Antique Kettle Comes Home to Tryon Palace
ACQUISITION IMPORTANT NEXT STEP IN PALACE REINTERPRETATION
An 18th-century silver kettle
that is believed to have once
graced the rooms of the
original Tryon Palace has been
returned to its rightful place.
Tryon Palace Historic Sites &.
Gardens has acquired a silver kettle-
on-stand, made in 1727 during the
reign of George 11 by London silver¬
smith Peter Archambo. The kettle
bears a lull set of English hallmarks,
including the leopard head used by
the London assay office, the lion pas¬
sant indicating that the piece is of
sterling fitness, anil the maker's stamp.
"The acquisition of the tea kettle
with its long history of local owner¬
ship is an important next step in the
reinterpretation of the Governor's
Palace in New Bern,” said Kay
Williams, director of Tryon Palace
Historic Sites & Gardens.
Palace historians are researching the
kettle's provenance to determine if there
is a connection to Tryon Palace when
colonial Gov. William Tryon or his suc¬
cessor, Gov. josiah Martin, were in
office. The kettle-on-stand can be traced
back to Gov. Richard Dobbs Spaight Sr.,
governor of North Carolina from 1 792
to 1 795. Spaight, the first native-born
North Carolinian to serve as governor of
the state, was also the last governor to he
inaugurated in the Palace.
The last documented North
Carolina owner of the kett le w as
Margaret Donnell Shepherd Nelson of
New Bern, Spaight 's great-granddaugh¬
ter, who died in 1925.
"It is always exciting to find an
object that has a history of ownership
in 18th century New Bern," said
Nancy Richards, Curator ot
Collections. "To find one that may
have been used in the Palace is
especially thrilling."
This I8th-cenlury ketilc-on-stand, which
hears a full sei of English hallmarks, is on
dispLiy in the palace's parlor.
The kettle-on-stand was purchased
by the Tryon Palace Commission in
April, using priv ate funds donated for
this acquisition. Now that it is home,
the kettle-on-stand is on exhibit in
the Palace's parlor. ♦
Congleton Bequest Launches Heritage Society
For Jim Congleton it’s simple: “I
like to see my money put to
work for good uses. You can’t pur
it in your coffin and take it with you.”
This philosophy is reflected in his
generous support of a variety of needs
at Tryon Palace over the years, and
now in putting the Palace in his will
and helping to launch the brand new
Heritage Society.
Dr. Jim - as he is affectionately
called by the hundreds of children
who benefit from his skill and good¬
will as a pediatric dentist - is hardly
moribund. He exudes energy and
looks forward to a long life full of
adventure that includes that special
joy that comes from philanthropy.
A bequest for Tryon Palace, he says,
offers “an almost infinite number of
possibilities. Collections, interpreta¬
tion, gardens, the list could go on and
on.” His current plans center on using
his bequest to fund purchases of gar¬
den art, a lifelong interest that is
evidenced in the amazing collection
of outdoor sculpture that surrounds
his elegant home.
He reworks his will every five
years “to look at what’s there and
work with it.” Interests can change,
he says, so you have to make adjust¬
ments “that make you feel comfort¬
able. The nice thing is that every
time you work on your will you find
something new and exciting in your
life that you want to include in it, so
your will grows deeper and broader,
just as your life does over time."
As a member of the Tryon Palace
Commission and Chair of its
Finance Committee, Dr. Congleton
has firsthand knowledge of the
financial challenges dial the Palace
faces. “Private giving is essential to
our future,” he says, adding that he
hopes others will remember to put
Tryon Palace in their wills as well as
to support it with lifetime gifts.
Tryon Palace is only one of Dr.
Jim’s passions. His first formal
encounters with planned giving came
through his work with the Dental
Foundation of North Carolina,
where he has worked tirelessly to
advance his profession, including
funding a professional leadership
award for pediatric residents.
“When you establish a fund that
will be there in the future, that
truly becomes your connection with
immortality,” he says, adding that a
lot of recognition isn’t the real
reward. “Show me kids laughing
and playing in front of the Palace.
Show me a kid seeing a piece of
sculpture for the first time - walking
around it, trying to figure it out.
That’s magic.”
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Ham 2004
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