Cardiff family heirloom with a revolutionary American past
A FORK which was a gift from America’s first president George Washington 240 years ago is being sold by a Cardiff family.
The toasting fork, which is tipped with a silver pommel bearing the inscription “A Present from the New Country from G.W. 1776”, is being put up for auction for £20,000.
The fork was given to Captain Fenner Palmer, of the New York Militia, which fought against the British during the American War of Independence.
Bearing the Washington coat of arms, the 60cm-long fork has been handed down the generations to Jamie Vanns, of Cardiff, his greatgrandson five times removed.
M r Vanns is putting the fork up for auction.
Fenner Palmer was captain of the fifth company of the 1 4 t h Regiment which formed part of the Continental Army, led by Commander-in-Chief General Washington. The fork is engraved with the year in which the US Declaration of Independence was signed and has an antelope horn handle. Mr Vanns, 66, a sculptor Jamie from Ely, recalls the fork belonging to his great-aunt Olivia, the sister of his grandmother who was the granddaughter of New York judge Oliver Hazard Palmer. Mr Palmer was the great-grandson of Captain Fenner Palmer and died in New York City of pneumonia in 1884, aged 71.
He was colonel in command of the 108th New York Infantry for the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, the first major battle of the American Civil War.
Mr Vanns said: “I inherited the fork from my great-aunt Olivia.
“I was given a whole chest of things and kept the fork, with such an elegant and fascinating inscription on the pommel, safe in a cupboard for many years.
“But now I feel it is time to pass it on to someone who will appreciate its message.”
Auctioneer Ben Rogers Jones, who is selling the fork at auction next week, said: “I’ve never before handled such a historic item.
“It bears an inscription from one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.”