An honored guest, would at this point, be ushered into the parlor to the left by a slave who would have opened the door to the visitor's knock. In the parlor Silas's wife could be waiting to pour tea for her guests at Silas's tea table (see image) or Silas could be ready for political discussions or card games with his friends. This room is full of furnishings and decorations, which speak to the wealth of the family who resided here.

First, notice the portraits that the Museum is proud to have in its collection. Here you can officially meet Silas (see portrait) as he looked in the 1760s when he was painted by William Johnston. His first wife Mehitable (see portrait) was also painted by Johnston at the same time but her portrait, which also includes their one son, Jesse, is not now in the Deane house. It can be seen at the Kent-DeLord Museum in Plattsburgh, New York. Only the wealthy could afford portraits at this time and the Deanes, we are sure, sat proudly for Johnston as he painted them in the 1760s. We do not have Mehitable's portrait here on the wall but we do have Deane's second wife, Elizabeth Saltonstall (see portrait), who he married shortly after Mehitable's death in the 1767. Another New England portrait painter, Joseph Blackburn, had painted Elizabeth's portrait when she was younger and living in the New Haven area. Blackburn painted other portraits of the Saltonstall family that can be seen at other Connecticut museums. You can examine each of the Deane portraits more closely by clicking on the link to a large version of each portrait.

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