Notes
Owner: Henry, John
This violin likely belonged to John Henry (1796–1868), the youngest son of Patrick and Dorothea Dandridge Henry. According to Elvira Henry Miller (1850–1955), granddaughter to John Henry, he was known to have played the violin.
Three affidavits assert Joshua A. Hazelwood (1822 or 1825–1889) bought this violin at a sale of items belonging to Patrick Henry's descendants in Charlotte County, Virginia, on representation as being one of Patrick Henry's violins. The violin supposedly came from estate items of Henry's youngest son, John. However, no violin is listed among the items sold at the estate sale occurring at Red Hill on February 12, 1868. A sale may have occurred after the death of John's wife, Elvira McClelland Henry (1808–1875), but no documentation has yet been found.
These affidavits were signed by Hazelwood's descendants in 1950: Lena Hazelwood Dunevent (1881–1962) (daughter), Janie Hazelwood Caldwell (1895–1988) (granddaughter), and William Linwood Seymour (1886–1954) (son-in-law).
Following Joshua Hazelwood's death, the violin was passed down through the family into the hands of Hazelwood's great-grandson, William Bouldin Caldwell (1924–2015). In 1964, William Caldwell loaned it to the PHMF. He later sold it to the PHMF on July 7, 1998.
In 1999, a note inside the instrument was discovered that reads: "Repaired by Hugh S. Gresham / VIOLIN. GUITAR. AND. MANDOLIN. MAKER / No 822 WISE ST. LYNCHBURG. VA." The date that Hugh Gresham (1866–1926) completed his repairs is unknown.
Patrick Henry's ownership of the violin had never been completely verified outside of the Caldwell family. Robert Maxham, a violin expert, expressed doubts about its origin, and the violin was sent for research and conservation in September 2020. Luthier and violin restorer John Montgomery observed that the violin, bow, and case, all had characteristics of creation in Germany or France, but the violin especially "is of the type made in Germany during the mid 19th century." He noted that the violin's interior is of a simple construction and that certain aspects of the design, such as the attachment of the neck into the top block, are typical of guitars or mandolins and are likely the repairs of Gresham.
Montgomery discovered that the scroll, pegbox, and neck likely came pre-made from Germany in the 20th century and differed from the design of the violin's body, thus were later additions to the instrument. The evidence of a 19th-century European origin led to the conclusion that the violin does not date to Patrick Henry's time. Reminiscences from Elvira Henry Miller (1850–1955), a granddaughter to Patrick's son John (1796–1868), indicated her grandfather played the violin, which likely makes this instrument his.
The PHMF, with partial funding from the Patrick Henry Descendants' Branch, purchased the violin from William B. Caldwell on July 7, 1998.