Chairs such as this example were often the first pieces of furniture made in new settlements. They were constructed with sticks and slabs, and without the benefit of most of the equipment available to cabinetmakers and chair makers of the period. Between 1803 and 1837, Thomas Talbot oversaw the development of a large community called the Talbot Settlement on the north shore of Lake Erie, Elgin County, Ontario. According to the oral history that accompanied this chair, it was part of the early furnishings of this settlement.