The Story of my 150 year old Butter Dish
This is the story about the life of a butter dish. Used, abused, thrown away, found and treasured. by MaryCarol
This old pressed glass butter dish is thought to be about 150 years old, belonging to the Drewry family of Southampton Co., Virginia who moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1799. They lived there for 24 years, then in 1823, they moved to Henry Co., Tennessee. This was the year that many of the western Tennessee counties were formed from hunting lands of the Chickasaw Nation, which they ceded in 1818. In 1824 the Drewry families settled in the newly formed Gibson, Co., Tennessee.
The Patriarch, Richard Drewry, Rev War Soldier, bought over 700 acres of land backing up to the South Fork of the Obion River from Adam Huntsman, the peg legged Attorney who later beat out Davy Crockett for political office and Davy left for Texas and the Alamo. Back during those times, they all were neighbors and friends. The Crockett family lived in Weakley Co., TN and the Drewry family in Gibson. But in 1836, there was a land swap to make it easier to take care of business so neither county folk had to cross the South Fork of the Obion River to get to their courthouse. From 1836 on, the Crockett’s land was in Gibson, County and the Drewry’s land was in Weakley, County. Seven more generations have been born on that land.
Pressed glass period was from 1850-1910. This butter dish would have had a prominent spot on the family dining table. At some point in time, I guess one of the woman folk decided she didn’t want the butter dish, as it had a small chip. It was thrown out into the trash pit. Many years went by, more and more land was claimed for farming. Eventually riding tractors were used to plow the fields.
One day, while plowing on his tractor, the light caught something shiny in the dirt. When the farmer checked it out, he found it to be the bottom of the butter dish. He kept it. A few years later, plowing his field again, he unearthed the top which was in perfect condition. Now he had both pieces. Eventually the butter dish was given to Cousin Wylodean. She kept the butter dish as a keepsake of earlier Drewry women kinfolk. When I first met her in 1983, she wanted me to have something that had been in the Drewry family. She went in a back room, brought out something wrapped up in a cloth. As she was unwrapping it, she asked me if I would like to have this old butter dish. “Oh, my!, yes, please”! I fell instantly in love with it. Today, the butter dish sits on my table, reminding me of my Drewry women kinfolk. They had to churn the butter, I just have to buy it.
Because of the high dome lid, you can put a lot of butter in it, which is handy during the holidays. My Grandmother taught me, as long as you eat it within 10 days, butter will not go bad if you leave it covered, out on the table. Never lasts 10 days at our house. And who doesn’t prefer soft butter over cold hard butter? Submitted by MaryCarol
