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SARAH MATHESON INTERVIEW


It is April 4, 1992. We are at Sarah Matheson's house, doing an interview
about the furnishings and furniture. We are standing the foyer.

# 91-1 is an empire table. Sarah tell me about this table.

S: I don't know whether it was Matheson or Steele, but it was in the James
W. Douglas home, and she was a Steele, so whether she brought it with her,
or if they bought it when they were married, it was 1 of the 3 that she left
in the will saying please don't ever let 3 tables out of the family. That is
one of the drop leaf card tables. I think it is crouch Mahogany.

Next is the large oriental rug ---- where from?

S: Mrs. Lynch, you know her husband was a postmaster, had one in her
house and I said I love those and so I ordered these 3, but I cannot
remember just where it was, wish I could.

Like 1 of the department store type things?

S: Well it was 1 that sells oriental rugs, yes.

Tell me about the small table over here, #91-5.

S: Annie Pound, when she moved out of her home to go to Gaineswood,
brought it to me, they loaned it to us when we went to housekeeping and
I wanted it back in the Matheson House, so I thought that was interesting.
She brought that and little spool table in there. She was good to me, and
Mrs. William Matheson, gave us those, my husband's father, and Aunt Ola
was here alone. Annie took such an interest in her, so I gave her a little
writing desk, lap desk that you see in there and she brought that back.
And she brought me a gun that had belonged to someone, that was used in
the Civil War. It is in the study there.

Tell me about the 2 chairs, these are 91-7.

S: There were 4 of them, and I gave 2 of them to my brother and his wife.
They needed some furniture when they were housekeeping, but I think they
were in the Hamilton family.

Tell me about the oriental chest here, 91-6. Where did you get that?

S: In 1962 I was in Korea, in Seoul often. We'd get on the train and go
up, and Mr. Li had an antique shop and I bought that from him and then
filled it with clothing and things to ship home.

So it was an antique?

S: It was an antique then.

You have no idea of the age of it?

S: No I don't. Those are interesting though, that came from the Taj Mahal
and I bought it

In the gift shop there?


S: The gift shop, in India.








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This is while in your Korea and took some side trips?

S: Yes.

What about these on the turtle back table here? Those come from the orient
also?

S: Yes. One's from Korea. My adopted son, I have 2 sons that I helped
through school in Korea, and he gave me this.

The red one?

S: Yes. It says dear mother, from you son, 1962.
5th month and 20th day.

And he's a minister now?

S: No, he's a teacher in Taiwan. This is interesting. They use bamboo
so much, and this is angel.

What about the lady there?

S: She's from Korea, a dancer.

Tell me about the wall hangings now.

S: They're all from Korea. This 1 up here, the red one, was a gift to me,
made by the girls of the Speer School in (Chung Chu?) Korea.
That means long life, prosperity, the Chinese characters on the plaque.

What about the white one here?

S: One of the students gave me that. I have kept alot of the things.

Japanese or oriental?

S: Chinese.

What about the dark one here?

S: Those are from Korea.

Then the light tan one here?

S: Yes, that's 1 of the famous it's Chinese, I bought that in Hong Kong.
Both of those in Hong Kong, so they're Chinese. That's right.

Well, that pretty much finishes up this room. Let's go to the back room.

(Those just discussed are 91-8).







Matheson Interview
Page 3


Now we're in the back hall at 91-9. Tell me about the small wood carved
table that the phone is on.

S: Kawasawa, Japan. When I was in Korea, I spent a month in Japan. We
went to K where they were carved. The same place the Crown Prince
met his bride, you know, playing tennis there. I have a cluster of them.
There are 2 in the living room, and that's just a 3d one, but they're a
cluster and they're beautifully carved, bought in Japan.

You were there from 60?

S: Through 1960, 61 and 62. About 2 years.

Tell me about the drop leaf table, #91-10.

S: That was from Miss Adamson, you know. Remember the portrait in the
dining room with Mrs. Christopher Matheson who was Catherine Hale. She
had 10 children and 1 of them was Sarah that married an Adamson, and that
was in the Adamson family, and when she was getting quite old, her niece,
or somebody, wanted some money and sold me that for $25.

When was that?

S: about 1950 I think. It's old, the Hale family really.

What about the large rocker? #91-11

S: That's an interesting rocker. That was from Shawnee, OK. My husband
went there after he had his career here as a lawyer, mayor, so forth, and
1 of the main members of the family of the church, was Mr. Ayers. He was
an old, ruling elder in the church, and he sat in that chair all the years
we were there almost. We'd call on him, and when he died, his daughter,
Ms. Kib Warren, gave it to Chris, and we brought it back here. And Chris
used it then until he died, and now I use it. It has the swan neck.

What about the small wooden rocker here, #91-12?

S: Chris and I bought that one and the little rocker in my bedroom when
we went to housekeeping in Oklahoma and 1933. This was his rocker and
mine was the little one in there. We bought that in Shawnee, OK.

What about the little bookcase here, 91-13?

S: I'd forgotten who made that for us. Some friend gave it to us.

But when he was here, right?

S: Oh yes. It goes way back.

What about this chair? 91-14? Empire chair.

S: It's one of a set of the early American, what did you tell me was the
name, that it was wrong in the book?







Matheson Interview
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That's called East Lake Victorian.

S: Yes, in the parlor.

How many pieces of the set?

S: Loveseat, and 'the mounted rocker, and this is the occasional chair, and
then 4 straight chairs.

And one stool.

S: That's different. I made the needlepoint for that.

They're very nice. What's the history on that?

S: That again, was probably when the Mathesons went to housekeeping, you
know, about '67 when they married, they moved into this house on June 4,
so I think it was with the house.

There's a little cane chair, small one.

S: Yes, that's interesting. That came from the Old Presbyterian Church,
and my husband, Chris, sat in it when he was little, and they were getting
rid of the old, when they moving you know. It was painted green, so I had
it done over. And another friend, they were just giving them out, and
my husband's father was a charter member, and both of them were elders
in the church before Chris became a preacher, so I thought it belonged here.

Good. That's #91-16. Then there's another cane chair.

S: Yes, that was my mother's when she went to housekeeping. That was the
dining room set and we daughters have divided them up, so I have 1.

There's a little foot stool there.

S: I want you to see this. It was in the house, I don't know when. It
opens up and you put things in it, sewing spools and things. It's been in
the house for years.

Ok, and what about the small round table, 91-17?

S: I bought that in Savannah when I was there for a weekend tour.

The little foot stool is 91-18 and then this large oriental rug was part of the
set you bought, 1 in the foyer, the small 1 and then this large 1. Those go
together. What about the small oriental rug? 91-20 here.

S: I bought those from an antique dealer of rugs, so I've them about 15
years or more.

That's # 91-19 and 91-20.

S: They are pretty.








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And then there's another metal footstool here.

S: That came from India, Calcutta. I bought that and the big table in the
front room, and another professor and his wife were exchange teachers in
Bangladesh now, and I visited there on my way home, and she said we'll ship
them home for you;' bring those home.

So you bought alot of things while you were there.

S: Yes.

Ok, let's go the living room next. We're now in the living room.

S: --- chairs you see.

Right, and that goes with that East Lake set.

S: Yes, but I made the needle point for the 4.

When did you make that?

S: While we were in Oklahoma.

Before you came here then?

S: Yes, but we brought them out. They were stored upstairs and we had
to bring some things to Oklahoma.

You put these up there for a while then, and brought them back?

S: Yes we did.

But they were original to the house?

S: Yes.

Tell me about this large oriental rug, 91-23.

S: Now that my sister found out where we could get these gorgeous rugs.

Kermin it's called I think?

S: I wish I could think of it.

I think it's a Kermin.

S: Well anyway, she ordered well my sister Mary first found out about
it, then Martha ordered 1. It's up in the mountain area of N. Carolina and
I can't think of it.

A rug shop?







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S: Yes, a special, and we got a special rate for these. It's different from
the others, but still it kind of goes with this room.

Right. The East Lake sofa and 4 chairs are 91-94 and 91-95 we've talked
about. What about 91-26? The marble top table?

S: That's 1 of the 3 she mentioned you see in her will. And I would not
be surprised, I've kind of imagined in my mind that Judge Steele, who was
Mrs. Matheson's father you see, was 1 of the early pioneers that came to
Florida about 1825, and he went to Europe on a business trip in 1989 and
I just imagine he bought that there and brought it back because the marble
on it, I have seen in Italy.

That piece and then the card table in the foyer, and what other piece?

S: The little sewing table, I think that must have been the 3d one.

Ok. So this marble top table has been here, 91-26?

S: Yea, it's so big, it's a museum piece.

OK. What about the small drop leaf table, 91-27? A sewing table?

S: That was Mrs. Matheson's I'm sure, little sewing table, maybe her
mother's.
There is a wing chair, #91-28. What about that?

S: That just went with the sofa. Chris & I bought that when we went to
housekeeping in Shawnee, OK. So we bought those from Kib Warren. He
would go down after work and open up the big department store they had
and show us things you know. Postmaster shopping.

That's #91-28 and 91-29. What about the coffee table, #91-30 in front of the
couch?

S: Let's see. I got that in Oklahoma. That was ours. The next generation
you see. Alot of them were James Douglas, then next was Christopher, so
this would be in our it has like the big chair, the swan

That's why you bought that right?

S: Right.

Interesting, I hadn't noticed that. Then there's the East Lake rocker there,
part of that set, 91-31.

S: Yes, that just goes with the whole set you see.

So there's a couch, 4 chairs, rocker, and occasional chair. Those are nice.
East Lake.

S: East Lake, I want to remember that.








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Let's see, there is a cane chair here, tell me about that.

S: The material is light weight, delicate.

Where did it come from?

S: It was in the early James Douglas.

What about the little 1/2 round table beside it, 91-32?
S: I bought that. In Shawnee.

Then here's another rocker. Lincoln rocker. 91-35.

S: Lincoln rocker, yes. It was 1 of the early ones.

So it was in the family also.

S: Yes.

Then there's a little armchair behind it, what about that? 91-26.

S: I bought that in Shawnee.

And the piano? 91-37.

S: It was bought for Augusta Steele, at Cedar Key. That's the 1 she used,
and I have music we know about, because their music teacher, they would
bring in the teachers there in Cedar Key when he owned the island at
at only had 1 child and she was a girl, and they named her Augusta. So
they had a teacher who later started the music dept. at FSU and he came
down to Cedar Key and would teach her. He composed. He composed 3
pieces that were sent to enter them to Washington, where would you enter
them?

For copyright?

S: Yes. The Cedar Key March, dedicated to Judge Steele. A waltz,
dedicated to Elizabeth Steele, his wife, and a quick step to little Augusta.
Those 3 pieces are in a big music book. The covers are gone. I thought,
what in the world is this thing for, and I kept turning through and found
those pieces, and later that developed into a wonderful music dept. at FSU.
That teacher was her teacher and used this piano. I found out he was from
Cufford, Georgia.

What was his name?

S: I have it in the book, I'd have to look it up.


Tell me about this little marble top table.







Matheson Interview
Page 8


S: I don't know when they bought that but it was in the home.

Ok, and the oriental hanging, 91-38?

S: That's interesting. I was spending a weekend in (Kwanju?) Korea
while there, being ,a teacher you had weekends and we'd go all over. I was
in a little antique shop and saw this almost in tatters. I got for a few
dollars and I have a very special friend in Seoul that I told about it, and
he said let us have that fixed for you, and it's an antique.

Allright, let's talk about the oil paintings. We're starting on the north wall
here. The 1st one herein, which shows the building and people out front,
what about it?

S: I don't know. We think they were either painted, but we know they
were collected or painted by Chris' father's sister, Caroline Matheson. I
don't know those 2 are western scenes. But what is this?

That looks sort of Dutch. The other 2 are western. What about the round
one, ol done?

S: That's one we wish we could really know. I don't know a thing about
it.

We ought to get Peter Bennett from the Ham to come look at these.

S: Yes.

I'II talk to him.

S: Allright. It looks Spanish, but someone was here the other day and
thought it was English.

Allright, tell me about the portrait of Augusta Steele, 91-42.

S: The artist was Kristy, but I don't the 1st name. I have to look that up,
we have something that tells about it, but it was painted, I don't know just
when, but I think it's just marvelous. It was sent to an art gallery in
Washington while we were in Oklahoma. We let the museum keep it when
Chris went to Oklahoma in 1919. It was lent out at the University, and
during, later, when someone at the Museum asked permission to send it to
Washington to be restored, or cared for, and this art gallery put it under
glass up there, but down here where there's so much moisture you see.

Well it still may be protected though.

S: It's been protected, and see the dog.

Yes. What about the things on the little marble top table, these are just
personal effects.

S: Those are mine and some of my mother's. That was my mother's. One
I got down in Chilie I believe.







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Which was your mother's?

S: The little jewel case. And this, china

Jade

S: Jade, yes, I got that in China, and those others I think I got in France.

What about the little chocolate picture? That's Prussia you know.

S: Yes, that's special. That was I think Augusta Steele's. I don't have
too much of it. People say what happened to Mrs. Matheson's beautiful
china? I don't know. There's just a few pieces.

What about the firescreen?

S: I don't know where it came from. I love it.

It's been in the family though.

S: Oh yes.

These 2 little tables on either side of the couch.

S: Now they would go with the 1 from They were carved
together. A beautiful set, the 3 of them. I had bought 2 nest tables. They
were divided, gave to my sisters, but I kept that one.

What about the lamps.

S: They were antiques that Mr. Deaton he was in real estate I think or
something. He's dead. But his wife collected things, and when she died,
he gave me those lamps, but I knew they were antique and I loved them
because my mother was a Deaton and when she came down and saw them, she
said I know that man's a Deaton. My sister gave me the one on the little
table there,

The red bowl?

S: What do you call it, blown glass. Venetian. That came from Venice yes.
And the little French These are from China. Another 1 of the Haile
children that married what was her name. Mr. Ball, the rich man in
Jacksonville, his sister, gave me this. And this was from Mrs. Miller J.
Hillis Miller. And this was ----------- the eyes of the windows opening
to the heart. I love that.

Allright. There's a card there marked Mary Staubs, appraised.








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Now we're in the back living room. What about the couch here, called a day
bed I think. 91-48. You all bought that in Oklahoma?

S: Yes, it opens out.

What about the bookcase here on the south east wall, 91-49?

S: 3 bookcases.

Were they Chrises in his office?

S: Yes.

Did he get them here in Gainesville?

S: Well he may have. He had them in Oklahoma and brought them back.

What about the desk here with the Brittanica.

S: I guess we got that sometime while we were in Oklahoma. Just part of
our family.

Right, but you bought that in Oklahoma. Didn't they then, if you bought
a set of encyclopedias, you got the desk with it?

S: Exactly.

So you bought that in Oklahoma?

S: Yes.

Ok, tell me about this little folding rocker.

S: It was my mother's. I love that little rocker. It just folds up so easy.

Yea, that's # 91-52. And then there's a small chair here, tell me about that.

S: That's 1 of the dining room chairs.

And then the lamps, were they here, or are they something you brought?

S: We bought those.

What about the desk, # 91-54. That was his desk in the office?

S: Yes in his office.

And there's a little bookcase behind it.

S: Yes, kind of like that 1 in the hall. Someone made for us.








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Page 11


So this chair and desk were in his office, and when did he have his office?
I see a picture of it here.

S: Yes, he had an office in the church you see. His office here was where,
you know where the Chittys used to be? Upstairs. Who was that old lawyer
that died

Sigsbee Scruggs.

S: Yes and that was his office on the right.

In the Chitty building.

S: Yes. That was 1 of them. That's where he left his seal thing.

The lawyer's seal, yes. Ok.

S: I brought this from China, did I ever show it to you, the the
diggings.
Oh yea, you know someone gave me 1 of those.

S: Have you got 1? I love mine.

Yea, they're nice. That's where all those people are buried. A friend of
ours was there and brought me 1. Now, what these 2 oriental rugs, the
light colored one is what?

S: Just inexpensive. But that's a gorgeous one.

Bakhara I think.

S: Yea, we bought that up over India.

Tibet?

S: No the 1 just before it.

Nepal?

S: Yes, Nepal. Katmandu. And the 3 sisters, we each bought one, $75
for that little thing, and we said why in the world didn't we get 2 or 3 of
them? They're so pretty.

I think that's everything in here. I see the gun there, maybe we can get
that restored some day.

S: We might.

That was in the Civil War, right?

S: Yes.







Matheson Interview
Page 12


this, was is an Indian rug?

S: Navaho rug. And that basket was made by a full blood Choctaw woman
who president of the Indian women, and she gave me that.

Any other things from the indians while you were in Oklahoma?

S: Let's see, the ones on the wall behind you there. Those were painted
by the girls where I taught. See I taught at Oklahoma Presbyterian School,
College, where we had Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, Comanche, and Pawnee
tribes, so some of the girls did those paintings.

So you were both teaching then? He was preaching and you were teaching?

S: I was teaching.

What about these 2 things on top of this bookcase here? Where is that
brownish one from?

S: That came from Brazil I think. But this is interesting.

This little tea set.

S: This is old, old, and I have asked people it's ancient china, and you
see it looks like bamboo, they used bamboo for so much, but this was a
Chinese boy who is a descendant from one of the ancient Chinese honorables.
Anyway he came to Davidson College and entered the junior class.
He new perfect English from Peking, and my brother met him on the campus,
and he was in our home quite a bit, and when he graduated to New York
and became Head of the Chinese Institute, and took care of the students
coming from China and Americans going to China. He gave this to my other
and the family. There were 3 little cups I think. We still have 2 of them.
They say that means something, it's so old they could hardly read it because
it's a fancy China. This was from South American somewhere and this is
from Mexico.

Ok, let's go in the next one.

S: See is the telegraph

Yea, from 1860.

S: I wanted to get everything that's up north and then Cedar Key and
Tampa.
Absolutely, get it all organized. Well, you'll be able to do that.
We're now in the dining room here, and let's start with the picture here.

S: This was Christopher Matheson who was Catherine Haile of Camden, S.
Carolina, and we think it was painted by Sully. Anyway, I've been told that
and if it was it's very valuable.


Ok, that's # 91-








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S: She married the first Christopher that came over, and that was Chris'
grandfather. But she was Catherine Haile, and mother of the 10 wonderful
children to you see.

That's # 91-66. Let's start with this large spool leg table, #91-59.

S: Chris & I bought it from Mrs. Warren when we went to housekeeping in
Oklahoma. We bought both of them.

Small 1 and big 1.

S: Yes. From Shawnee, OK.

Ok, what about the buffet here. 91-60.

S: We bought that too. The buffet. The table we bought is out on the
back porch, gone to ruin. But this, the table was here, we didn't take it
to

Dining table, 91-62 was already here? The chairs?

S: No, we bought these chairs.

6 chairs.

S: Yes. The big chairs.

91-63.

S: The table was old and belonged to the family. So was that beautiful
piece.

Allright and then there's a little 3-legged chair.

S: That's a birthing chair from Spain. I bought that in Madrid.

That's #91-65. What about this beautiful chest here? This is also East Lake,
Mary tells me. With the mirror. 91-61.

S: Well now it was in Aunt Ola's house. She kept it. Yes, Barbara
Matheson. She was just protecting it for us.

She lived down the street.

S: Yes, second house, little house.

So you brought it back in here then?

S: Yes.

That's 91-61.








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And you say the dining room table, #91-62 was here.

S: Yes.

So you just bought the chairs to go with it. What about the hanging thing,
#91-67?

S: Where did I get that I bought that. Knick knacks there.

What about this oriental rug. Was it here?

S: I bought it when we bought our furniture in '33.

In Oklahoma?

S: Yes. So we've had it all these years.

You all were in Oklahoma when, '33 -

S: 33 45. I was. Chris was there from 19 or 20.

Ok. So you bought this rug there. The flowers.

S: That was in our cottage at Montreat when we bought it in 1919. It was
there. Look at the Davidson place. Chamber's building. 1837.

You brought that back with you?

S: My grandfather was in the 1st class at Andrew Davidson College in 1837
and this is 1 of the old, old literary halls. They had 2. The and
the Philanthropic you see. I think that has the date 35. That one you know
of course.

Yes, that's Ellie Blair's.

S: Is she still around?

Yes, yes. I should bring her over. She's wonderful and she's very active.
She has a shop on Main Street now. In the Tench Building.

S: Oh, I'm so glad.

The brass square of the fireplace, was that here or something you bought?

S: We bought that. ---- I missed the other one. This is the waffle.

Was that here?

S: Yea, that goes way back. And the other, the pancake, round one.

Oh really.








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S: And I said where is it, and Robert said I took it up for protection. So
I'll just get him bring it back.

Those are nice, very nice.

S: This rug is just gone.

Well yea, it's worn.

S: I don't know if I told Mary, but I told the friend, you know, that lives
in the Doig house

Jean Marshall.

S: Jean. I told her to be looking, if she heard of any

We'll find something. Allright, let's go in to the kitchen.
Well I was going to ask about this little kitchen set. 91-71

S: We bought that when we were in Oklahoma, I think. I bought that lamp
in Korea.

The little Korean lamps.

S: Somebody gave us this.

Radio?

S: That was ------------ he gave Chris, when he got married, he came
to the house and got married, and handed my husband a cigar and we looked
at it and it had a $10 dollar bill wrapped around it. He was the 1 who gave
us that.

Le't go back to the back porch. We're now on the back porch. Tell me about
the dry sink.

S: Somebody gave us that, belongs to the Historical, and they wanted me
to keep it so

We probably ought to get it redone. I've got a man who does beautiful work.
You ought to see what he did with an armoire that they left down at the
Legion Building, that was all busted up. It was in worse shape than that
and it's beautiful. He reinished it and put the walls back in it. That would
be a nice piece.

S: Yes it would be.

What about this little table?


S: That was the one that went with the chairs.








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Page 16


We can get that redone too. I may want to do that this year. Get that done
for you. Somebody stripped that piece and it never got painted, right?
Your little table, didn't it get stripped also. See both of them have had the
paint stripped off, they just didn't get repainted.

S: Oh, I don't know.

What about the little school desk?

S: I got that Rochelle out there, the old school you know.

Zetrouer.

S: The savings & loan, he brought some of them out and gave them for a
deposit, and I think I made some deposit, and he gave it to me. So I was
so proud of it. I usually have it displayed. I keep my blue book speller
because my mother wrote Sarah Hamilton, 1913 in it. I took it to the
historical meeting the other day to show it. And a McGuffy reader and a little
slate, and a piece of chalk. And Mrs. Lynch gave me this beautiful chair.

That looks like it came from N. Carolina somewhere.

S: I think so.

Who was Mrs. Lynch?

S: You know the Lynch Gardens. When she died she gave that to the city,
and she gave me this chair and she was the one who had a rug like that.

Allright. Tell me about the coat rack.

S: That hung in the old post office, now the Hippodrome, and they hung
their coats on it for years, and I think he wrote me a little note about it,
I have one brick from Vidal Drugs, 1 brick from the Baird Hardware, and
tile from the railroad when they took it up from the main street, so I've got
all that in there. In the dry sink.

O good.

S: And a picture of the Hippodrome. See. This hung in the Hippodrome
Building, when he brought this and that to me.

That's a nice piece.

S: It is.

Ok. So how long have you had this green rocking chair?


S: I don't know, 15 or 20 years I guess.








Matheson Interview
Page 17


We're now in the front bedroom, and first is the spool bed, #91-76.

S: Well, Chris and I bought that from Mrs. Warren. She was out benefactor
in Shawnee, OK. He was the ruling elder, postmaster, and had this big
hardware store, and furniture. And so we this was my guest bed, and ours
was the 1 you'll see in my bedroom.

What about this little round side table?

S: This and this you see are 2 pieces, chest of drawers, and I've forgotten,
there's some history we ought to know about these.

Yea, I know what you're talking about.

S: I've heard it, but I don't know

Painted on there to give that design.

S: It was in the original family.

So these 2 pieces are, original family. And the chest of drawers is 91-82
and then let's see there's a chair, arm chair, green.

S: Chris and I bought that. In Oklahoma.

What about the chest of drawers with the mirror?

S: That was in the family.

One of the old pieces too. I think that's Empire.
What about the brass lamp there? Was that something you all had?

S: We had that, I've forgotten where we got that.

Ok. There's also a little bookcase in here. 2 bookcases. What about that.

S: I don't know, it was part of the other things. I know this desk was in
Chris' office.

The little desk bookcase, 91-84.

S: One of his partners, the children brought it to me.

One of the ladies that worked there?

S: We've got 1 of the desks that we wanted to have and Annie bought this
little spool table and somebody put it way over there, I used to have it here.
She brought that one and it came from the Matheson House she said.

So Annie Pound brought that in. What about the little doll and cradle.







Matheson Interview
Page 18


S: Handmade cradle by Margaret Debolt's sister. Margaret and her sister
was Jackson, the first name. These 2 sisters, Margaret Debolt lived at the
corner of 8th Avenue and 43rd where the Faith Catholic Church is, on the
corner there. They moved the house, to preserve it somewhere, but anyway
I used to visit them so much and before they went to Dowling Park, they
were getting rid of their things, and she said my grandfather made this, and
I want you to have it with a piece off of it, and another 1 of my friends who
stopped by here 1 time, fixed it, and then Mrs. Close made the little doll
for me and her daughter brought it to me 1 day in church.
And, this was the table that came from Calcutta.

The brass table?

S: Brass table and the little stool in the hall.

Tell me about this clock. 91-81

S: Oh, that my father and mother's when they went to housekeeping in
Davidson, N. Carolina. The little thing on this side is a cooking I used
to know the name, it's from Korea. I got it there, and the little picture
frames, have been here a long time, from the family.

Are they Matheson or yours?

S: Matheson.

Tell me about the quilt, 91-91.

S: It is a log cabin, made of velvet and silk. Of course, it's a part of the
log cabin combination. It was made we think either by Chris' mother or her
mother. Anyway, it had a date on it and I came across that this morning
when I was going through some papers, 18, was it 78 or 80, 1878 I think.
Made, but it had the date on it.

We'll find out.

S: It was here when the fire came you know.

It needs to be put behind glass and sealed. We'll get that done. And the
rugs in here.

S: This rug, the big one, was mine, I brought it from Davidson. It was
in our little sun room, and its' very old. And this one, Mrs. Doig, my dear
friend, made this one and one in my bedroom. This one has some of the
pants that Chris wore when we got married. We were married in the
afternoon, and he had this beautiful, I think it was white cloth, anyway some
of his clothes were used in it.

The little tan and blue one over here.

S: That one and this beautiful one I bought from this antique dealer.

So those two. One with a floral pattern and one with a geometric.








Matheson Interview
Page 19


What about these 2 small chairs?

S: They were just bought later. I bought them somewhere.

And the bowl & pitcher?

S: I think that was in our family. Hamilton family. I believe. I'm not
sure.
And the picture of Chris up there?

S: That was painted by my friend that was with me in Oklahoma and went
around the world with me and we went to Australia and N. Zealand together.
Ruth Kirkpatrick. Said she wanted to do that for me.

She lives where?

S: She lives in Tifton, Georgia now. She was my travel friend.

And this brass lamp here?

S: I don't know where we got that?

In Oklahoma probably.

S: Yes, Oklahoma.

The screen, does that have any significance.

S: No we just thought we needed a screen, and bought that, but I use it
to cover up. When people come in, I don't have any shade there, so I put
that for privacy.

Sure.

S: And when we came back, we added the bathroom and closet and places
to store things.

Ok.

S: There was only 1 bathroom at first, and this was the new one and the
1 upstairs were added later.

Now we're in the back bedroom. This is Sarah's bedroom. Tell me about the
bookcase first.

S: I had it made here after we came back. That's a pretty little piece.

That little desk, I forget what that's called. It has a name. I'll have to
look it up. Mary knows. Special bookcase desk. That is something you
had or something that was here?








Matheson Interview
Page 20


S: No that was here I think.

Probably belonged to Chris.

S: Oh yes.

It's similar to that other little desk.

S: Yes. This was the bed and the little dressing table.

Right, and chest of drawers. Was this from Oklahoma?

S: Yes, Kib Warren's. We got them all there. At the furniture store. His
wife, Minnie, was a business woman from way back. She continued to be
after they were married for years.

Ok. What about the little bureau over the chest.

S: I bought that at the same time.

Ok, and then there's a little round 1/2 tables, similar to the 1 in the living
room. Are they part of that set?

S: Yes. Yes.

They were bought in Oklahoma?

S: Yes.

That cane collection. Yea.

S: This belongs to Caroline Ferguson. That's the 1 I'm using now you see,
it's adjustable. I went to see Tom Moore the other day and he was showing
me how to do it. Ant this Martha gave me 2 Christmases ago. They bought
it 25 years ago in Mexico City.

Looks like that.

S: And I was using it, and some of the boys, heavy boys, did it, it's old
you see, and they broke it, so they knew how to fix it up.

It looks good. What about this tiny chair and table by the window?

S: Oh, I want to tell you about that. This 1 was made by my husband.
He was head of a camp for boys

Hiking.

S: Yea. He carved that. I have 3 or 4 in the study we didn't see. This
I want you to see.







Matheson Interview
Page 21


S: It was cow hide. And the cow hide was working out, and they bought
it from the They had it somewhere.

Who did the caning?

S: Mr. Ottie. He's dead now. But he was doing the cane.

Special type of cane, I've never seen it before.

S: He thought it was nearer the hide.

IT's very nice. That was Chris' chair, so goes way back in the family.

S: Yes.

What about this little, another one

S: That was Chris', bought from Kib. Chris' in the hall.

Ok. What about the andirons. They significant?

S: We used those in N. Carolina and we had them in the living room I
guess. Yea, before we got the brass ones.

Is there any furniture upstairs that's part of the original furniture or
anything? Just stuff from students basically.

S: I don't believe there's anything up there.

Ok.

S: There is another hanging in the hall.

Right, but no old furniture.

S: No.

What about this flower picture?

S: Mrs. Warren knew that Chris loved magnolias.