John Nichols White: Woodstock Painter & Chair Maker

By Jennie Shurtleff

In the Woodstock area, John Nichols White was a well-known 19th-century chair maker. His father, Francis White, was also a chair maker who had moved from Groton, Massachusetts, to Hartland, Vermont, about 1790. John was born thirteen years later in 1803.  It is likely that John was apprenticed to his father and that he worked in Francis’s shop, which was located in the Happy Valley area near Taftsville, a hamlet of Woodstock.

Detail of Beers map of Woodstock, showing the hamlet of Taftsville adjacent to the town of Hartland.

19th-century view of 37 Central Street, where 37 Central Street Clothiers is now located.

Around 1838, John moved to the village of Woodstock and opened his own chair-making business. Janet Houghton and Corwin Sharp, authors of Made in Woodstock: Furniture in the Collection of the Woodstock Historical Society, describe the shop as being located “in the same building on Central Street which housed Jacob Fisher’s cabinet shop.” Elsewhere they describe the location of Jacob Fisher’s shop as 37 Central Street.

Since his shop was located on Central Street, it is not surprising that John N. White purchased a home nearby on High Street. Interestingly, his home, 8 High Street, was built by Thomas McLaughlin, a fellow furniture maker who had first apprenticed and then later partnered with Jacob Fisher at 37 Central Street.

Detail from the 1856 Doton map showing the locations of John White’s two properties on High Street.

The above present-day photo shows both 6 High Street (buff-colored house) and 8 High Street (brick house), two of the properties owned by John N. White.

In the early 1840s, John White advertised frequently in local newspapers, describing himself as a “House Painter and Chairmaker.” In his history of Woodstock, Henry Swan Dana refers to White as simply a “painter.” Historians Janet Houghton and Corwin Sharp theorize that this may be because decorative painting might have been considered a more highly respected craft than making chairs.

Spirit of the Age, August 19, 1842

As for John N. White’s contributions as a chair maker, they might have been largely forgotten if not for N. Grier Parke, who wrote an article about White in 1952. Parke, who was related through marriage to the prominent Williams family of Woodstock, noted that his family had some chairs attributed to White in their possession. In his article, he went on to identify a number of other chairs and benches that he attributed to John N. White. More recent scholars have questioned some of Parke’s attributions, given the absence of maker’s marks on the furniture, citing that it is possible that some of the chairs that he attributed to John N. White were actually made by other craftsmen, including John’s father, Francis.

Crest of a chair attributed to John N. White showing the step-down crest profile. Note: The painting on the back crest appears to have been retouched. Collection of the Woodstock History Center.

 One of the features common to many of the chairs attributed to John N. White is the “step-down” crest along the back of the chair. While many of White’s chairs have this feature, it was a stylistic design that was not unique to White. Further complicating the identification of White’s work is that he appears to have created a range of seating in different styles, including comb-back chairs, rockers, and benches. Also, the size, shape, and bend of the slats and spindles vary from chair to chair as do the measurements and proportions of the plank seats, which were usually somewhat “saddle-shaped.” Two features, according to Parke’s article, that do seem consistent among White’s chairs are that the “legs and rungs were all of the Bamboo type, and the striping was carried all the way round; the majority of his striping was white, although it was sometimes shaded with ochre.”

A chair attributed John N. White showing “bamboo” style rungs and legs. Collection of the Woodstock History Center.

Comb-back rocker attributed to John N. White. This chair is decorated with black and gilt stenciling that may be original.

Many of the chairs made by White had decorated crests. In an article entitled “John White, Woodstock’s Chairmaker,” Ellison and Frank Lieberman, founders and proprietors of Gallery 2, note that “White had a good sense of design and a flair for long curving brush strokes, combined with shell or floral motifs.” Others who have researched White’s designs have noted that beneath painted designs were traces of gold powder that was used in the stenciling process. One obvious possibility is that White might have first stenciled on his designs and then later used a brush to paint over and enhance the designs.

Above: Windsor “step down” chair made by John N. White. This chair has the step-down crest, raked spindle back, and plank seat outlined with scoring. It is painted black with gold striping, and possibly has the original stencil decoration on the back crest.

While there is a great deal of variation in the work that has been attributed to White, there appears to be something unique and easily identifiable about his designs to those who were very familiar with them. Case in point, Parke relates a story about how his wife’s grandfather, the noted railway superintendent E.H. Williams, had spotted some of White’s chairs out west during the winter of 1851/1852. According to Parke, Williams was traveling through a remote area with the Engineer Corps that was building a railway, and he had become separated from the rest of his group. It was getting dark, and a storm was approaching. “He was rejoiced to see a light in an isolated cabin, with the promise of much needed shelter. He reached the cabin only to find that the woman and her children were alone and, through fear of Indians and Renegade Whites, she would open to no stranger. This she told him through a small opening in the door. ‘How can we be strangers,’ he said, ‘when I see you using John White chairs?’ ” According to the story, she was from Hartland, and thus like Williams had John White chairs in her home. (1)

Edward H. Williams, portrait by John Nelson Marble. Williams grew up in Woodstock and was clearly well acquainted with John White’s chairs and able to identify one at a glance.

 For as well known as White’s work appears to have been, White’s passing seems not to have elicited a great deal of attention in the newspapers when he passed away in 1865 at the age of 62, of typhoid fever. The only mention of his passing was a brief death notice.

John N. White’s death notice.

John N. White was buried in the River Street Cemetery, along with his wife Mary Phillips White, who passed away five years later. In addition to John and Mary White, John’s father – Francis White – was also buried in this plot along with at least one other woman, an Elizabeth L. White (1786-1872), who was undoubtedly related.

Like many others in the 19th century who seemed to enjoy buying and selling land in a real-life game of Monopoly, John had purchased a great deal of property in his life time. However, by the time of his death, most of it was longer in his possession. In fact, his estate was relatively small, with the most valuable item of personal property being his chest of tools, which according to author Mary Grace Canfield was appraised at $20. (2)

Perhaps even more interesting than the possessions he left behind is the information gleaned from an article written by Mary Grace Canfield and published in the January 13, 1944, Vermont Standard. That particular article contains stories from people who knew John N. White, including John Eaton and master blacksmith Oscar Farwell.

According to Canfield, John Eaton told her that John White was “short in stature and fat. He did not believe in war, consequently the period of the war between the states was a difficult time for him. He employed some workmen. Mr. Eaton told me [Mary Grace Canfield] the story of one of his workmen who lost a finger by too close contact with the buzz saw. John described the accident to a friend and vigorously declaimed against such carelessness while waving his hand at the saw – when with a bit of emphatic profanity he said, ‘There goes my finger.’” (3)

Oscar Farwell, a fellow artisan, years later had his blacksmith shop on Mechanic Street, near where John White’s shop had been. Oscar remembered firsthand the burning of Woodstock’s second court house in 1854, when he was a child, and how John White tried to help put it out. According to the story told by Mary Grace Canfield, “Oscar Farwell and a couple of other boys were swimming [in] back of Asa Jones’ house, which is the long, low house on the upper end of River Street, on July 4, 1854, when a signal of fire was given. The beautiful courthouse located just east of the south end of the middle bridge was burning. Mr. Farwell said ‘We boys ran down the street, pulling on our trousers as we ran to get to the fire.’ In the river stood John White with a small pump, trying to force water onto the building without avail. The building was consumed. A big celebration that day out south had left this village bereft of men. John White and Asa Jones were the only men, and the few small boys were the only creatures of the male persuasion left here.” (4)

Early 1850s view of the second court house on the Green, before it burned 1854. The court house is the tall building in the center of the photo with a belfry.

While it would be great to have a photograph of John N. White, or personal correspondence, or design sketches of his work, we are grateful to historians such as Mary Grace Canfield for taking the time to listen to stories and record them for posterity, thereby helping us to understand Woodstock and the people who helped to make it a vital community in the 19th century.

Notes:

(1) Parke, N. Grier. “John White, Chairmaker and Decorator,” The Decorator, 6:1 (1952), p. 169.

(2) Canfield, Mary Grace. Vermont Standard, Jan 13, 1944, Page 6.

(3) Ibid.

(4) Ibid.