William James Knapp's Violin, c. 19th Century

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Date

violin c. 19th c., case c. late 18th c

Description

Violin played by William James Knapp. The violin was stored in a case, where there are also loose pieces for the violin and a tag created by Emily Rankin (the last person who lived at Cherry Hill). "Knapp" is written in pencil on a loose tailpiece. William James Knapp was the great-grandchild of Dinah Jackson, the last person who was enslaved at Cherry Hill. After his mother died in 1854, James became a ward in Richard Van Rensselaer’s household. They lived on State Street in Albany, N.Y. James worked as a butler for the family. Throughout his life, James also worked as a musician, a sales clerk at Hideley’s Music Store, a hospital porter and a nurse. James lived at Cherry Hill for about sixteen months between 1880 and 1884. James played the violin, piano, flute, and more instruments. Kilian K. Van Rensselaer's brand-- "KKVR"-- was put on the bottom of the case. Kilian K. Van Rensselaer was Philip Van Rensselaer of Cherry Hill's brother. This item was added as part of the Diversity and Collaborative Knowledge Program funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

Type

Artifact

Region

Capital District

Era

Expansion and Reform

Topic

Community

Repository

Historic Cherry Hill

Identifier

1216.1.8

Source

Historic Cherry Hill

Rights

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