Name/Title
SilverwareEntry/Object ID
2023.5.1Description
Silverware that once belonged to Lydie Hennion Eves (1887-1968) of Paterson, NJ. Combines pieces of silver plate from several different manufacturers. Kept in a two-tiered wooden case. Some of the pieces are believed to be a wedding present, from when Lydie married Roland Guy Eves in 1907, and others are believed to have been added over the next few years when she was a young wife.
Assorted silver plate flatware in a wooden case, on long-term loan to the Mill Museum from Jamie Eves. The silverware belonged to Jamie's grandmother, Lydie Hennion Eves (18867-1968). At some point, it passed to Jamie's father (Lydie's son), Howard Eves, and then to Jamie. Lydie was born in New Jersey in 1887. The 1900 U.S. Census recorded her, age 12, living in Paterson, NJ, with her parents David M. Hennion (1847-1938) and mother Mary Smith Hennion (1856-1939). David and Mary married in 1878. Lydie's older brother Walter (age 17) also lived in the household in 1900. The 1895 New Jersey census also recorded the family as living in Paterson, so it is likely that Lydie was born in Paterson. In 1900, the Hennions lived at 272 Ellison Street. In 1907, when she was 19 or 20, Lydie married Roland (Roy) Guy Eves (1886-1936). Born in Macclesfield, England, Roy immigrated to Paterson as a child along with a large extended family. The 1900 U. S. Census recorded the 14-year-old Roy living with his parents at 345 Broadway in Paterson. Roy's father was a bookkeeper. The 1905 New Jersey Census recorded Roy, aged 20, still living with his parents, but working as a bank clerk. Lydie and Roy married in New Jersey, probably in Paterson. The 1910 Paterson city directory recorded Roy and Lydie living at 626 Madison Avenue, with Roy employed as a bookkeeper at Paterson's Second National Bank. According to family lore, the large, extended Eves family had emigrated from Macclesfield to escape a depression in the silk industry, in which several members of the family were employed, and settled in Paterson because they understood it to be the "silk capital of America." A few family members continued to work in the silk industry after the migration, but most found employment elsewhere. Eventually, Roy advanced to become a vice-predident of the Second National Bank, and he and Lydie owned a large home in paterson, a summer house on one of New Jersey's lakes, and enjoyed an upper-middle-class lifestyle. Roy died of a stroke or heart attack in 1936. The silverware is silver plate, not sterling, indicative of a middle-class status. Because it was made by several manufacturers, the hypothesis is that it was acquired piecemeal. It is believed that the box, manufactured by Eureka Pacific but stamped Marcus Jewelers, Rutherford, NJ, was a wedding present, containing the silverplate hallmarked 1881 Rogers A1 Silver Plate, with a certificate stating that it had been manufactured by Wm. A. Rogers, Ltd., Niagara Falls, NY -- indicating one of the Rogers companies (there were several) that had been sold to Oneida, as opposed to joining the International Silver combine headquartered in Connecticut. It is this set of silverware that contains the most basic pieces -- knives, forks, tablespoons, teasponns, etc. The Community Plate (also manufactured by Oneida) may have been acquired later. This silver plate is monographed with the letter "E," and may indicate improvements in the family's position and finances; it contains some basic pieces (knives, soup spoons, etc.), but also some more esoteric pieces, the kind that would have been part of fine dining as opposed to everyday use. Lydie's son, Howard Eves, did recall some of pieces being used for everyday eating, particularly knives with stainless steel blades. A few other pieces of silver from various manufacturers were added over time.Use
According to Lydie's son, Howard W. Eves, at least some of the pieces were used for everyday meals.Context
The Eves family was a middle- to upper-middle-class family that lived in the important textile (silk) city of Peterson, NJ in the early 20th century. The silverware is representative of what such a family would have owned.Collection
Jamie Eves CollectionMade/Created
Manufacturer
Community Plate, Wm Rogers, New England Silver PlateDate made
circa 1907 - circa 1927Time Period
20th CenturyInscription/Signature/Marks
Type
HallmarkTranscription
Community Plate, Wm. Rogers, Wm. A Rogers A1 Plus Oneida Ltd., Rogers Bros. IS Remembrance, New England Silver Plate, Silver Plated Sheffield EnglandLanguage
EnglishLexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Primary Object Term
Set, FlatwareNomenclature Sub-Class
Food Service SetsNomenclature Class
Food Service T&ENomenclature Category
Category 04: Tools & Equipment for MaterialsLocation
Location
Exhibit Room
Mill Manager's Dining Room Exhibit* Untyped Location
Main Museum BuildingCategory
TemporaryDate
May 28, 2023Provenance
Provenance Detail
Eves, JamieAcquisition Method
LoanExhibition
Mill Manager's House ExhibitCreated By
historian@millmuseum.orgCreate Date
May 28, 2023Updated By
historian@millmuseum.orgUpdate Date
May 28, 2023
