Bidspirit auction | SIGNED & STENCILED INDIANA MENNONITE

SIGNED & STENCILED INDIANA MENNONITE BLANKET CHEST - Made for Joas Yoder by Samuel M. Miller, LaGrange County, Indiana, 1898, poplar. Dovetailed case on a bracket base, and retaining its original red paint with black trim, and stenciled ?J.H. Yoder 1898? and initialed on the back ?JY? and ?SM?. 24” high, 44” wide, 19” deep. Joas H. Yoder (1876-1925) spent his life in LaGrange County, Indiana. Born to Harmon and Barbara (Mast) Yoder, he married Amanda Wenger Dec. 12, 1897. They would go on to have at least ten children, the youngest of whom was only six when Joas died in 1925. This chest, dated 1898, was made by Samuel M. Miller (1870-1941), who was Joas's second cousin. Samuel's maternal grandmother, Catherine Mast, was a sister to Joseph Mast, Joas Yoder's maternal grandfather. Samuel and Joas lived in the same township in LaGrange County all their lives. Samuel M. Miller is known to have been a furniture maker in LaGrange County, Indiana in the late 19th and early 20th century. In the Census, he is listed in Newberry Township, which is next to Middlebury Township in neighboring Elkhart County, and thus the inscription likely refers to his self-identified location (where he does business and gets mail) rather than his property?s location. Miller identified himself in the 1910 Census as a carpenter in the ?barn? industry, indicating that he was a trained wood worker. In the 1900 and 1920 Censuses, however, he is listed simply as a farmer, which is the far more common profession listed in census records in rural communities, even if other trades were practiced. For a related example, see the blanket chest sold by us in May 2026, lot 10. See also chest of drawers made for Miller?s sister-in-law, Sarah Troyer and signed on in drawer by Miller. This chest is now in the collection of the Winterthur Museum near Wilmington, Delaware. Miller and Yoder were part of the large Mennonite community in LaGrange County, Indiana. Many Amish and Mennonite communities in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan were settled in the middle of the 19th century by ?migr?s from the Pennsylvania Mennonite community of Soap Hollow in Somerset County. Mennonites (or, more properly, various branches of the Amish) first came to Somerset County, Pennsylvania in the early 1770s from Berks County. By the middle of the 19th century, Somerset County had become the Amish and Mennonite gateway to the American Midwest. Countless families left there and settled in newer communities formed in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and further west. There was a surge of migration to LaGrange in the 1860s due to the strife between conservatives and progressives in at least one Amish district in Somerset County. As a result of this westward movement, there is often a close stylistic relationship between the furniture made in LaGrange County to that made in Soap Hollow and other Amish/Mennonite communities in Somerset County. Soap Hollow furniture is extremely consistent, from turnings and backsplash profiles to red and black paint with a specific vocabulary of stenciled decoration, often including dates, owner?s initials, and sometimes the maker?s name preceded by ?Manufactured by? (which is used in the signature on the Winterthur chest). The makers in LaGrange and other Midwestern counties did not simply mimic the Soap Hollow style but rather adapted it. Furniture made in these communities often has green trim (instead of black), red-over-yellow faux mahogany graining (instead of plain red), and a different vocabulary of stenciled decoration. Also fascinating is how long this furniture style continued. Somerset County furniture of this style is often dated into the 1880s, and Midwestern examples well into the 20th century?all still handmade?right up to the dawn of the Age of Modernism, when factories were producing streamlined furniture out of aluminum. Provenance: an Ohio collection. NOTE: We are happy to answer questions and take additional photos of lots prior to the auction (the sooner submitted the better). Any updates or new photographs will be posted to the catalog on our website. Please check there prior to placing bids to ensure that you have the most up-to-date information. SHIPPING: We offer in-house shipping on all lots in this auction. Please see the terms for more information and contact us for a packing/shipping estimate. Condition: Original paint and hardware, some wear, minor paint loss to the top.