This basket was given to my great-great-great-grandmother, Jane, by a Native American man who she met peaking into her house one day - he had a broken arm, and she bandaged him up, and he returned later with this basket as a gift for her. My family has a history of strong, independent women, and Jane was no exception - she first married a man her father didn't approve of, but eventually left him and married an Irish sailor, who was so into Shakespeare that he papered their Missouri (what was an Irish sailor doing in Missouri?!) home with Shakespeare's work - and would force all the children outside so they wouldn't disturb his reading. Jane got fed up with this, and lined all the children up in the kitchen to see if they wanted to leave with her, or stay with their father. They all chose her. Eventually she passed this basket to who daughter, Ann, who passed it to my great-grandmother Carol, who gave it to my Great-Aunt Carol (Nana) in 1982, along with a note detailing the above story. When I stopped by to visit Nana today, she showed it to me, and reminded me how cool family history is! By my very rough calculations, I'm guessing this basket was given to Jane sometime in the 1840s-50s??
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