It's an old tool chest....hand made....AND VERY NICE.
It was saved because a set of tools was a valuable thing....and without tools a man couldn't work nor rebuild. has it now.
My grandfather had a similar chest...I hope a cousin has it now.

I've nothing to add other than walnut was a much-used wood in Missouri and quite prized for utilitarian use because of its duribility and hardness. My first husband carved and whittled a replacement barrel for one of his antique rifles (handed down from his father) from a piece of black walnut we bargained off another farmer there.

That chest is beautiful in a rugged way and the family history surrounding it make it especially wonderful. Do you know if your ancestor had any special vocation requiring special tools like a cooper or smithy? Have you done any genealogical research on him? It has a very rich history as far as the Civil War because it was the state where brothers fought brothers over the cessation issue.

That chest looks like it would have survived the fire if not rescued - that's one tough-looking chest (just kidding).
It's very neat, even if I don't know what the Jayhawkers are :-) Who'd have thunk to dovetail a toolbox?? AND its frame?
Anyway, congrats on successful photo posting!

KarinL

I would certainly delve more deeply into you ancestor's history. I looks to me like that chest was custom built for very specific tools. It would be fascinating to find out just what they were.

I agree that it was probably made for specific tools, like perhaps a saw chest for carpentry. One of my great grandfathers was a cooper. He and his brothers were all cabinetmakers or coopers. Gramps made wine barrels. His trade called for very specific tools and if you think about it, we take storage for granted. In earlier days (even as early as the 1960s) many, if not most, containers were wooden. I have many of my father's wooden Army footlockers I am repurposing for storage all over my house. When we shipped animals back and forth across the ocean by ship, their crates were custom made of wood. Really old wooden truncks and boxes are interesting items and many were made using joinery a lot fancier than you'd imagine because frankly it made them more durable than glue and nails.

Jayhawkers were guerrilla fighters from Kansas who crossed over into Missouri during the Civil War. They were anti-slavery and a lot of people in western Missouri were pro -- I guess including my great-grandfather. At least he was fighting on the Confederate side. The Jayhawkers did a lot of burning of homes, including the Lawler's.

I always thought Eli was a farmer, but I will check into that deeper. My son has all the family history stuff and I'll ask him. I know we have the paper from the Union side after he was captured and released, more or less telling him to go home and behave himself! It says he was 33 years old, 6'1" and had gray hair.

I'm quite pleased with my photo success. Thank you very much!

Maybe it was also saved because it had handles and could be carried more easily than other furniture.

A chest like that could have been a tool chest, but since it was inside the house, it could have doubled as a window seat - that was common practice. It would have contained family memorabilia and legal papers such as deeds, marriage license, and bills of sale. Yep, that is the one piece of furniture that you'd drag out of a burning house.