As our readers will
recall, we love
so-called "Granny
Notes"--those
sometimes cryptic,
sometimes vague,
sometimes incredible
stories attached to
objects that have
been in the
collection for a
long time. We often
explore the attached
stories and attempt
to verify the
information.

Here's another
interesting object
from our
collections. It's
a pin and a pair of
earrings, shaped out
of some kind of
brown material into
an oak leaf/acorn
design. The story
attached is that
they were carved
from a piece of the
famous "Charter Oak"
tree that was felled
by a storm exactly
165 years ago this
week on August
21, 1856. Here in
Longmeadow, we
certainly know how
powerful these
summer storms can be
at taking down large
limbs and entire
trees.

You've all seen a
depiction of the
famous, ancient
white oak--on the
Connecticut State
quarter issued in
1999. This
venerable tree grew
in Hartford,
Connecticut, and
became famous as the
hiding place of
Connecticut's royal
charter. King James
II appointed Sir
Edmund Andros as
governor-general
over the newly
consolidated
"Dominion of New
England." His task
was to collect the
charters from the
formerly more
autonomous
colonies. This was
not a popular move,
and there is some
confusion about
whether Connecticut
actually gave up
their charter or a
copy. The oak tree
was the supposed
hiding place of the
precious document
and became a symbol
of the revolutionary
spirit.

When the tree was
blown down by a
violent storm on
August 21, 1856,
wood was salvaged by
many people to make
a number of relics,
including chairs for
the Speaker of the
House of
Representatives and
President of the
Senate in the state
capital, as well as
the Governor of
Connecticut's desk.
Other items include
a presentation
baseball, a walking
stick, and a cane
given to President
Andrew Johnson.
There were so many
people taking pieces
of the famous tree
as souvenirs that a
guard had to
posted! Gun maker
Samuel Colt was
lucky enough to get
wood to make a
cradle for Samuel
Colt Jr., and a
pistol with Charter
Oak grips made in
1867. In fact, so
many objects were
claimed to have been
made from the
Charter Oak that the
joke was that it
must have been a
forest of oak trees!


So could our
earrings and pin be
the real deal?
Hartford is not far
away, and both
Richard Salter
(Salter) Storrs and
his sister Sarah
Storrs taught at the
School for the Deaf,
then located in
Hartford and were
there at the 1856
time
period. Regardless
of whether it is
truly made from wood
from the Charter
Oak, it sure is a
lovely and unusual
set and we are happy
to have it!