Sayward family objects return to ancestral home
- Guide Dennis Glidden and Conservator Michaela Neiro re-install the portrait of George Guelph Barrel at the Sayward-Wheeler House.
Historic New England recently acquired several objects with Sayward family ties and put them on display at the Sayward-Wheeler House in York Harbor, Maine. The items include the 1762 Sayward coat of arms made for Jonathan Sayward, a staunch loyalist during the American Revolution, by the College of Arms Heralds Office in England. The coat of arms was donated to Historic New England by a Sayward descendant and underwent significant conservation before its return to the house after more than a hundred years away. Also returning to the house after conservation treatment is a portrait of George Guelph Barrell, Jonathan Sayward's youngest grandson. George seems to be wearing a wedding ring in the portrait, although he was unmarried.
Visit the house to learn more about these objects and the family stories behind them.
