Donated by Paula Thompson

This fancy silverware no doubt saw its share of holiday meals. The serving fork is silverplate and was from the 1847 Rogers Brothers line manufactured by Meriden Britannia Company ( Meriden, CT). The pattern name is “Assyrian Head,” designed and patented by Henry V. Hirschfeld in 1886. The serving spoon, part of a set, is sterling silver made by Gorham Manufacturing Company (Providence, RI) in the “Fontainebleau” pattern, designed by Gorham’s leading designer, Antoine Heller. It was also introduced in 1886.

The flatware pieces come from the Robert M. Thompson household of Rogers (Benton County). Priscilla Cabinette Thomas of Virginia was a violin and piano teacher and church organist In the late 1800s when she met Robert Marion Thompson, a minister from Kentucky. The couple was married around 1896 and had two sons. The Thompson family moved to Rogers, Arkansas, about 1900 where Robert preached at the First Christian Church and other nearby churches.