KENTUCKY LATE FEDERAL CHERRY CHEST OF DRAWERS, rectangular two-board top with finely molded edge, over four graduated drawers, each with scratch-beaded edge, all flanked by channel-molded stiles, paneled ends, raised on modified baluster-turned feet. Poplar secondary wood. Old refinished surface with mellow color. Circa 1820. 42 1/4" H, 43" W, 19 1/2" D.
Very good overall condition with minor wear. Brasses replaced.
Property of Virginia Baskett Leach and the late Maurice Derby Leach, Jr., Lexington, VA.
Catalogue Note: This chest of drawers descended in the Cowan family of central Kentucky. Captain John Cowan (1748-1819) was an early explorer, settler, and developer of the state. Likely born in Augusta Co., VA, Cowan married Mary Craig (1748-1837), the daughter of Captain John Craig (1718-1802) and Sarah Laird of Rockingham Co., VA, on September 14, 1781 near Harrisonburg, VA. Captain Craig was also an early Kentucky settler who eventually took up residence in Lincoln Co., KY. In fact, the Craig's residence on Gilbert's Creek is noted on John Filson's famed 1784 map of Kentucky produced nearly eight years before statehood. John Cowan's family ultimately settled in Danville, a growing town situated in Boyle Co. just northwest of the Craigs in Lincoln Co. Both the Cowans and the Craigs were important families in the early history of Kentucky, and they maintained close ties through marriage, business, and other matters. While the bulk of the material from the Leach estate, such as this chest of drawers, descended through the Cowan family, several items in the group are known to have originated with the Craigs.

Very good overall condition with minor wear. Brasses replaced.