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MARY E. SLOAN'S MAPLE TABLE |
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It is a small table that has traveled through the hands of five generations. It was built for Mary E. Sloan Hall, later Brown, then passed on to her daughter Alzina Hall Dawson, then to her daughter, Lula Dawson Bliley, next to her daughter Josephine Bliley Oldham, and finally to Josephine's niece Jean Marie Bliley Everberg. In July 1974, Jean Marie Bliley Everberg was given a small table shown below. It stands about 36 inches high, is approximately 22 inches wide and 18 inches deep. The color light honey brown common in American Maple wood. Shown below are four photos of the table in the Year 2000 in her home in East Hampstead, New Hampshire. The knobs are not the originals, which are believed to be plain white-porcelain ball types with brass hardware. (NOTE: Click on any photo on this page to view a high-resolution (144 dpi) version of the image. Average size is 130 kb and may take up to a minute to download.) |
 Mary E. Sloan Hall |
Front View of Table Front-Right View of Table Front-Top View of Table Left Side View of Table
Within the table drawer was a small envelope (5-1/2 X 3-1/2 inches) thumbtacked to the bottom of the drawer. It contained a small linen card (3-1/4 X 5-1/4) and a photo of Mary Elizabeth Sloan, the women who first owned the table. Lula E. Dawson Bliley, the grand daughter of Lula Dawson, signed the envelope. The note is written to Lula's daughter Josephine Bliley Oldham. There was a second note, apparently created later by someone else to elaborate on the lineage of the family members. All of these items follow in this document.
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"History of this table
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"The Maple tree
from which this table was made was grown on the farm of great
grandfather Sloan near Rimersburg, Penn. He was the father of
Mary Elizabeth Sloan afterward Hall, mother of Alzina Hall my
mother. (Signed) Lula Dawson Bliley" |
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"In her later
years grandmother was the wife of Chas. Brown brother of Theo.
Brown auditor of the Allegheny R. R. was associated with him
in that office. My great grandfather - his father - was Levi
Sloan, who is buried at Brookville, Penn. (Signed) Lula Dawson Bliley" |
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"Mary Elizabeth Sloan Hall Josephine Bliley Oldham's Raised in the Beech Creek Valley
near Williamsport, PA. Had 3 Hall children - Had 1 Brown son" |
Below is a photo of Mary
Elizabeth Sloan, whom we believe to be the original owner of the
table.
She appears to be in her late 30s or early 40s. This photo was
included in the envelope
thumbtacked to the table drawer.
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Caption on Back of Photo "Mary Elizabeth Sloan Afterward Chas Brown Josephine's great grandmother on NOTE: The "Josephine"
is Lula Dawson Bliley's daughter. |
In Lula Dawson Bliley's personal family album (circa 1930), there are several photos of Mary E. Sloan. Below is one of them as a much younger woman that the one from the table. Several photos of Mary can be found in Lula's album on Page 14.
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Caption from Lula's Album: "Mary Elizabeth Sloan Hall
following the death of her husband , |
 Children's Rocker |
Here is a mystery. To the left is a small children's rocker that I believe was made by the same person that made the maple table. The vintage, wood color, and craftsmanship are the same as the table. Clearly, it is not a factory-made chair. It could have been made from scraps of wood left over from the table project. There are some teasing similarities in the grain of the wood, but nothing that matches perfectly. This chair was used in the home of Frank Dawson and Isabelle Marie Bliley on Arlington Road in Erie, Pennsylvania between 1940 and 1996. In fact, Jean Marie Bliley Everberg, the current owner of the chair and the maple table, often used it. All of the grandchildren also enjoyed the rocker. Jean has a strong recollection that she was told that it was the property of our grandmother, Lula Dawson Bliley, who used it as a child. Lula is the grand daughter of Mary Sloan. That would mean that four generations have used the chair and it is still in one piece! What do you think are its likely origins? Dimensions
Click on the photo to the right for a larger view. (103 kb) |
Graphics scanned and material written by:
Charles A. Bliley, Rochester, New York March 25, 2000
