STILL IN THE FAMILY
by Johanna Roark & Jere Glover
“The Jackson Press or china cupboard,” according to an August 26, 1979, article in The Chattanooga Times, “is a favorite collectors piece in the state of Tennessee…but, if you refer to a Jackson Press in other areas [of the country] you will get a look of puzzlement.” The name Jackson Press is more of a southern term than an actual Southern furniture form. While the name and form were common during Andrew Jackson’s era, the exact origins of the Press remain unknown. However, as early as 1825, a Jackson Press, in the Early Empire style, appeared in an estate inventory from the Hermitage, in Davidson County, where Andrew Jackson lived.
Most Presses consisted of a shaped back splash over a rectangular top above two projecting drawers over cupboard doors set on turned feet. Typically used in dining rooms or kitchens, the Press sometimes had a top section with glazed or blind doors for china. The base had a wooden mechanism consisting of a board threaded with a large wood screw. Linens were placed under the board and pressure applied with the screw to hold them flat or pressed.
In 1985, Reba Shropshire Wilson (past R-CA President, 1960 and 1976), was visiting cousins in Arlington, TX, and saw a beautiful Jackson Press in one of the homes. Upon seeing the Press, Reba asked about it and was thrilled to learn it had belonged to her great grandmother, Martha Palmer Conner. Billy Chambers had built this Press for his wife’s aunt, Martha Palmer Conner. Reba said to her cousin,“You wouldn’t let that furniture get out of the family, would you?” At the time, the cousin was unsure, so Reba asked if she ever decided to part with the Jackson Press that they give her a chance to buy it. A few months later the cousin called to say they would sell it, and Reba bought it. This became one more of the special pieces in Reba’s furniture collection.
In 2001, Reba wrote an article for the R-CA Newsletter entitled. “A Gift For the Future from the Past.” In it she said, “It has been my good fortune to collect four main pieces of beautiful walnut furniture made by an expert and gifted furniture maker, William (Billy) McCullen Chambers, in south Meigs County, Tennessee in the 1830’s – 1840’s.” In addition to the large Jackson Press, from the home of Maximilian Haney Conner and Martha Palmer Conner, Reba described her collection as consisting of:
A four poster, walnut high bed – so high that a trundle bed will go under the bed during the day, and be rolled out at night for children to sleep on. The high bed was put together with heavy rope woven back and forth to hold a feather mattress.
A large walnut blanket chest, with two drawers across the bottom, dovetailed corners, and turned ball feet.
A walnut chest with four large drawers. It has turned columns and walnut knobs.
In September 1952, Reba had been entrusted with the care of this beautiful furniture by her mother Laura Roark Shropshire. In a letter entitled, “History of Furniture,” Laura had written,“This furniture is an heirloom handed down. It was the possession of my grandparents Joseph Roark and wife Juda Carr Roark.” Laura stated that their youngest son William Marion Roark, her father, had inherited the furniture and used it while living at the Roark Homestead on Grasshopper Creek with his wife Virginia Conner Roark. Laura continued,“I become the next heir to the prized suite of furniture,” and she was,“entrusting it into the care of the Fourth Generation, Mrs. Reba Shropshire Wilson.”
In further describing the history of the furniture, Laura explained that Reba had the furniture refinished and the bedstead redone changing it from rope lacing to braces. The original holes for rope lacing were retained. The old pinewood used for the braces had been obtained from the First Presbyterian Church of Chattanooga, TN. Erected in 1883, the Church was being razed.
In the letter entrusting Reba with the furniture, Laura wrote, “I will that this suite of furniture ever remain in my family for each and all to share in reverent memory, and that the present generation determine the caretaker most capable next to be caretaker of it as heirloom but never as owner.” In 2003, the Shropshire family arranged to donate the furniture to the East Tennessee Historical Society Museum in Knoxville, TN. They had determined this would ensure the best care, preservation, and display of the furniture for future generations. The donation was made in honor of their mother Laura Roark Shropshire, who was a prime leader in finding and preserving family and area history and in appreciation of her pioneer family leadership. That should have been the end of a beautiful story! Knoxville, TN. They had determined this would ensure the best care, preservation, and display of the furniture for future generations. The donation was made in honor of their mother Laura Roark Shropshire, who was a prime leader in finding and preserving family and area history and in appreciation of her pioneer family leadership. That should have been the end of a beautiful story!
However, in about 2008, the Museum notified Reba’s family that they were changing their displays and intended to sell the furniture. Fortunately, the family had a provision in the donation agreement requiring the furniture be kept on display, and they were notified prior to the sale. The family tried unsuccessfully to locate another museum to display the furniture. Obviously remembering Laura Shropshire’s wishes, “…that this suite of furniture ever remain in my family for each and all to share in reverent memory,” and Reba Wilson’s sentiments upon seeing the Jackson Press, “You wouldn’t let that furniture get out of the family, would you?” they had the Museum return the furniture. In keeping with her ancestor’s wishes, the furniture has been entrusted into the care of the Fifth Generation, Juleanna Ruth Glover, Laura Shropshire’s great granddaughter. She resides with her husband and three children in Washington, DC, and is currently the proud caretaker of the prized suite of furniture.