Posted Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Historic Antique Goblets Return “Home”
The great-great granddaughter of Captain Watlington brings two coconut and silver goblets back to the Oldest House.
Mr. Robert Hutchins and Mrs. Susan Howe Hutchins came to Key West to present the Old Island Resturation Foundation with a a pair of antique goblets fashioned from coconuts, engraved with the initials F.B.W., and brimmed with silver and mounted on silver bases. The initials are those of the goblet’s original owner and the first owner of the Oldest House in Key West, Captain Francis Benjamin Watlington.
Mrs. Howe Hutchins is a great-great granddaughter of Captain Watlington and she and her husband donated the goblets on behalf of themselves and two other Great-Great Granddaughters: Mrs. Barbara Howe Phillips and Mrs. Florence Howe Munat. The goblets were given to them by the Captain’s eldest daughter, Hannah and her husband, Edward Cole Howe, I.
Accompanying the goblets was documentation of their authenticity and family history. The gift was made to Old Island Restoration Foundation which manages the captain’s former residence as the Oldest House & Wrecker’s Museum. The donation was received by John C. Giuliano, the new Executive Director of the Foundation; Lloyd E. Stafford, docent on duty; and members of the O.I.R.F. Board of Directors.
Mrs. Howe Hutchins proclaimed, “These goblets have been in our family for generations and we feel that it is time that they return to the home where they belong and where they can be enjoyed by all Key West residents and their visitors.” Mr. and Mrs. Hutchins, who live in MA, were on vacation in Florida and made a special trip to Key West to hand deliver the goblets. Mrs. Hutchins concluded, “We always felt a strong connection to Key West, and now with the warm and gracious welcome that we have received, we truly feel like a part of the current Key West family as well. Bob and I, my sisters, and our entire family would like to thank you all.”
