Hitchcock Chair - Belonged to Dr. W. Likely SImpson In 1826 Lambert Hitchcock built his factory next to the Farmington River in what is today, Riverton, Connecticut.

In 1829, his brother-in-law, Aba Alford (1807-1881) joined him as a partner.

Between 1832 and 1843, all chairs were signed "HITCHCOCK, ALFORD & CO HITCHCOCKSVILLE, CONN WARRANTED".

This particular chair was purchased from the Everett Lee Davenport estate (12-1-15 to 3-21-05) in Diagonal, Iowa, in August 2005. What we learned from the family follows:

Lee’s wife (they evidently called him Lee instead of Everett) had a brother named W. Likely Simpson, who was a doctor of ENT. Mr. Simpson brought this chair back to Iowa from Memphis, Tennessee, sometime in the 1955 time frame.

According to what else we found from internet research, Dr. Simpson, was born 7-15-1878 and passed on 3-10-1976. He was Chairman in 1937 at the College of Medicine in Memphis, Tennessee. He graduated from the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary in 1905. The University of Vienna at Oxford, England, was where he obtained his degree in Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology. According to the research which was obtained from the University of Tennessee at Memphis, Dr. Simpson had "unequaled talents in paranasal sinus and temporal bone surgery". Dr. Simpson retired as Chairman in 1950, and was described as a "dedicated teacher and trained 10 residents".


This chair indeed does have the afore mentioned markings. There are no damages to the wood.

You can see where the lower back area wore down the stenciling from someone sitting. The seat does have a few loose strands, but for a piece that has this type of age, I would expect that. There is evidence of a foot on the lower rung.

We did not find out from the family just how Dr. Simpson acquired the chair, but the assumption is that it was passed on to him.
Manufacturer: Alford Hitchcock & Company Hitchcocksville, Conneticut