 1923 / Live Oak From Original Sill From Old English Tavern / built 1725 / Washington, Lafayette & Cornwallis, all stayed at this Tavern." Expected wear including minor tarnish to the chased inscription. The wood is solid and sound without splitting or checking. Near fine. 4.125" x 12.625" x 1.75".

Historian Margaret R. Smith writes in "Old Yorktown and its History" (1920) that the Old English Tavern (also known as Ye Old Yorktown Hotel in the Colonial Revival Period) was the first extant tavern in Yorktown, Virginia. The tavern predated the Revolutionary War, having been constructed in 1725. It consisted of a two-story homestead with dormer windows set in a sloping roof, and by the 1920s had a long ell addition to the side. Revolutionary War commanders George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Charles Corwallis were reputed to have stayed at the tavern presumably before, during, or after the Siege of Yorktown. Cornwallis signed the instrument of surrender at Yorktown on October 19, 1781.

This commemorative gavel was presented to Eliza Harris Lawton Barker, a Daughter of the American Revolution descendant from Tiverton, Rhode Island. Also a Colonial Dame and a member of the Pocahontas Memorial Association, Mrs. Barker had served as a historian of the state D.A.R. chapter and also acted as Vice President General of the National Society of the Daughters of American Revolution after 1906.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 4.125" x 12.625" x 1.75"
  • Medium: Relic

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