Ohio History Journal

STORY OF AN OLD DUTCH CHEST

BY C. S. VAN TASSEL.

The ordinary student of the world's history knows

more or less of the story of the Spanish Armada--

how that majestic maritime wonder of the sixteenth

century sailed from Corunna, in July, in the year 1588,

in all its splendor and heralded invincibility, intent upon

crushing the English Dynasty and changing the map of

Europe. Instead of success, however, the great fleet

met with almost annihilation, only a bleeding and sadly

battered remnant returning to Spain again, after a

campaign of some two months' duration.

Of one hundred and thirty-four ships which put to

sea so majestically, only fifty-three succeeded in reach-

ing home shores. Of the thirty thousand men, the pride

of all Spain, who sailed with the Armada, only about

ten thousand ever saw their native land again.

And there is entwined with this great world event

another story which brings it down through the cen-

turies and combines with it a vivid local color; a story

of interest to all Ohio, which centers around a promi-

nent Toledoan, Mr. Walter J. Sherman.

To go back, even before the disaster to this great

Spanish fleet, there was in the Netherlands, during a

period of the sixteenth century, an era of expert carving

and wood-working. There were, among the Dutch,

masters in the art of fashioning elaborate chests and

beautiful cabinets, equal in design to those of other

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102      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications countries, famed in years gone by for their priceless handiwork. History also recites that before the time of the Ar- mada, when Spain invaded the land of the Dutch, the Spaniards considered the whole wealth of the Nether-

lands their lawful prey; that they carried off much precious booty, including art and treasure. And here is where the Sherman family steps into the story with tradition handed down from generation to generation, until it has reached Mr. Sherman. While it is tradition

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Story of an Old Dutch Chest      103

only, at some points all the facts harmonize therewith

so completely that they verify it as truth.

When the Spanish Armada sailed out of Corunna

on its momentous mission, two of the ships carried

with them, for the use of their officers, two of the finest

of the Dutch chests acquired in this Spanish invasion

of the Netherlands. There may have been aboard more

of these valuable prizes, no one now knows, but there

were at least two of them.

When the great disaster overtook the invaders

through the attack of the comparatively insignificant

English fleet, aided by the unprecedented storms at sea,

the Spanish wrecks were strewn for hundreds of miles

along the coasts of England, Scotland, Norway and

Ireland. Nearly a hundred ships from the pompous

fleet, which had claimed the dominion of the seas, were

awash upon the rocky coasts.

These ships, naturally, were salvaged by the English

and amongst the valuables saved, were these two Dutch

chests, thereafter known as the "Armada Chests." One

of these two chests came into the hands of Col. William

Willoughby, an official in the British Naval Department,

who had command of the Port of Portsmouth, and of

whom Walter J. Sherman is a lineal descendant. Colonel

Willoughby had been connected with the British Ad-

miralty for years, first as Purveyor, then as Colonel of

the City of London and finally as Commissioner of the

Navy, stationed at Portsmouth. Dismantled and sal-

vaged ships and their contents would, therefore, come

under his control.

Colonel Willoughby died in 1651. His son, Sir

Francis Willoughby, came to America and, 1655-1671,

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104      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

was deputy to the Governor of Massachusetts. Upon

the death of his mother, 1662, this chest and its family

treasure contents fell to Sir Francis. From him the

chest passed to his daughter, Susanna, who married

Nathaniel Lynde, who took it to Saybrook, Connecticut,

about 1683. The daughter, Sarah Lynde Raymond,

removed it to Montville, Connecticut, about 1730, and

coming down the years, Theodore Raymond transferred

it to his residence, at Norwich, Connecticut, about 1860.

Finally, it was taken to the Wadsworth Atheneum, at

Hartford, Connecticut, by the Curator of Colonial Arts,

Mr. William B. Goodwin, about 1924, where it has

probably found its last resting place. All these years it

has been known as the "Armada Chest."

This priceless antique is six feet, four inches in

length, two feet, six and one-half inches high and two

feet, three inches wide. It is most beautifully carved on

the front and on the under side of the lid with lions

courant, stately ladies and gentlemen, turreted castles

and spires. The general effect is Dutch.

At the Lambeth Palace, London, the seat of the

Archbishop of Canterbury, is the other (or another)

Dutch chest which also has always been known as the

"Armada Chest." How or when it found lodging in

the palace is not known.

The palace is situated near one of the old "hithers"

or landing places of the Thames. It came into posses-

sion of the Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1179. The

oldest part of the present building, including the chapel

in the Early English Style, was built by Archbishop

Boniface--1244-1270. The Lollard's Tower, in which

the Lollards were tortured and the Earl of Essex was

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Story of an Old Dutch Chest      105

imprisoned, was built in 1434, and the great hall in

1663. The occupied portion was built in 1828-1848.

The adjoining Church of St. Mary's, the oldest part of

which dates from the fourteenth century, contains the

tombs of several Archbishops, as does the palace chapel.

The chest, located in the library of the palace, was

inspected by Professor and Mrs. E. E. Salsbury, in

1885, and is mentioned by them in their book, entitled

Family Histories and Genealogies. When Mr. and

Mrs. W. J. Sherman were in Europe in the fall of 1927,

they also inspected the chest. The curator of the palace

called it the "Armada Chest," but the records there

throw no light upon when it was added to the palace

treasures, and tell nothing of its origin. Unquestion-

ably, it is of the same period, and was designed by the

same school of Dutch artists or wood-workers as the

American-owned chest. The size is nearly the same

and it has many characteristics in common with the

prize brought over by Sir Francis Willoughby.

Another interesting story is connected with the con-

tents of the American-owned chest, brought to Boston

in 1662, which have been distributed among various

family descendants. Mr. Sherman's allotment was a

so-called "Queen Elizabeth Table-Cloth," which he now

possesses. The texture of the cloth is of the finest dam-

ask, ornamented with the "Tudor Padlock," the arms

which belonged to the family of Princess Elizabeth. It

was embroidered by her when she was a prisoner at

Woodstock Palace and at Hatfield, in 1555. At this

time a kinsman and an earlier Sir Francis Willoughby,

whom later Elizabeth, as Queen, knighted, was Lord-

in-Waiting to the Princess, his sister, Margaret, being

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106      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications Lady-in-Waiting. The table-cloth is 53 inches long and 44 inches wide. It was presented by Elizabeth, when Queen, either to this Sir Francis or to his sister. It was handed down through the Willoughbys to Susanne Willoughby Lynde, and ultimately reached Mr. Sher- man in the course of his family's lineal descent.

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