Rediscovering Samuel White

It is not unusual for a museum or historical society to lose track of a object in the collection for years or even decades. That is what happened to the Buttonwoods Museum in Haverhill, Massachusetts, until recently when the scarlet cloak of Samuel White was rediscovered. 

The accession record for the cloak reads, “Scarlet riding cape worn by Hon. Wm. [Squire Samuel – penciled in] White who lived at White’s Corner, Main Street; this Mr. White, so folk lore says, was a six feet tall man, rode on a white horse, wore a wig and black cocked hat, and made a striking figure as he rode through the village.” In 1889, these "articles of dress" were owned by Samuel's great grandson, James Davis White. They were later donated to the Buttonwoods Museum but the cloak had not been seen by any living staff until it was discovered safe and sound in 2013.

The cloak is hand-stitched of red wool broadcloth. It closed at the neck with one button and tied with a brown braided-silk cord. Nine additional buttons, in three sets of three, run down the front. Only the top two buttonholes functioned, and they closed in the opposite direction of the very top button. All of the buttons, of which six remain wholly or partially intact, are made of wood and wrapped decoratively with wool thread. 

The cloak has an inner collar of two layers that closed with three missing buttons and has a slight peak at the back. The lower collar is made of a single layer of wool with a plain seam on the underside. The presence of this seam, as well as the fine finishing on the entire inner collar, suggest that neither of these collars was originally a hood. The cloak was in fair condition with minor insect damage and soiling from wear and display, most notably on the shoulders and collar.

A thorough treatment of the White genealogy can be found in “The Descendants of William White of Haverhill, Mass.” written by the Hon. Daniel Appleton White in 1862. The Samuel White Esq. mentioned in the accession note lived from 1765-1801. He is the great, great, grandson of William White, one of Haverhill’s first settlers. Samuel was a “prominent and patriotic citizen” whose name is on a plaque on the bell that once hung in the First Baptist Meeting House, later moved the Baptist Meeting House in Plaistow, NH. He is immortalized in Annie Frances Richard’s notes to the second edition of the book as follows: "It is said that 'Squire White possessed great personal attractions, and was a conspicuous figure as he rode about the town on his fine horse, in his "wig and red cloak." 

Napoleon Crossing the Alps, 1801. By Jacques-Louis David. Napoleon is wearing a red cloak and cocked hat on his white horse.

In 1744, Merrimack Street was divided into large lots including Lot Number One at the corner of Merrimack and Main Streets. A Samuel White, Esquire, acquired the land and built a house for himself and his bride, Sarah Brown. The Whites lived at White's Corner until April 16, 1775, when a great fire destroyed their home and 16 other buildings on the west side of Main Street. Three days after the fire, on April 19, 1775, Haverhill's Minutemen gathered before marching to the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Historic post card of the trolley lines at White's Corner in Haverhill, Massachusetts.

Conservation of Samuel White's cloak consisted of surface cleaning followed by wetcleaning. Because costume historian Henry Cook determined that the thread holding the buttons to the cloak is original, the buttons were encased in protective netting before treatment. The Buttonwoods Museum staff will hope to restore and replicate the buttons before the cloak is eventually exhibited.

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Camille Myers Breeze founded Museum Textile services in 1999. She is a prolific author, and educator of museum personnel and emerging conservation professionals in the US and abroad.