Notes
This drop-leaf breakfast table, called the "Virginia Pembroke Table," originated in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1790 and is believed to have been owned by Patrick Henry. It is made in the Hepplewhite style, so named after the English cabinetmaker George Hepplewhite (d. 1786), who created the "Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide."
After Henry's death, his wife Dorothea Dandridge Henry gave the table "as a gift for kindness to her husband, Patrick Henry" to Mrs. George Roberts of Woodbourne, a plantation along the neck of the Staunton River. It passed through the family to her granddaughter, Martha Roberts, who wrote the letter below in the 1920s or 1930s:
"This table once belonged to Patrick Henry, and came from his home in Charlotte County, 'Red Hill.' It was given to my grandmother, Mrs. George Roberts of 'Woodbourne', Charlotte County, Va. by The Misses Henry, Patrick Henry's nieces, (or great-nieces). My father said that one day a wagon driven by an old colored servant of the Henry's stopped in front of 'Woodbourne'. The old coachman got down, and lifted out a small table from the back of the wagon, and then brought a note, addressed to my grandmother. It was from Misses Henry, in which they said that they wished to show their appreciation for some kindness that my grandfather had shown them, and they thought my grandfather would like to have this table, which had belonged to their 'illustrious Uncle, Patrick Henry.' The table is just as it was, it has never been 'done over.' My father used to point to the black stains on it, and tell me that they ... pen! I believe he said..." [The rest of the letter is torn off and missing.]
In 1979, the table was identified as being "among the effects of the late Martha Roberts." Martha Moore became the next owner. Moore gave it to the PHMF on November 20, 1980.