Notes
This mahogany cannonball bed is said to have belonged to John Henry (1796–1868), the youngest son of Patrick and Dorothea Dandridge Henry.
The bed likely appears on John's estate inventory taken at Red Hill after his death in 1868. Listed is "1 Cottage bedstead," located in the over parlor, worth $3.00. A bedstead refers to the framework of a bed on which the mattress is placed, and so it likely describes this cannonball bed.
The bed was then likely inherited by John's son, William Wirt Henry (1831–1900), before being passed to Wirt Henry's daughter, Lucy Gray Henry Harrison (1857–1944).
The Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation purchased the bed on June 30, 1945, from the estate of Lucy Gray Henry Harrison (1857–1944) after her death.