Notes
This clothes press was acquired by Patrick Henry around 1780 and came to Red Hill upon his arrival around 1796. Following Henry’s death, the press was listed on the 1799 estate inventory as "1 walnut press," valued at £6. In October 1817, his son, Edward Winston Henry (1794–1872), received the press as a wedding gift from his mother, Dorothea Dandridge (1757–1831).
Edward inherited half of the Red Hill estate around 1815 and renamed his portion "Windstone. " There, he became a successful planter and sheriff of Charlotte County. The clothes press lived at Winston until the death of Edward’s wife, Jane Yuille (1799–1866), in 1866.
The press was passed down through Edward Winston’s descendants until it came to his great-granddaughter, Margaret Henry Ottarson (1911–1981), who lived at Winston. Ottarson donated it to the Patrick Henry Boys Plantation (now Patrick Henry Family Services) in 1978. It came to PHMF in August 1988 as a long-term loan from the Boys Plantation.
In January 2022, Curator Cody Youngblood contacted Patrick Henry Family Services to renew the loan. Robert Day, Chief Executive Officer of Patrick Henry Family Services, offered to transfer the clothing press as a gift. The press was accepted as a gift and is now owned by PHMF.