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Table of Contents > War of 1812 > Lot 144 |
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Browse the Auction in Groups of 25 Lots: |
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Lot Number: 144
Click for a Printable PageSign-in to Bid or Register to Bid Estimate Range: $8,000 - $10,000 |
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Decorative Embroidered Waist Coat of John Floyd, Sr. (1783-1837) 25th Governor of Virginia, Father of John Buchanan Floyd (1806-1863), also a Governor of Virginia and the Secretary of War under President James Buchanan |
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John Floyd (April 24, 1783 - August 17, 1837) was an American politician and military officer. He represented Virginia in the United States House of Representatives and later served as the 25th Governor of Virginia, his fine quality Decorative Embroidered Waist Coat, Fine or better. This impressive early American Embroidered Waist Coat remains in nice whole condition with its ornate Buttons intact, having a used appearance with wear, yet worthy of Museum Display, such as it has been presented for many years with our consignor, being de-accessioned by a prominent major history museum in Virginia. The shirt currently shown accompanying this Waist Coat is of Civil War vintage, (not original to John Floyd, Sr.) and is presented as when museum displayed for a more complete presentation., being sold with the Waist Coat. Please view our images of this item of clothing and its buttons for its design and quality. *Note: The museum information provided and attribution is based on their original acquisition, Early American has no additional direct provenance available, yet we have no reason to doubt its accuracy, and is offered and sold as such.John Floyd, Sr. was Governor of Virginia from 1830-1834, and was born in Floyds Station, Virginia (near present-day Louisville, KY). His cousin Charles Floyd was the only member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition to die. He suffered a lung illness in his youth, and was placed under the care of famed physician Benjamin Rush in Philadelphia. He began his medical studies there, and was later appointed surgeon of Lt. Col. James McDowell’s Flying Camp in 1813. In 1814 Floyd began his political career, serving as a Member of the Virginia House of Delegates and later as Governor of Virginia. In the Presidential election of 1832, South Carolina cast its 11 Electoral Votes for Floyd. His son, John Buchanan Floyd, later also served as Governor of Virginia from 1849-1852. He was also the Secretary of War from President James Buchanan in the lead-up to the Civil War. From the Museum Display Identification Card: Worn by John Floyd, Sr. while Governor of Virginia, 1830-1834. He was the father of John Buchanan Floyd, who was the 31st Virginia Governor, 1849-1852. Notes from Consignor: Embroidered Waist Coat of John Floyd, Worn by John Floyd, Sr. while Governor of Virginia, 1830-1834. The embroidered waist coat is enhanced with bone buttons, first overlayed with tin, brass floral open design with 5 pointed star overlays the tin. JOHN FLOYD was born in Jefferson County, Virginia (now West Virginia) April 23, 1783. He attended Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and studied medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1806. He entered the Virginia Militia as a Major and was promoted to Brigadier General in 1812, serving as a surgeon in the Virginia line. After serving briefly in the Virginia House of Delegates, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from 1817 to 1829. He went on to win election by the state legislature to two terms as Governor and was the First Governor elected under the Virginia Constitution of 1830. During his administration, a bill to abolish Slavery in Virginia was defeated in the House of Delegates, and Virginia’s first railway opened in Petersburg. Floyd left office under the rule of the new Virginia Constitution prohibiting the reelection of a Governor within three years of the expiration of his current term of office. He died Aug 15, 1837. His first cousin was Charles Floyd, the only member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition to die. In a letter dated 15 December 1830, Sam Houston stated that John Floyd was the first cousin of another member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Nathaniel Pryor. In 1804, Floyd married Letitia Preston, who came from a prominent southwest Virginian family. She was the daughter of William Preston and Susannah Smith and sister of Francis Preston, of Abingdon, Washington County, Virginia. They had 12 children, including: John Buchanan Floyd (1806-1863), Governor of Virginia and Secretary of War under President Buchanan. Nicketti Buchanan Floyd, married United States Senator John Warfield Johnston. George Rogers Clark Floyd (1810-1895), Secretary of Wisconsin Territory and later a member of the West Virginia Legislature. Eliza Lavalette Floyd, married professor George Frederick Holmes. John Floyd was a Surgeon with the rank of Major in the Virginia State Militia from 1807 to 1812. At the outbreak of the War of 1812, Floyd moved his family to a new home near present-day Virginia Tech to be near friends and entered the regular army. On July 13, 1813, he was appointed Surgeon of Lt. Col. James McDowell's Flying Camp in the Virginia militia. When he returned from a leave of absence, he discovered someone else had been appointed to replace him, so his service in this role ended on November 16, 1813. Floyd was then commissioned as Major of the militia on April 20, 1814, and was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General of the 17th Brigade of Virginia militia. He served until he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1814. During this time, he moved his family again, this time to Thorn Spring, a large plantation in Montgomery County, Virginia. Thornspring (Pulaski) (now Thornspring Golf Course) was inherited by Letitia Preston Floyd from her father William Preston and was located near her older brother, Virginia Treasurer, Gen John Preston, and his Horseshoe Bottoms Plantation (now the site of the Radford Army Ammunition Plant). They both were near Preston's home at Smithfield plantation (now the campus of Virginia Tech) that their father had completed in Montgomery county for their mother, Susannah Smith Preston, before he died. John Floyd used to keep Bears chained to the tree on the lawns of the Thornspring Plantation (Pulaski, Virginia). When General Andrew Jackson tried and executed two British agents during the First Seminole War in Spanish-held Florida, it precipitated the Great Seminole Debate of 1818-1819 in Congress, with some claiming he exceeded his orders from President James Monroe and demanding his censure. Floyd, however, supported Jackson's actions, maintaining he had acted according to precedent and his orders. He also denied the sovereignty of the Seminole tribe. John Floyd was Governor of Virginia from 1830 to 1834. A rift was already forming between Floyd and other Southern politicians, as Jackson failed to act on the tariff issue and other matters. In January 1831, Floyd was successful in his bid for re-election as governor, this time for three years, and as the First Governor under the new State Constitution enacted in 1830. Floyd suffered a stroke in 1834 while still in office but was able to serve out his term. He approached Littleton Waller Tazewell to be his successor, who was ultimately successful. "Believing that 'great events are in the gale' he urged Tazewell to hasten to Richmond and to be prepared to lay down his share in the power of the state as he had lain [sic] it down for the 'Confederacy,' 'uninjured and undiminished.'" On April 16, 1834, he left Richmond for his home, escorted by Bigger's Blues, Richardson's Artillery, Myer's Cavalry, and Richardson's Riflemen, Richmond's Volunteer Companies. Floyd suffered a stroke and died on August 17, 1837, in Sweet Springs in Monroe County, Virginia (now West Virginia), and his tombstone can be found in the Lewis Family Cemetery, on the hill behind the remains of the historic Lynnside Manor. His grave is near to that of John Lewis. |
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Lot Number: 144
Click for a Printable Page Sign-in to Bid or Register to Bid |
Estimate Range: $8,000 - $10,000 |
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Early American History Auctions, Inc. 1520 Commerce St., # 312 • Winchester, VA 22601 Phone: 858 • 759 • 3290 Email: Auctions@EarlyAmerican.com |
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