Cedar Shoals Plantation was on Fishing Creek in eastern Chester Co., SC.  It was the home of the Gaston  family, having been a land grant from the king before the Revolutionary War.   John, a Justice of the Peace in Craven (later Chester) County, was the first one who settled there.  Mary Buford Gaston (1841-1924), was his great grand-daughter.    She was born at Cedar Shoals and lived there until moving to Chester.   

I think the W on the chair was the identification mark of the maker, and the Roman numeral indicated it was chair number 7 (VII) of the same kind made by the maker.  Hope this info helps you.  There are still Gastons in Chester.  I am descended from Justice John's daughter Margaret.  I would be interested to know where the trashpile was!  Regards,  Mary Brown Powell

Date: Mon, 4 Sep 2000 21:20:10 -0400
>From: vriddle 
>Subject: Mary B Gaston
>To: [email protected]
>Message-id: <[email protected]> Content-type: text/plain
>Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT
>X-Message: #3
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>I recently found a beautiful old walnut victorian rocker that someone had put on the trashpile. Under four layers of old upholstery material, I discovered a small piece of paper. The paper is glued on the chair and says, "Purchased in Charleston by Mary B Gaston for Cedar Shoals Plantation." The chair has the Roman numeral VII and the letter "W" carved underneath. I am looking for any information on Mary B Gaston and/or Cedar Shoals Plantation. Also, if anyone can shed any light on the carving of the Roman numeral on the furniture, I would appreciate your comments. Thanks.


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