Winchester/Kernstown area, Shenandoah Valley, late 18th century, original red, white and blue paint decoration, the front featuring a Hessian soldier holding a sword and a glass(?) flanked by initials "NK" thought to be for Nicholas Kern of Kernstown, Virginia; distinctive block stamped and painted decoration with urns of flowers, columns, and other devices, poplar and yellow pine, dovetailed and wooden pin construction, original iron strap hinges and lock, interior with lidded till, 28 x 49-1/2 x 24 in.

Provenance: Thought to have descended in the Kerns family and then the Beemer family; by the 1990s, with a Beemer family descendant in Stephens City; sold Headley Auctions, Frederick County, Virginia, c. 1995; Collection of Marshall Goodman, Richmond, Virginia; Collection of Dr. James Harkrader, Richmond, Virginia

Note: This exceptional chest is one of a small group of related examples with history in the upper Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Others from the group include two in the MESDA research files (S-11543 and S-11191), and another example sold at Jeffrey S. Evans Auctions, March 23, 2007 lot 237. These, and another in a private collection, share related paint motifs and retrieval histories in the upper Valley.

When this chest surfaced and was consigned for sale in the 1990s, the owner indicated that it had descended in the Kern family. The NK initials are likely those of Nicholas Kern, part of the Kern (or Karn or Karnes) family that founded Kernstown, Virginia. Abraham and Catherine Kern emigrated to Pennsylvania from Germany. Their son Adam Kern, Sr. (1742-1799) emigrated with them and married in York County Pennsylvania in 1766. Soon after, he migrated from York County to Frederick County, Virginia, where his first son Nicholas was born (b. 1768, m.1778?, d. 1843). The town of Kernstown, just south of Winchester, was named for Nicholas' brother, Adam Kern, Jr. (1773-1855). Michael Kern, brother of Adam, Sr., also settled in the area. The related chest that sold in 2007 also had a history in the Kern family, and was reportedly owned by Nathaniel Kern of New Market and later Kernstown. For more on the complex genealogy of the early Kern family in Virginia, see https://www.phillipsplace.net/genealogy/ps04/ps04_066.html and Regel, Bessie Belle Kern, Descendants of Adam Kern, 1731-1975, (unpublished genealogical material), about 1975, (Film 928062 Item 4 Family History Library) https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/131564-descendants-of-adam-kern-1731-1975).

If this chest was made for Nicholas, it may well have been made around the time of his marriage (thought to be in 1788), just after the end of the Revolutionary War. During the war, thousands of Hessian soldiers were taken prisoner. The Hessian Barracks at Winchester, Virginia, and others in nearby Frederick, Maryland, and the surrounding countryside, became detention centers for thousands of these prisoners of war from 1776 to 1783. Among those interred were soldiers from the large contingent of German Auxiliary taken captive after the Battle of Yorktown in the fall of 1781. Many of these POWs defected and ended up joining the Germanic communities in the area. The soldier that is featured on this chest appears to be a reference to that history, and further research may uncover connections between the Kern family and these Revolutionary War soldiers. The soldier is depicted holding a sword in one hand and what appears to be a glass in the other, possibly in celebration. Four of the Kern brothers served in the Revolutionary War- Adam, William, Henry and Nicholas. (see Bessie Belle Kern, p.5-6).

Adam Kern Sr. was a blacksmith, and his son Nicholas learned that trade from his father (the MESDA craftsman index records both generations, with Adam active 1765-1809 and Nicholas 1802-1820). The original iron strap hinges of this chest may well have been forged in the Kern's smithy. Other Kern relatives were also craftsmen, with Michael Kern and George Kern both listed as painters and chair makers in nearby Martinsburg, among others.

The Kern family's early connection to York County, Pennsylvania, may help explain the painted “column and star-flower” motifs of this chest, as they relate to documented Pennsylvania examples, including those from Center and Lebanon counties, and to this example in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art:

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/3400

The chest surfaced at Headley's auction in Virginia in the 1990s, consigned by a Beemer family descendant who indicated it originated in the Kern family. The auction referenced Nimrod Kern as the possible first owner, though it seems more likely to have been Nicholas, given Nimrod's life dates (1811-1895). Nimrod was the grandson of Adam Kern, son of Adam Kern, Jr.