Rich, Kimberly A.2020-05-222020-05-221989http://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/27167This thesis examines the meanings of objects preserved for posterity by one Delaware woman: Mary Cowgill Corbit Warner (1848-1923). I have focussed my study on those objects which she collected and selected for display in her grandfather's house, the David Wilson Mansion, now called the Wilson-Warner House. This analysis of material evidence explores what Mary's material world signified for her. ☐ Mary's collections are her autobiography; her acquisitions of souvenirs, antiques, and family heirlooms reveal a cogent personal and historical mission. By rehabilitating the David Wilson house, Mary vindicated her grandfather who had lost the property in an 1828 bankruptcy. Mrs. Warner reinterpreted the homestead as a museum that displayed both the artifactual legacy of her colonial forbearers and her own belongings and collections. Thus, the museum served to perpetuate a concept of family unity as well as Mary's personal history. (Abstract from ProQuest citation page.)Warner, Mary Cowgill Corbit, 1848-1923Wilson Warner House (Odessa, Del.)Antiques -- Private collections -- Delaware -- OdessaMaterial culture -- Delaware -- OdessaThesis1155198866