American Historical Ephemera and Photography

Approx. 7 3/4 in. x 2 1/2 in. painted silk fragment, pinned to interior of a 3 1/4 x 8 1/8 in. (folded) lined blue paper with inscription "No. 23 / Miles Standish / Fragment of / his Banner, and / which was borne at / his funeral. / 1656." Then below "M. Brayman / Ripon / Wis." Housed in a brown envelope which bears a nearly identical inscription (except for identification as Standish's "War Banner"), seemingly written in the same hand. Provenance: Purchased ca late 1980s in a collection of items originally from the estate of Sarah Smith Stafford.

[With:] HAYES, Webb C. (1856-1934), second son of President Rutherford B. Hayes. Autograph letter signed ("Webb C. Hayes") on Executive Mansion letterhead. Washington, D.C., 19 January 1880. Penciled notation above salutation "To E.C. Hill." Hayes writes regarding the funeral of Miss Sarah Smith Stafford (1802-1880) and "some relics which you would donate to the Birchard Library and Museum of Fremont Ohio...."

Sarah Smith Stafford was the daughter of Revolutionary War sailor Lt. James B. Stafford, and was renowned in her time as a collector of historic relics from American history. Stafford was the owner of the flag that purportedly flew over John Paul Jones's ship Bon Homme Richard, though this flag was later determined not to be authentic. Documentation included with the Standish banner fragment indicates that the fragment originated from Stafford's collection which, despite the controversy over the Bon Homme Richard flag, was also known to have contained genuine relics. "M. Brayman" is likely Mason Brayman (1813-1895), a former Union Army general, attorney, and newspaperman who served as the seventh Governor of the Idaho Territory. Brayman resided on a farm in Ripon, Wisconsin, during the 1870s before heading west for the governorship. He died in Ripon in 1895.