News & Events

THE ROGERS’ STEINWAY PIANO HAS ARRIVED In January, the J. Theodore Rogers’ Steinway Piano was delivered to SHS from the workshop of Tali Mahanor in Yonkers. This upright Steinway had been in the Rogers home on Rte. 37 South for over 100 years. From what we’ve been able to find out, the piano was built by Steinway & Sons at their New York City factory in 1892, and sold to a Mrs. Mary Sherwood of Pawling, N.Y., the same year. Mary Sherwood was related to the Rogers family, who, by 1908, had come into the possession of the piano. The piano was likely transported from Pawling to Sherman by horse and cart over Quaker Hill Road, down Briggs Hill Road to 2010 SHS Program of Events Maplemont Farm, the home of the J. Theodore Rogers family.

For the Sherman Historical Society, this provenance is extremely valuable. Receiving a gift of this size that was delivered to Sherman over 100 years ago, and is still in good condition, is quite remarkable! The Society is indebted to ALICE ROGERS, now living in London, KY. Alice was the family member to designate the Society as the receiver of the piano from the Rogers estate. J. THEODORE ROGERS and his wife, RUTH, had three children at Maplemont. The oldest, BURTON, lived away from Sherman his entire life, but held tight to his roots. Until his death in 2007, at age 96, he was a loyal member of the Society Society and in contact with me from time to time.

The second child was MALYN, who was a charter member of the Society and served as an Honorary Director until her death in 2008. A younger son, KENNETH, had continued in his father’s business of surveying until his death in 1999. Ken married ALICE HOULBERG and they raised two children in the family home. It was MISS RUTH ROGERS, Theodore’s sister, who played the piano, followed by Ken and Alice’s daughter, CAROL.

The piano was last played by JULIE ASTBURY, the wife of the REV. PAUL ASTBURY of The Sherman Church, where the Rogers were lifetime members. Most recently, whenMalyn was homebound, it was customary on their visits thatMalyn would ask them to play and sing for her. Paul relates that Julie played, he sang and Malyn would tap her feet with a big smile on her face. So the Steinway continued into a new century, with little “maintenance”, still bringing music into the home at Maplemont.

TALI MAHANOR, a noted authority on Steinway pianos and former Sherman resident, generously offered to clean and refurbish the Steinway, her specialty, for the Historical Society. This offer was gratefully accepted and the instrument wasmoved to her workshop fromMaplemont. It was dedelivered to the Society last month by Keyboard Express and was moved into the gallery room.

According to Tali, the instrument was in very good condition when she received it. She was especially thrilled to discover that it came with its original key. “I have never seen a piano that is over 100 years old survive with its original key. The key depicts the famous Steinway logo and is a treasure to behold.”

Another feature that greatly pleased Tali is the fact that this particular Steinway piano came with a complete diary that logged every step in the manufacturing process on a daily basis, including the name of the first owner. We thus know that the piano was completed on 18 February 1892 and shipped by rail to the HICKOCK & SMITH MUSIC COMPANY in Poughkeepsie,NY. It is not entirely clear as to when the Rogers family actually came into the possession of the piano. The instrument was sold on 18 June 1892 to aMrs.Mary Sherwood of Pawling, NY, who, according to Alice Rogers, was related on her mother’s side.We know fromfamily records that the piano was in the Rogers’ home around 1908. The refurbishing of the Rogers’ Steinway piano involved very little work, according to Tali.Other than a careful overall cleaning as well as the replacement of the bridal straps and the bass dampers, only one string had to be replaced; all other broken strings could be rewound and reused. What a rare and beautiful gift; it will be greatly appreciated for many generations to come!

Gloria Thorne, SHS Curator

The Sherman Historical Society, Sherman CT 860-354-3083
shermanhistorical@sbcglobal.net

The Society is grateful to SNET of Connecticut for a grant to design this web site and to bring the Sherman Historical Society on-line.