Name/Title
WheelchairEntry/Object ID
2025.35.1Description
Wooden wheelchair. The chair repurposes an earlier 19th century turned maple ladder back armchair with vasiform finials on top and three shaped horizontal splats below the crestrail. The armrests are slender with squared edges and a curved handhold extending slightly over vase and ring-turned posts. The chair has two turned stretchers front and back and one stretcher on each side. The chair has been modified with two shaped planks extending from below the front edge of the rush seats to the top edge of the side stretchers on the back legs, with a thick post running through laterally to secure the wheels to the chair. Each wheel has eight turned wooden spokes. A wide plank is nailed across the lowest stretchers at the front and back of the chair and extends outward as a footrest. The plank has notched corners and a slightly rounded front edge.
The chair previously belonging to Betsey Tarbox Dewey, wife of Charles Dewey. Charles Dewey was the third president of National Life. The chair was found in the attic of the home she occupied on State Street.Acquisition
Accession
2025.35Source or Donor
The National Life GroupAcquisition Method
GiftRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Dewey, Betsey Lund Tarbox (1829-1908)Related Places
Place
City
MontpelierCounty
Washington CountyState/Province
VermontCountry
United States of AmericaContinent
North America