Pendant
PeriodCirca 1793
Place MadePossibly New Jersey, U.S.A.
MediumGold, ivory, glass
Dimensions1.81 × 0.94 × 0.25 in. (4.6 × 2.4 × 0.6 cm)
ClassificationsAccessories, Women's
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Ernest Taylor, 1931
Object number42
DescriptionA woman's navette shaped pendant, of gold with a curved clear glass bezel covering a small picture. The image, painted in watercolor on ivory, depicts a square pedestal with "To Love" inscribed across the front with a pair of hearts and a single arrow above and below. A pair of doves perch atop the pedestal, flanked with leafy sprays. The pendant retains its original hanging ring on the back, above a florid engraved monogram reading "MH." A small rectangular recess in the upper center of the pendant back seems to indicate that the piece may have had a swivel pin shaft, allowing the owner to wear the piece either as a pendant or as a pin.Curatorial RemarksAlthough sometimes described as a mourning pendant, this small piece of jewelry was more likely a wedding gift. The pendant offers clues indicating it was a token given by John Hendrickson to his intended bride Mary Loyd. The block pedestal features the simple inscription "To Love," while atop the pedestal are a pair of hearts pierced by a single arrow. Above, two doves hold ribbons in their beaks, which they are in the process of tying into a knot. On the back of the pendant is etched Mary Loyd's married monogram "MH." The design of this pendant resembles other amatory or sentimental pieces not associated with mourning.NotesThis small and lovely pendant was worn by Middletown resident Mary Loyd Hendrickson. Mary was born in 1772 and married John Hendrickson (1773 - 1807) on November 27, 1793. The pendant, bearing the motto "To Love" and engraved with Mary's monogram on the back, may have been a wedding gift. The couple had seven children. John Hendrickson died at the age of 37 and was buried in the Hendrickson Burying Ground in Middletown. Mary Loyd Hendrickson never remarried, dying at the age of 93 in 1865. After her son Charles married Julia Ann Schureman, Mary Loyd Hendrickson moved in with her son and daughter-in-law, living with the family until her death. The Association has numerous objects from the Hendrickson family, including John Hendrickson's pale blue silk wedding breeches (please see accession #832). The pendant passed from Mary Loyd Hendrickson to her son, then to her granddaughter Ella Hendrickson. Donor Mary H. Hendrickson Taylor received the pendant from her maiden aunt Ella Hendrickson at her death in 1929. In her will, Ella left "$1,000 and a breastpin to her niece, Mary Harris Taylor." Mary Hendrickson Taylor donated the pendant to the Historical Association in November of 1931, less than a month after the new headquarters building opened in Freehold.
