Jacob had been born in Philadelphia, to German parents, but grew up in the new British Province of Québec, eventually moving as far west as Detroit. As the war began, he remained loyal to the crown, serving as an officer in a loyalist unit known as the Detroit Volunteers. He fought at the fringes of British power in America, in what is now Vincennes, Indiana. There, he was captured by Virginia forces and transported to Williamsburg, where he was imprisoned. He escaped, carefully hiding out for months before getting safely to British-held New York.
In 1780, Hannah, the pacifist, Quaker, poet met the recently escaped, German-American, loyalist, soldier who was billeted in her parent’s home. Despite her prior feelings about the war, and against the wishes of Hannah’s church and family, she married Jacob that August. Within a month, this unlikely pair departed New York for Canada. A voyage of seven months took them around the Atlantic coast, down the St. Lawrence River, and eventually back to Detroit.
As part of the acquisition of the Robert Nittolo Collection, we have brought Hannah Lawrence Scheiffelin’s wedding jewelry (pictured) back alongside her husband’s uniform (pictured), which was donated to Fort Ticonderoga in 1945. These objects from this remarkable couple help us connect to the world of the past through the power of emotions that still, and always, will define what it means to be human.
Interested in learning how you can support the Robert Nittolo Collection acquisition? Please contact Beth Hill at [email protected].
Learn more about the featured items in our online Collections Database:
Brooch: https://fortticonderoga.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/78591B92-F987-439A-B13F-419244327187
Coat: https://fortticonderoga.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/C4DFE89B-D152-460F-BAFC-785073102430
Portrait: https://fortticonderoga.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/AAE0B84D-CE69-42EB-BCDE-806026955081