MEHITABLE
RINDGE ROGERS (1725-1803) & HER LONDON SHOES
The
Warner House in Portsmouth, NH has a small but excellent collection of 18th
century – early 19th century ladies shoes. The shoes are going off rotation and into storage, so this is a perfect opportunity for examination.
One pair of particular
note are those proudly announcing that they were created by “James Davis,
Shoemaker, nr. Aldgate, London.” If you have followed these pages, the name may
be familiar to you. As part of a
larger project, the author, with the assistance of Tara Vose, Warner House
Board Member, and Bridget Swift, Research Associate, TheBranchCreative, has
identified some 10 pairs of shoes in North American collections by Davis or
Davis in partnership with Thomas Ridout. This short entry forms part of a
larger research and publication project, in collaboration with contemporary
London shoe designer, Emma Hope,
which will appear in 2013.
The shoe
shown here (Accession #743) was worn by Mehitable (Mehitabel) Rindge (b. 22
September 1725- d. 1803) who married the Honorable Daniel Rogers, of His
Majesty’s Council for New Hampshire.
Ten years her senior, the couple were both born and raised in Portsmouth
and are buried at the Proprietor’s Cemetery.
An
especially elegant shoe of cream (or possibly another color, much faded) silk–
note the higher than usual heel at 3” rather than the more typical 21/2” for
the Colonial American consumer – it is very well worn. In addition to the Davis label, the
shoe also boasts a strip of subtle pink silk across the interior of the tongue,
meant to be exposed ever so slightly as the wearer walked across the room or
down a flight of stairs. The contrasting pale pink silk, in combination with
shiny paste or jeweled buckles and the sheen of the silk would have created a
refined fashion statement and, with the heel, a striking silhouette.
The
couple’s oldest child, Mark, was born in 1762, so they most likely married in
the early 1760s. Given the style
of the shoe and knowing its maker, a fabrication date falling between 1760-1770
would be appropriate. Further, the higher, courtly heel may have been favored
by Mehitable earlier in life, prior to the birth of five children.
Known
after the Revolution for his apothecary business, Rogers was examined by the
New Hampshire Committee of Safety for “being unfriendly to the liberties of
America,” on Thursday, November 23, 1775. No evidence was found against him and
so he was dismissed without incident. He would subsequently resign his post due
to the Acts of British Parliament.
Thank you to
Carolyn Roy and Louis Richardson, Co-Curators, Warner House, and Tara Vose,
Warner House Board Member, for their assistance.
For
information on the house, its history and collections, see
The
Warner House: A Rich and Colorful History. Joyce Volk, ed., The Warner House
Association, 2006.
Kimberly
Alexander, Ph.D.
Department
of History
University
of New Hampshire, Durham
This is so delightful and exciting. I especially enjoyed that she enjoyed the higher heal prior to the birth of her 5 children.
ReplyDelete