The subject is believed to be William R. Symons of Savannah, Georgia, who married Sarah Ann Burr (d. 1814) of Bridgeport, Connecticut, in the 1830s. This miniature descended to their only son, Frederick W. Symons, and remained in the family until acquired by the Society in 1957 from Mrs. Lillian Sturtevant Pingry, the subject's great-granddaughter.