Waist-length seated portrait of Mrs. Benjamin wearing bonnet, holding staff., In The American phrenological journal, vol. 20 (Nov., 1854), p. 101., "She was with the army all through the Revolutionary War. She was in Albany during the hard winter of 1780, and at West Point two or three years, while the army was stationed there ; and when it left under General Washington, she followed. Her business was cooking and washing for her husband and other soldiers. She speaks distinctly of riding horseback through the streets of Philadelphia on the way to Yorktown and also of embarking on board ship at the head of Elk river, and of cruising down Chesapeake Bay, and landing (I think) at James River.”--P. 101., Also known as Sarah Osborn.
Engraving after a painting by Joseph Ames showing family, relatives, and friends gathered around the dying Daniel Webster, who sits in bed propped up against a pillow. Webster, a Whig senator from Massachusetts, died at his home in Marshfield in 1852 after falling from his horse. His attendees, gather around the foot of his bed, including his wife Caroline LeRoy Webster, attired in a white lace veil, who cries with her head in her hand. In the right, a seated, Mrs. Caroline Fletcher Webster gazes at Webster while her son leans against her and a young, white girl rests on a stool at her feet. Behind her is Sarah, an African American servant, holding a silver tray with a pitcher and cup. Attendees include: Charles Henry Thomas, Jacob LeRoy, Edward Curtis, Caroline LeRoy Webster (wife), Mrs. James W. Paige, Samuel A. Appleton, James W. Paige, George Ashmun, Rufus Choate, Peter Harvey, Daniel Fletcher Webster (son) and his wife Caroline S. White, Caroline L. Appleton, Daniel Webster, Ashburton Webster, Caroline Webster (granddaughter), Dr. J. Mason Warren, Dr. John Jeffries, Sarah (African American servant), John Taylor (farmer), and Porter Wright (farmer). A bust of George Washington sits on a shelf on the wall in the right. In the lower margin is a small vignette of the estate at Marshfield., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1858 by Smith & Parmalee in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York., See A Description of the great historical painting of The last days of Webster at Marshfield. Painted by Joseph Ames, of Boston. New York : Smith Brothers and Parmelee, 1855. [Am 1855 Smi Bro, 73625.O], LCP also holds one trial proof, two proof without letters, two engraved artists proofs without letters, and five additional copies of print. [***GC - Webster, P.2012.69.1-10], Gift of David Doret, 2011., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Creator
Mottram, Charles, 1817-1876, engraver
Date
1858
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department ***GC - Webster [P.2011.63.26]
