George Washington was held in such high regard that even minor objects associated with him became heirlooms. This battered teapot belonged to Washington’s sister Betty Washington Lewis. Somehow it wound up at an auction in Crete, Nebraska.
An accompanying 1938 letter from a Lewis descendant explained that Washington’s grandmother brought the teapot from England, and that it was lost for a time during the Revolutionary War but “was found again in an old slaves hut.” The writer also noted that Betty’s husband, Col. Fielding Lewis, spent much of his fortune supporting the war effort and was never reimbursed.
Later donated to the Nebraska State Historical Society, the teapot has no known Nebraska connection other than the auction in Crete, but as with several other items in the NSHS collections, donors and curators felt it was important that Nebraskans possess tangible connections to the American Revolution. In other posts this year we’ll look at some of the intangible connections.
Photo: NSHS 8288-17-(1-2)
–David L. Bristow, Editor (posted 1/7/26)
