By Sharon McDonald, Sandra L. Duffy, and Kara Kerwin
Last spring, the Society received a phone call from Charles W. Dolan, a descendant of Bedford’s Fitch/Jenks family who lived in Laramie, Wyoming. He explained that he was moving out of state and wished to send us a piece of furniture that had been in his family for more than a century. It needed to come back to Bedford, he said, for it had once stood for years in the Fitch Tavern—one of the most historic houses in Bedford. It was the gathering place of the Bedford Minutemen on April 19, 1775.
From the photographs Mr. Dolan sent, we could see that the item was a beautiful Sheraton-style secretary desk, with three drawers below a hinged writing platform. Above, a glass-doored cabinet sheltered lots of little drawers and cubbies.
What was its provenance? One of the photographs he sent was taken by noted photographer Wallace Nutting around 1914. It pictured Charles’ grandmother, Gertrude (Oak) Jenks, sitting to the left of a fireplace; the secretary desk stood prominently to the right. When we consulted Stephanie Keep, who currently lives in the Fitch Tavern, she affirmed that, yes, the photo shows her very office today.
We were thrilled—and then immediately dismayed. The secretary is huge! How would we get it from Wyoming to Bedford? But Mr. Dolan assured us he would have it securely crated—along with its contents—and transported to us if we would cover the shipping cost. Of course, this was an enormous sum, but the Society’s Board of Directors believed it was well worth the expense. We eagerly waited for the delivery.
It was August when the moving van pulled into our parking lot. Happily, the desk separates into two pieces—upper and lower—and the glass cabinet doors had been taken off and wrapped. Its contents, securely packed, filled two large boxes. It was all taken off the pallet and brought into the museum with surprisingly little fuss. The shipment had suffered absolutely no damage during its trip from Wyoming.
Then came the reassembly! It took some muscle to lift the upper cabinet piece onto the lower drawers! The screws to the glass doors were all there and responded nicely to a screwdriver.
Opening the boxes was like unwrapping every birthday present we’d ever received! Among the treasures were two handsome nineteenth-century wind-up clocks, crystal glasses, a pewter pitcher, and several daguerreotype photographs. Even the little drawers held a multitude of trinkets, including many rare and fascinating sewing notions.
Now settled in his new home, Mr. Dolan is now inventorying the Fitch and Jenks family papers, which were also in the secretary desk and are part of his donation. The first batch has already arrived— a treasure trove of early 19th-century documents. We hope to tell you about them in a later issue of the Preservationist. In the meantime, don’t wait! Come visit our museum and see the wondrous new acquisition!
This extraordinary gift was given in honor of Mr. Dolan’s grandparents, Charles F. and Gertrude O. Jenks, and especially in recognition of Gertrude’s devotion to preserving the family’s history and the contents of the secretary. The desk, along with the many treasures it held, owes its preservation to her care and dedication.
We are deeply grateful to Charles and Mary Dolan for ensuring that the Jenks Secretary and its contents have found their way home to Bedford—and for entrusting the Society with such a meaningful piece of Bedford’s past.
All photos by Jan van Steenwijk
