Saturday is Battery Day! We enthusiastically invite you to Conanicut Battery Historic Park for Battery Day this Saturday, May 9. Festivities begin at 1 p.m. Captain Tew's 1st Company of the 2nd Rhode Island Regiment of Foot will set up camp on Friday night and will drill on Battery Day morning. Come early to learn how the troops lived during the American Revolution and watch the drill. Everybody is welcome.

Parking at the Conanicut Battery Historic Park is limited. The Conanicut Marina shuttle, courtesy of Bill and Mae Munger, will operate between Mackerel Cove and the Battery to bring those who arrive too late to find parking at the park.

"Members only" at Tennis Hall of Fame

Thursday, May 21, is our spring members-only party. Starting at 5:30 p.m., the International Tennis Hall of Fame will host a special reception for all JHS members at the historic Newport Casino on Bellevue Avenue. The 1880 building was designed by McKim, Mead and White, the nationally prominent architectural firm of the late 19th and early 20th centuries; it was one of the firm's earliest projects.

Do you know this man?

Wine and cheese will be served in the United States Tennis Association room. The Tennis Hall of Fame Museum, which is connected to the USTA, will be open from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The museum director will be there to talk about the museum and the building. JHS members may tour the museum at their leisure, using audio tour devices if they wish or just wander through. The entire history of tennis, from the 12th century through today, is chronicled in the museum's 18 galleries.

Our own John Murphy will be on hand to explain court tennis — a forerunner of modern tennis that has been played in its present form since the 12th century. John is an avid court tennis player, as are several other JHS members.

Tickets are $25. The reception is for members and their spouses and guests exclusively. If you're a member, you will be getting a postcard soon with all the details about how to make reservations and buy tickets.

Not a member? Now is a good time to become one. Membership forms can be picked up at the JHS exhibit case in the Jamestown Philomenian Library or on our website at jamestownhistoricalsociety. org. (Sorry, we haven't instituted online payment yet.) Or call Shawn Mayers at 439-8763 or email at shawnmayers@cox.net

Do you know this man?

One of the major efforts of the JHS Collections Committee over the past four years has been to computerize the paper records describing material that entered the society's collection over the years. As we transfer the information, we research anomalies and try to make sure that everything we have in the collection is properly identified and is appropriate for the collection—that it says something about Jamestown's past and can be used by future generations to understand our island.

Every so often, we come across a mystery object. After all, the society has been collecting pieces of Jamestown history since 1912 — almost 100 years. Labels have been lost or descriptions that seemed sufficient at the time no longer convey necessary information. Usually we can decipher the title "Grandfather at two" and assign a name and an approximate year. But not always.

The man in the portrait with this column is at present unknown. The original portrait is a framed, 16-by 20-inch print. There are no identifying marks, numbers, or names. Who is he?

We have one possible clue. In 1934, Eliza Brownell gave the society a portrait of William W. Wales, the lighthouse keeper at Dutch Island from 1865 to 1873 and at Beavertail Light from 1873 until his death in 1895. The record of the gift includes only those facts — nothing about size or medium or framing. The Wales portrait has not been located.

The JHS has not yet been able to determine whether this is the missing Wales portrait or not, and if it isn't Wales who it is. Can you help us?