Local auction company uncovers significant historical items in Dublin home

Several are tied to Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee

DUBLIN – When Farmer Auctions is entrusted to conduct an online estate auction, their well- educated staff work diligently to photograph and catalog valuable items to achieve the highest return possible for their clients’ belongings. The staff meticulously searches every corner of the home to uncover valuable items that may be hidden. Sometimes those items can be hidden in plain sight, with the seller being unaware of their value. Quite often they find many unique vintage items and rare antiques that attract the attention of collectors from all over the U.S. Several weeks ago, when they began the search and discovery process at the Bell estate in Dublin, VA they soon realized they were uncovering not only valuable antiques, but several important pieces of local and Virginia history.

The Bell home was built around 1915 and has a rich history. Three generations of the Bell family have resided there, and the current owner, Jim Bell, is downsizing and relocating to Florida. Jim selected Farmer Auctions to handle the sale based on their impeccable reputation for discovery and identification of valuable and important items. According to Jim, it was his grandfather, Gordon Cloyd Bell, who loved history and collected many of the historical items that will be featured in the auction.

During the discovery process. Farmer Auctions’ staff identified a cup made of carved coconut mounted on sterling silver feet with a sterling silver rim that dates to a period in time before our country became a nation. This cup is clearly engraved, “Sampson and George Mathews Staunton Jan 27, 1773”. The Mathews brothers were prominent merchants in Staunton, Virginia in the 1770s, and George Mathews went on to be a General in the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War and was twice Governor of Georgia after the war. Coconut cups were very popular in England in the 18th Century, and this particular one is highly carved and was likely a gift to the brothers from an English or Dutch merchant.

Combing through an extensive book collection, one stood out as an extremely rare find. A first edition of “The Life of Stonewall Jackson” published in 1863 in Richmond, VA. The rarity of this book stems from the fact that it is one of very few that were published in the South during the Civil War.

The collection also features a photograph of Robert E. Lee which includes his signature (authenticated) attached to it. The story passed along to Jim Bell was that his ancestors gave Lee a horse named Ajax during the Civil War. Lee’s signature was possibly from a thank you note he wrote to the Bells.

Another outstanding piece is a 14K gold VMI class ring dated July 4, 1860, which belonged to James Randall Kent Jr. who resided in Dublin. He was a cadet who accompanied Stonewall Jackson to Harper’s Ferry to witness and provide security for the execution of John Brown. He died in service on Sept. 4, 1861. The stone on this ring is engraved in reverse to enable it to be used as a seal.

According to the VMI Museum, the oldest class ring in the VMI museum is the same age as this one from the Bell estate.

“By virtue of Mr. Bell entrusting us to handle these assets and wisely electing to have a professional auction in lieu of a simple estate tag sale, our qualified expert staff was able to find some

particularly historic and valuable items that were not necessarily in plain sight. We take pride in our ability to search through a collection and uncover items that our sellers may not be aware exist, thereby adding significant value and flair to their auction. This is our brand promise to our clients and trademark of our company’s history,” said Jarrod Hines, owner of Farmer Auctions.