These chairs were originally part of a set of six that were purchased from the Harwood House auction in May of 1925.  After the death of the last surviving member of the Harwood family in 1924, everything in the house  was sold.  The donor's mother, Mrs. C.F. Marston, was at the auction and purchased these "haircloth" chairs for $180.00.  Compared to other furnishings, these stout mahogany chairs were were a virtual steal.  In contrast, the six chairs which had been in the dining room of the house (still on display today) sold for $960.00 while the "2 hall chairs" (also on display today) sold for $450.00. 

Where would these chairs have been in Hester Ann's household?  The inventory of her estate, recorded in 1925 by William Hollyday and William Moss, now offers a few clues to their original location.  There were six antique, mahogany "straight" chairs located in the Library.  There were six Sheraton style mahogany chairs located in the Dining Room, and there were six chairs of unknown description located in the Bed Room in the Wing (Executive Director's Office today).  With modified sabre legs and vase splats, the chairs in question are not "straight" and are not Sheraton, so we must assume that they were the chairs located in the Bed Room.  If the same chairs were purchased between 1820-1840 by residents of the house, they would have originally been owned by Richard and Frances Townley Chase Loockerman.