{"id":108797,"date":"2026-06-05T10:25:52","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T14:25:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/?p=108797"},"modified":"2026-06-05T10:27:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T14:27:26","slug":"a-pilgrim-relic-scandal-the-prence-howes-court-cupboard-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/a-pilgrim-relic-scandal-the-prence-howes-court-cupboard-part-2.html","title":{"rendered":"A Pilgrim Relic Scandal: The Prence-Howes Court Cupboard (part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry concludes her story about the scandal surrounding the sale of one of the most famous and beautiful pieces of colonial-era furniture: the Prence-Howes Court Cupboard. Melissa is a genealogist who has a website, americana-archives.com<\/a>, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Today I continue with the scandal surrounding the sale of one of the most famous and beautiful pieces of colonial-era furniture: the Prence-Howes Court Cupboard. In this second part I explore the genealogy of the chest and its historical background.<\/p>\n

Below is a photograph of this relic courtesy of John Miner, author of the \u201cMiner Descent\u201d blog.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: Prence-Howes Court Cupboard. Credit: John Miner.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To Recap:<\/em> Part One<\/a> explains that in 1925 Abby Willis Howes, a high school teacher, sold a rare cupboard from her family collection that had once belonged to her ancestor Mary (Howes) Prence, wife of Plymouth governor Thomas Prence. Abby sold the piece to Wallace Nutting, a known artist and antiquarian, for $3,000. Nutting turned around and sold it to J. P. Morgan for $20,000. Miss Howes filed a lawsuit charging Nutting for fraudulently obtaining this antique from her by undervaluing its worth and sought to recover it or monies he made from its sale.<\/p>\n

After a long court battle Abby lost the case. However, J. P. Morgan donated his extensive early colonial furniture collection, which included the Prence-Howes Court Cupboard, to the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, Connecticut.<\/p>\n

The exhibit case card reads:<\/p>\n

The Court Cupboard, 1665-1675. American, Yarmouth, Massachusetts. Red cedar, red oak, white cedar and white pine. The Wallace Nutting Collection, Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan. Accession 1926.289<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This cupboard, which belonged to Thomas Prence (c. 1600-1673), a governor of Plymouth Colony, is among the masterpieces of 17th-century furniture. Nutting bought the cupboard from a descendant of Governor Prence in 1925 and felt it was the most important object in his collection. Court cupboards were the most expensive type of furniture produced in the 17th century and were used in households to store imported textiles and valuables. This monumental case is decorated with mannerist style carving, molding, turning and paint.<\/p>\n

GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a> provided some articles on the scandalous court battle, including one entitled \u201cPilgrims\u2019 Relic Revealed in Suit: Teacher Seeks Recovery of Rare Cupboard Once Owned by Governor Prence.\u201d (Note:<\/em> this article spells the surname \u201cPrince,\u201d but most sources use \u201cPrence.\u201d)<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Virginia), 16 January 1927, page 29<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Conclusion<\/a>
Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Virginia), 16 January 1927, page 29<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What the article reports on the cupboard and its historical background, along with my additional research, is that Thomas Prence (Prince) came to America aboard the Fortune<\/em> in 1621.<\/p>\n

Thomas married four times and fathered about 10 children. He married 1st Patience Brewster, the daughter of Mayflower<\/em> passenger \u201cElder\u201d William Brewster, on 5 August 1624. Patience died of fever in 1634, the same year Thomas became governor of Plymouth Colony (the first of the many terms he served as governor).<\/p>\n

On 1 April 1635 he married 2nd Mary Collier of Duxbury and relocated there, living next door to John Alden.<\/p>\n

By 1644 they had moved to Eastham (\u201cNauset\u201d) where he stayed until 1665. Sometime in 1644 Mary died. He next married 3rd Apphia (Quicke) Freeman, and then after her death he married 4th Mary, widow of Thomas Howes, sometime in the 1660s.<\/p>\n

Thomas served as Plymouth\u2019s governor in 1634-35, 1638-39, and then was continuously re-elected from 1657 to 1673.<\/p>\n

In 1665, during one of Thomas\u2019s terms as governor, he was granted \u201ca seat\u201d one mile north of Plymouth at \u201cPlain Dealing.\u201d He continued as governor until his death on 29 March 1673.<\/p>\n

Along with the biographical details of Thomas Prence, the Virginian-Pilot<\/em> article provides information about the providence of the Prence-Howes Court Cupboard. The article reports:<\/p>\n

The Governor\u2019s fourth and last wife was Mary, wife [widow] of Thomas Howes, who was an original settler of Dennis, then part of Yarmouth. It is in his will that we find the now litigated antique mentioned [Prence-Howes Court Cupboard]. His will, of March 18, 1673, has the following items:<\/p>\n

\u201cMy will is that Mary, my beloved wife, shall have such household goods of any kind as were hers before we married, returned to her again.<\/p>\n

\u201cItem. I give unto my said loveing wife my best bed and the furniture there unto appertaining, and the Court Cubberd that stands in the new parlour with the cloth and cushen that is on it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Below is an image from the will listing the relic.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: the will of Thomas Prence, indicating his mention of the Prence-Howes Court Cupboard. Credit: \u201cSuffolk, Massachusetts, United States records,\u201d FamilySearch Image Group Number: 008297286.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The reference in the will to the \u201cnew parlor\u201d is, evidently, to an extension to and embellishment of the Governor\u2019s \u201cseat.\u201d It is likely that this addition was built about the time of his fourth venture into matrimony, which event occurred not long before August 1, 1668. The cupboard which adorned the parlor may, therefore, be attributed to the period of 1665-1670.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: the Thomas Prence House, built in 1646. Photo taken in the1880s. The now-demolished house was in Eastham, Barnstable County, Massachusetts. Credit: Digital Commonwealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Governor\u2019s widow, Mary Howes Prence, returned to Dennis with the cupboard. Following her death, the inventory of her personal estate, dated December 23, 1695, mentions \u201can old chest and a cupboard [to] Prence Howes.\u201d<\/p>\n

This Prence Howes was Mary Prence\u2019s grandson, by virtue of curious intermarriage, for Sarah Prence, daughter of Governor Prence by his second wife [Mary Collier], had married Jeremiah Howes, son of Thomas Howes and his wife Mary, who, following her widowhood, had become fourth wife of Governor Prence. [\u201cCurious intermarriage\u201d because Mary (Burr) (Howes) Prence was the mother of the groom \u2013 Jeremiah Howes \u2013 and stepmother of the bride \u2013 Sarah Prence.] Sarah Prence united the names as well as the blood of the two families, for he [her son] was christened Prence Howes. It was only natural that he should become the guardian of the ancestral cupboard.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Below is a marker of the Howes Burial Ground in Dennis, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, where Mary is buried.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: Howes Burial Ground historical marker. Credit: Richard Cahoon.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This historical marker reads:<\/p>\n

1665 \u2013 Howes Burial Ground \u2013 1986<\/p>\n

Here lie buried among their progeny Thomas Howes and wife, Mary (Burr) [Howes] [Prence]. First of the name in this country, English immigrants to Massachusetts Bay Colony circa 1637. Original settlers of this town in 1639. Their homestead farm adjoined this burying ground.<\/p>\n

Their descendants have supported this community and this country for twelve generations.<\/p>\n

Dennis Historical Commission, 2001 A.D., gift of the Howes Family Association.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here is another article, published in the magazine Antiques<\/em> by Wallace Nutting, further showing his deep interest in the cupboard.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: article about the Prence-Howes Court Cupboard published in \u201cAntiques\u201d magazine on 10 October 1922, Volume 2, Issue 4, by Wallace Nutting. Credit: Internet Archive.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The article has this footnote:<\/p>\n

*Her [Mary (Howes) Prence] son Thomas\u2019 will is dated 15 Nov. 1675, just before he entered service in King Philip\u2019s War. A clause of his will is: \u201cBe it alsoe knowne that my will is that my Mother Prence injoy without molestation during her Naturell life the house shee Now lives in with the orchyard belonging thereunto.\u201d This instrument is less than two years later than Governor Prence\u2019s will. Thus we have a remarkable series of records by which to trace the cupboard, these clauses proving that the widow Prence returned to Dennis [with the cupboard] very shortly after the Governor\u2019s death.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Stay tuned for an exploration into another Howe\u2019s family chest traced back to Mary (Burr) (Howes) Prence!<\/p>\n

Create a free account<\/a> at GenealogyBank for 7 days to start your journey and discover the stories your ancestors left behind.<\/p>\n

Note on the header image:<\/em><\/strong> Prence-Howes Court Cupboard. Credit: John Miner.<\/p>\n

Related Article:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n