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Historic Richmond Town

Object Record

3/4 front view
side view
3/4 back view
Object Name Bonnet
Date ca. 1824
Description Woman's bonnet. Made of natural straw with very wide flaring brim; deep crown with circular tip; straw bavolet (curtain) in back. Trimmed with cream silk ribbon and green silk bias fabric. There is one remaining green silk functional tie; the decorative ties are missing. Brim is lined with white silk.
(Keywords: Fashion, Accessory, Hat)
Acquisition Gift of Mrs. Edgar L. Benjamin
Ownership and History This bonnet belonged to Joanna Simonson of Staten Island. Joanna Simonson was born in 1807, the seventh of eleven children. She married John Blake Hillyer, a Methodist preacher and a member of the New York State Assembly, and they had seven children between 1831 and 1851. Mrs. Hillyer died in 1880.

The bonnet was donated to the Staten Island Historical Society in 1941 by Joanna Simonson's granddaughter, Joanna Hillyer (Egbert) Benjamin.
Earliest Date 1820
Latest Date 1830
Subjects Clothing & dress
Lexicon Sub-category Clothing -- Headwear
Associated People Hillyer, Joanna (Simonson)
Catalog Number C01.0561
Support Acknowledgment Online Collections Database record made possible by The Coby Foundation, 2009.
Legal Status Images and text in this database are copyrighted by the Staten Island Historical Society unless otherwise noted. Items represented here are from the collections of the Staten Island Historical Society. Materials reproduced for personal non-commercial use must credit the Staten Island Historical Society. Commercial licensing is available.