Two Guest Chamber Mysteries Solved. And, once again, thanks to Bertha Mather McPherson.

The Guest Chamber, the second floor back bedroom in the 1927 wing, is not always included in a tour.  Its most immediate, and sometimes only noted, feature are the early 18^th c. Dutch Delft fireplace tiles.

To the right of the fireplace is a painting representing the capture of the Rev. Dr. Moses Mather by the British in 1781.  But, who painted it?

Thanks to a note from Bertha, we know it was Rhoda Warren Wolfe Prins (1902-1969), a children’s fashion illustrator, who at one time lived in Wilton. She married Bejamin Kimberly Prins, a fellow illustrator, in 1925.

Miss Rhoda Wolfe, Brooklyn Eagle, Feb 9, 1925

On the East wall of the same room, are two small 19^th c. miniatures.  The appraiser of the Homestead’s contents was unable to identify the couple.

So, who were they?

At last, we know. In a recently discovered note Bertha prepared for a Homestead tour, they were “Edward and Sophia Walker, when young, same persons as portrayed in Dining room.” Edward and Sophia were the parents of Bertha Jemima Walker Mather, who was the mother of Stephen Mather and his brother Josie.