Send me the photo, I'll post it for you.
Linda C

Here ya go:
{{gwi:1394723}}
And here's another
{{gwi:1394724}}
And one more:
{{gwi:1394725}}

Whew...I'm stumped. But here's my guess for what it's worth.

The chair seems to be a composite of several styles. The stiles, back splat, front legs, and side rail all appear to be of a eccletic styling. The wood also appears to be mixed. The side rails have the coloration, sheen, & patina of maple but the remainder of the chair looks like oak.

Overall though, the chair has a blocky nature to it that wasn't seen much before the 1880's. Do you happen to know the provenance of the chair? Is it possible your great-grandparents received this chair from a woodworker? I think it could be a one-of-a-kind handmade piece. For sure, it's a sturdy chair and has many years of comfortable rocking left in it. Very worthy of re-upholstering, IMO.

I'd date the chair to the 1920's...the mixed styling makes it difficult but I'm basing my opinion on the most recent style I see present in the chair which is the blocky presence indicating a Mission Oak influence. Try looking at some of Gustav Stickley's pieces for overall footprint & styling and see if you see a resemblance? This chair is not a Stickley, I'm certain but you will be able to see the influence. The current fabric is somewhat troublesome in that it would normally indicate a late 1890's time frame BUT since you noted the chair had been reupholstered at least once...the fabric is representing a personal choice rather than being necessarily typical of it's era.

Linda, please pitch in here and help...does it seem eccletic to you also?

Eclectic? For sure! LOL!....
I see that the top portion on the arms is walnut....but you are correct, the rest of the chair could be maple....but I really don't see any oak.
I am a bit confused by the decorative cut out pieces....they appear to be veneer?
But I don't see any Stickley there! LOL!
As to dating it? I think the only way would be by the construction method.
As to identifying the chair? It's an old chair, belonging to your great grand father, not typical of the era, and likely handmade by a friend or cabinet maker. It's ( as best as I can see) walnut and likely maple or poplar.
Knowing which part of the country your great grand father was from would help.
Linda C

lol No, it's certainly not a Stickley but looking at that type of piece would show the change to geometrical shapes which, I think, that chair is trying to do.

Looks to me like a rocker made by an amateur woodworker who had been looking at 18th and 19th century American furniture and adapted the motifs such as the pilasters and a fan detail from a chair splat. If you look at the way the legs are fastened to the rocker it's not extremely sophisticated nor is the carving delicate.

You'd know more about the age if it were ever reupholstered and you had a chance to see the way the seat frame was joined together. But early 20th century is good enough.

The grain in front looks like maple to me but it's hard to tell about that without seeing the chair.

So the owner has a lovely chair which is probably worth several hundred dollars but not a wild fortune. I think it could be charming painted if someone had a desire to lighten it up.