… I have no doubt you will be well satisfied when the work is done.
b. 1801 d. 1861
Site Affiliation: Thomas Day Historic House
Thomas Day was a freeborn man of color from Dinwiddie County, Virginia. As a child, Day learned the art of cabinetmaking from his father along with his brother in Warren County, North Carolina. He came to the small rural town of Milton, North Carolina, in the 1820s.
He produced furniture, coffins, and decorative architectural pieces for his esteemed clientele, which included several former governors, state representatives, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 1848, Thomas Day bought the Union Tavern, which served as his permanent residence, workshop, sales room, and the largest cabinet-making factory in North Carolina. Day created art for everyday use with the help of the enslaved people and free craftsmen who resided on his property. Day’s work can be seen in various homes along the North Carolina-Virginia border.
Primary Medium: Cabinetry, architectural woodwork
Primary Stylistic Term: Veneering, American Classical, American Empire, Architectural Integration, Black Folk Art, Federal, Rococo Revival
Fun Fact: Thomas Day’s connections allowed him to travel throughout the upper South and northeast, including Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and Massachusetts. Over 70 homes in North Carolina and Virginia contain architectural woodwork that is attributed to Thomas Day.
Recommended Publications: Thomas Day: Master Craftsman and Free Man of Color by Patricia Marshall and Jo Leimenstoll (2010); The Hidden History of Thomas Day by Laurel Sneed and Patricia Rogers (2009).