A Fraktur Birth Record for Mary Hillier, attributed to the 'New Jersey Artist', Northampton Township, Burlington County, New Jersey, Dated 1788

Live auction begins on:

January 25, 03:00 PM GMT

Estimate

10,000 - 15,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

watercolor and ink on paper

dated 1788

7 ½ in. by 9 ½ in.

inscribed Mary Hillier/ Daughter of John Hillier & Frances his/ Wife was born April 8th ADomini 1777 above a triptych centering the inscription John Hillier & Frances his wife / Was born N(ovember 28th 1778) /And Died ye (1779), flanked by embellished hearts on either side.

The Haines family, California;

Skinner Inc., Boston, Massachusetts, 2005;

Samuel Herrup, Sheffield, Massachusetts, March 23, 2005.

Leslie and Peter Warwick, "The Birth Records of Burlington County, New Jersey," Antiques & Fine Art Magazine, Spring 2010, vol. X, Issue 2, pp. 176-85;

Leslie and Peter Warwick, Love At First Sight: Discovering Stories About Folk Art & Antiques Collected by Two Generations & Three Families, (New Jersey: 2022), p. 209, fig. 369.

Leslie and Peter Warwick collected three of the six rare and early fraktur birth records of the Hillier family from Rancocas, Burlington County, New Jersey by the 'New Jersey Artist'. The Hilliers were Quakers and the patriarch, John, was one of the contributing founders of the Mount Holly Monthly Meeting on Main and Garden Street in Mount Holly, which still stands. Mary and Hannah were married in the Rancocas Monthly Meeting. An early brick house dated 1740 inscribed SGH may be the Hilliers' homestead and is now the American Legion headquarters on Rancocas Road in Mount Holly.

Mary was the oldest child of John Hillier and Frances Haines (1746-1822), who married Joseph Burr of Philadelphia in 1803 and had three children. Her siblings include:

Mary (1777-1854)
John (1778-1779)
Isaac (1780-1806), see lot 54 for his fraktur birth record
Hannah (1782-1830)
Elizabeth (1788-1860), see lot 56 for her fraktur birth record