Description:
Silver cann with a plain baluster body with rings at the rim and circular foot, and a feathered spurred double scroll handle with a scroll at the base, which is stamped "W.S.P" in serrated rectangle twice on the base for William Smith Pelletreau (1786-1842). The front of the body is engraved with the Floyd coat of arms: crest, a lion rampant and regardant, bearing a flag representing the standard of "Tippoo Sultaun," flowing to the sinister proper; the arms, a gauntlet in the upper left corner, a sword erect, proper, pommel, the blade passing though an eastern crown, and leopard's head on a chief embattled, and lion rampant on a cross-hatched ground. A baronetcy and a crest of the lion rampant bearing the standard of Tipu Sultan (1750-1799) were granted to Sir John Floyd (1748-1818) in 1816 in recognition of his role during Briitish military actions in India. Floyd served in India from 1782-1800 and supported Lord Cornwallis in three campaigns against Tipu Sultan. The American relative, William Floyd (1734-1821) was one of eight children born to Nicoll and Tabitha Floyd on the prosperous plantation at Mastic. As the oldest son, William inherited the plantation from his father in 1755 at the age of 20. A leader in business and society of his community, William also took up the colonial cause against Great Britain and became a colonel in the militia in 1773. In 1777, William and family left Long Island during the British occupation. His wife Hannah died in 1781, and the rest of the family returned to Mastic in 1783. In 1784, William married Joanna Strong, and they had two daughters. His portrait by Ralph Earl, painted around 1792, depicts the house and outbuildings in the background. In 1803, at age 69, Floyd left Long Island with his family to establish a new home in Westernville, New York (western part of the state). He built a large frame house in 1803-1804 and lived in it until his death in 1821. William Floyd left the Mastic property to his son Nicoll Floyd, II. This cann more likely was a possession of the next generation - possibly his son Nicoll. Floyd was a delegate from New York in the First Continental Congress in 1774. As a member of the Second Continental Congress, from 1775-1783, 41 year-old William Floyd was the first of the New York delegates to sign the Declaration of Independence on August 2, 1776. Floyd also served as a member of the New York State Senate from 1777-1778 and from 1784-1788. In March 1789, Floyd was elected to the First United States Congress (1789-1791). He was a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention in 1801. After moving to Westernville, New York in 1803, Floyd served again as a member of the New York State Senate in 1808. William Floyd was an important plantation owner and leader during his time on Long Island. Today his home, the William Floyd Estate, is part of Fire Island National Seashore. The son of John Pelletreau and Mary Smith, William Smith Pelletreau worked before 1815 as a silversmith in Southampton, NY. He was a partner circa 1815 with Stephen Van Wyck in New York City, NY, and marked his wares as "PELLETREAU & VAN WYCK." He was a partner circa 1825 with Thomas Richards in New York City, NY, and marked his wares as "PELLETREAU & RICHARDS." Condition: Two dents in body.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2014.13.3 |
