Possible Items from the Gray Farmhouse in Oswego, New York
By Bob Gray, April 2018
Around the time my wife, Mary-Alice, and I bought our first house, my mother, Mary E. Lynch Gray, gave us several items. My recollection is that she said many of them came from the Gray house in Oswego, New York. In reading the list of items from the Gray Farmhouse in Oswego, New York, I realized most, if not all, of the items she gave us appeared in the list. Therefore, this page presents those items as a supplement to my brother Barry’s page. My mother loved to go to estate sales and was always buying odds and ends at the end of the sales, so it is possible the things she gave us came from another source, but my belief is that these are the items listed by my great grandfather, William Gray, around 1920. I thought my mother gave us the items because we had bought our first house, but Mary-Alice thinks it was because they were getting ready to move to New York and sell the house in Erie.
The items are presented in the order they appear in the farmhouse list. To return to the farmhouse list page, use the back button on your browser or click the Return button at the top and bottom of this page.
Pages 1, 5, 7, and 9: Small rocking chair: I am certain that this chair came from the house in Oswego. I refinished it using some material we had left over from a couch that we had recovered. It was manufactured by the National Chair Manufacturing Company, New York. According to Anne McCollam at creators.com, the rocking chairs are called Victorian Eastlake carpet rockers. She also says the rockers were made in the late 19th century and that the company was founded in 1859 and located in Elbridge, Onondaga County, New York. Elbridge is about 50 miles south of Oswego. The chair shows wear in the arms, indicating it was used on a regular basis before it came into our possession. A cross piece broke many years ago and it has resided in our attic along with another frame that my mother later gave us. The other frame is broken in the same place. It is impossible to know which of rockers listed in the inventory corresponds to this one.
Page 15: 1 – Glass Water pitcher: This is a relatively large pitcher which would make it suitable for serving water. We have always had it on display in our house. Currently, it sits on the top shelf of the bookcase in our breakfast room.
Page 16: {1 – Earthenware Milk pitcher: When my mother gave us this pitcher, she called it a milk pitcher but told us not to use it as she thought the glaze might contain lead. It has always been on display in our house. It currently sits on the top shelf of the bookcase in our den. I looked it over for maker's marks but could not find any.
Page 17: 2 – Wooden rolling pins: The two wooden rolling pins in this set most likely are the two listed in the inventory. I applied linseed oil to them and made the wall rack. They have always hung in our breakfast room.
And
Page 21: 3 – Large wooden spoons: We only have the one wooden spoon. The spatula isn’t listed in the house inventory. As with the rolling pins, I applied linseed oil to the spoon before hanging it on the wall.
Go to page:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17/18 | 19 | 20 | 21
Return to main farmhouse inventory page.
Home (including site search) | Bob Gray Consulting | Family History | Genealogy | Oswego Maps