Place

Hillsborough, Albert County, New Brunswick, Canada

Date

1826

Materials & techniques

The chest is made out of a light solid wood and was cut, carved and assembled by hand. It is held together by nails.

Credit

Matthias Steeves

ID

Hon William Henry Steeves House Museum

This chest was made by Matthias Steeves in about 1826 for his youngest daughter Mary to take with her to boarding school on the ship "Sophie." She was the first girl from Hillsborough to go to boarding school in Saint John, about 170 kilometers southwest. The ship itself was also built by Matthias, and it was named after his wife Sophia. It was captained by one of his sons, William.

Matthias is one of the original seven sons of the Steeves family. Anyone in the world with the last name Steeves, or Steves, can trace their roots back to this family of seven sons and their parents Heinrich and Regina.