Join us as we take a virtual tour of
the Manor House over the next few weeks.
Our first stop is... 

THE MORNING PARLOR

The Morning Parlor has been the main family room at Sylvester Manor since the house was constructed in 1735 by Brinley Sylvester, grandson of Nathaniel and Grizzell Sylvester. Andrew and Alice Fiske, the last full time Manor residents, used the parlor as their living room and they frequently entertained guests here during the 50 years they were in residence. 

The highlights of the parlor include the wall paneling made from pine wood harvested on the property and made by craftsmen hired by Brinley Sylvester from Newport, Rhode Island.

The blue wall paint, seen in places around the room, is called, “Prussian Blue” and was the original color from 1735. The cream color paint was added by Samuel Smith Gardiner in 1840. Incredibly, this room has only been painted twice since the house was built!

Over the fireplace, the little girl in the painting is Mary Catherine L’Hommedieu. She was the daughter of Ezra L’Hommedieu and Mary Catherine Havens seen in the portraits of the eastern walls of the parlor. Ezra was the great-grandson of Nathaniel and Grizzell Sylvester and an important figure during the Revolutionary War as a member of the New York Delegation of the Continental Congress and a N.Y. State Senator.

Mary Catherine’s portrait was painted by a local artist,  Abraham Tuthill ca.1808. The red coral necklace she is wearing was brought from Barbados by Nathaniel and is still passed down by the family. The ceramic fruit bowl featured in the painting is also still at the Manor and can be found on the second shelf of the cabinet behind the door of the parlor. 




This desk cabinet was bought by Cornelia Horsford at the Jamesport Exposition in Virginia in 1906 and shipped to Shelter Island. Several of the wooden chairs were bought by Cornelia’s sisters, Lilian Horsford and Mamie Horsford Curtis during a visit they made to Charleston, South Carolina in the early 1890’s. Records of the furniture purchases were kept by Kate Horsford along with descriptions of the parlor rooms.

On either side of the Morning Parlor are gold velvet couches filled with horsehair that were given to Phoebe Horsford by family friends, Dr. & Mrs. Morrill Wyman in the 1870’s.

The little girls in the painting above the couch are Lilian and Kate Horsford, the eldest of the four Horsford daughters of Eben and Mary Horsford and the granddaughters of Mary Catherine L’Hommedieu Gardiner and her husband Samuel Smith Gardiner. (Have you noticed that we have a lot of Marys in Sylvester Manor history?!)


The dress on display is a replica of the dress worn by Brinley’s daughter, Mary, in the portrait painted of her in 1754 by Joseph Blackburn. The original painting hangs today in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. This copy of the dress was found in the Manor’s attic in an old trunk and is believed to have been made for a costume gala in honor of the 300th centenary of Shelter Island in 1952 and worn by a family member.

The 1920’s era Victrola record player was brought up from the Manor’s basement one day in 2017 when it’s turntable suddenly started spinning! Cornelia Horsford had written about the record player in a diary noting she played Christmas carol records on it during a family Christmas celebration at the Manor in 1923.

The Morning Parlor is a perfect example of the many eras in the history of the Manor and how they are still reflected in the rooms today. Please join us next time for a look at The Ladies Parlor.