From Pennsylvania to Waterloo - A Biographical History of Waterloo Township

Item Name	Secretary Desk	Image1
Owner(s)	Eby, John B. Eby, Abraham
Category	Artifacts
Year	Early: 1840 - Late: 1850
Description	A two-piece pine secretary desk with original grained finish and deep pumpkin painted interior. The upper section of this desk is blind storage. Both doors of the upper section have a single raised panel. Inside are three dividers for files or books with shelving above. The lower portion is a slant-front which opens to three banks of drawers and two vertical compartments to hold paper. The original cup-shaped metal knobs are an unusual feature. Brass escutcheons are in a small pressed floral pattern.The drawers are lapped joint and penny nail construction. The four larger drawers make up the rest of the facade and are a dovetail construction. The top cornice is an ogee curve and the feet are an unusual squared flare.
Maker\Attribution	John B. Eby
Provenance	The desk was made for Abraham Eby, the sixth son of Bishop Benjamin Eby, at the time of his marriage to Lucy Hembling in 1843. A desk was one of the most important "aussteier" gifts a young Mennonite man in Waterloo County, (Ontario, Canada) might receive from his parents as part of his marriage 'outfit'. Signed by "John B. Eby" (b. 1823), little is known of this craftsman though another case piece by him, a painted pine chest of drawers, signed "John B. Eby Cabinetmaker", is in the Girls bedroom of the Joseph Schneider Haus.
Collection	Joseph Schneider Haus Museum Contact : 466 Queen St. S. Kitchener 519-742-7752 www.region.waterloo.on.ca
Accession No.	1982.030.023.001-.018
Curatorial Comments	Little is known of the craftsman, John B. Eby , though another case piece by him, a painted pine chest of drawers, signed "John B. Eby Cabinetmaker," is in the girls' bedroom of the Joseph Schneider Haus. Unfortunately, census records fail to document the secondary trades that many Mennonites combined with farming. John B. was likely the son of "Saddler Sam" Eby, originally of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He was born in Waterloo County in 1823.

Region of Waterloo

Fraktur design based on Family Register by Jacob Shoemacher in Joseph Schneider Bible, 1821.