Joseph Steward (1753 - 1822)

Col. Chester holds a receipt and sits in front of his law library. Mrs. Huntington Chester holds a copy of Elegant Extracts, one of two similarly titled anthologies (one of poetry and one of prose) published in London in 1794 and 1796. Behind her, visible through the window, are likely the Connecticut River and the city of Hartford.

Col. John Chester and Elizabeth Huntington Chester;
Mary Chester Wells (1779-1836), daughter;
William Henry Wells (1811-1891), son;
Julia Chester Wells (1856-1924), daughter;
Grace Huntington Wells Strong Brown (b. 1871), great niece;
Manhattan Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (on display in the Morris-Jumel Mansion for more than a half century).

Both lined with replaced stretchers. The man has scattered inpainting, including on his proper left cheek, and three repairs (at his waist, to the left of the head, and one partially affecting his proper right cheek). The woman has scattered minor inpainting, largely to the background, but with one small spot on her proper left cheek, minor corner tear repaired on the wall to the left of the head. Replaced frame: 50 by 44 inches. His frame has gesso loss in the upper right.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

John Chester (1749-1809) was born in Wethersfield and graduated From Yale College in 1766. He received a commission in the local militia in 1771 and the next year, began serving in the General Assembly. He was an active participant in the American Revolution, being one of the responders to the Lexington Alarm in April of 1775, although he and his men arrived after the battle. He saw action at the Siege of Boston, the Battle of Long Island, there as a colonel under General George Washington, and at Trenton and White Plains. He then retired from military service and returned to Connecticut, the law, and his wife, Elizabeth Huntington (1757-1834). He rose through the ranks of the General Assembly to Speaker of the House, and he served as a Justice of the Peace and a judge in the Hartford County Court.

Chester likely met the Reverend Steward shortly after the latter’s arrival in Hartford in 1796. Steward was appointed deacon of the First Church of Hartford. That same year, the self-taught portraitist was given the use of a room at the newly constructed Connecticut State House as a studio and gallery. He later added other works, as well as curiosities to his gallery.