Sister Rain’s Note:
This is the sixth story in a series about my search for an ancestor who was a Patriot in the American Revolutionary War. To read the previous posts, click on the following:
“Historical Society Of Pennsylvania“
“The Search Heard Round The World”
“The Son-In-Law Of Liberty”
“This Colonel IsvMy Truth”
“Family Rarelooms“
After the discovery that Colonel Augustine Willett is my 5x great-grandfather, I quickly learned that his pistol, his tavern ledger and his blue uniform coat are at the Mercer Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. I was able to visit with the items in a private viewing, as I wrote about in “Family Rarelooms.”
The coat was donated to the Bucks County Historical Society by a descendant of Augustine’s. He served both during and after the war in the Pennsylvania militia. The style of the coat post-dates the war, the late 1780s-early 1790. The tremendous condition of the coat is impressive to everyone given its age, and professionals who know best are excited by its fantastic current state. Members of Colonial Williamsburg have come to see it, among others. Now here I was.
I gently traced the buttons, I carefully separated an individual strand of the gold epaulet. The coat had a heart sewn on the inside bottom corner on each side of its front opening. I was intrigued by them and wanted a definitive answer as to their significance. There were theories online, but I wanted expert input.
I reached out to a historical costumer in Massachusetts, Henry Cooke. His thoughts:
“I suspect the hearts (a popular motif during this time) are turnback ornaments, that there are also hooks and eyes at the points of the corners of the coat where the hearts are to permit the coattails to be hooked back, as is often seen in portraits and paintings of soldiers and officers. Also, as a reinforcement, hearts with their point fit neatly into the corner of the coattail.”
The Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania provided the following information:
“Hearts were a common motif in many aspects of life during the 18th century. You see the design on everything from coats to wood paneling in houses. Historians are unsure of its exact meaning, but it may be something to signify health, good life, or possibly it was just an attractive design.”
Valley Forge National Historical Park rangers were able to tell me this:
“In the eighteenth century, the heart was a symbol of love and also fidelity. Consequently, George Washington chose a heart as the design for the Badge of Military Merit, as he intended the award for “instances of unusual gallantry . . . extraordinary fidelity and essential service.” The Purple Heart.
The heart was a simple, pleasing shape easily incorporated into all sorts of decorative arts, in all mediums. You also find them on things like sleeve buttons (i.e. eighteenth-century cufflinks). For clothing, hearts were sometimes used to reinforce an area prone to wear and tear.”
Whatever role the heart played in the time period that Augustine was alive, I like to think that this brave young man had a lot of it. When the war against Britain began, he used his own money to form and outfit a company of Pennsylvanians. He obviously felt passionate about his new country and its independence. Two hundred years later, Colonel Augustine Willett’s 5x great-granddaughter uses the tagline, “A Little Sight, A Lot Of Heart.” She can only hope to live up to his example . . . and fill his coat.
To be continued . . .
“Proving My DNA To The DAR”
“Becoming A Daughter In My Fifties”
“My 5x Great-Grandfather Is An Exhibitionist”
“Certifiably Framed”
“Valley Forging Our Bond”
“Over The River And Through The Woods To My 5x Great-Grandfather’s Tavern I Go“
#sisterrain #alittlesightalotofheart #legallyblindwriter #ushistory #genealogy #mercermuseum #colonelaugustinewillett #grandpaauggie #coattales
