Maine Memory Network

During the mid-19th century, silk crepe (crêpe or crape) was a preferred mourning attire fabric. Crepe was imported from England, created by skilled weavers. The yarns were dyed black by experienced artisans, using complex recipes and ingredients. Yet, older black crepe often faded to brown.

The condition of this garment indicates the owner, probably a widow, wore this dress for a long time. Crepe was not washable. Replaceable linings helped with soiling from lengthy wear and perspiration. This bodice is linen lined, and indigo cotton patches line the skirt hem and cuffs.

Associated with the Bradbury family of Standish, the exact wearer is unknown. For the average family, economic solutions helped with mourning observances. In an immediate situation, mourning attire could be shared with family and friends, or old garments dyed black at home, with expensive crepe fabric limited to trimmings.

According to "The Workwoman’s Guide by A Lady" published in London in 1838, which outlined various aspects of domestic life applicable to clothing and décor “Young persons, or those who are in mourning for young persons, frequently wear a good deal of white…very young children only wear white frocks [dresses] and black ribbons.”

The book was published about the same time this white cotton dress was made. Hand drawn ink work added the necessary black detail. The individual black ink work motifs are too detailed and dark to be embroidery transfers (tracing), but it is possible they were meant as future embroidery guidelines. The center cartridge pleats draw similarity between this piece and the mid-1830s dress on display in the Silhouettes in Sequence vignette nearby. However, this piece is not gender specific, despite the floral or lace components.

This two-piece silk ensemble represents peak Victorian-era mourning fashions. The basque-style jacket features a velvet standing collar and buttons. Likely once black, the velvet is now navy-blue in appearance, perhaps over time the dye coloration shifted. Decorative sharp and narrow flat pleats, called knife pleats, overlap one another along the skirt hem, adding detail for this otherwise modest 1880s skirt.

The skirt shows evidence that something, like an embellishment, was removed from the right side and back, perhaps to convert the garment into a subdued ensemble more suitable for mourning, or simply for updating purposes. Not every 19th century black dress was intended for mourning, but this matte black silk fabric supports mourning use. This garment is without provenance. However, it stands as one of few examples of mourning attire in the collection, which is stronger in mourning mementos, illustrations, and other aspects of mourning culture, than in garments.

The memorial for William Minott (1774–1817) of Westbrook and Portland features an urn on a pedestal which reads “Sacred to the Memory of Mr. William Minott Born Oct. 1, 1774, Died January 7, 1817.” Along with the poem “Long shall thy memory be rever’d / By those who knew thy worth / By those to whom thou wast endear’d / By strongest ties on earth”

This memorial was likely created a decade after Minott died in 1817. The woman at left is dressed in mourning attire fashioned for the early 1830s. The hat style further supports this later date. William Minott’s widow, Margaret Ross Minott, never remarried, supporting herself and her children by successfully managing the family’s real estate holdings after William’s death.

Mercy Owen Richardson, a cousin of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, wore this black net veil while in mourning. The fabric features an embroidered floral pattern.

While "The Workwoman’s Guide" called for crepe veils, lace or netting veils were popular mourning items. A gathered drawstring at the top of the veil sat on the crown of a bonnet. The veil draped down the front and folded back when necessary.

Richardson’s wedding dress is exhibited in Northern Threads' gigot sleeve vignette.

When sixteen-month-old Francis H.C. Small, son of Daniel and Julia Small of Raymond, died his parents commissioned this ink and watercolor memorial. These types of memorials, including illustrations and needlework, were popular in the mid-19th century. The image features a heavy black border, indicating the subject of death. It also features common iconography, such as a weeping willow, and a woman dressed in mourning attire crying into a handkerchief.

A poem to the deceased reads:

Here Francis Hubbard Small doth lie
In his coold bed to rest
His spirit fled to worlds on high
And is forever blessed
But sixteen months had rold away
When Jesus for him called
Here could this babe no longer stay
His time was now to fall.

[the spelling errors in the transcription are as written.]

A signature piece in the MHS collections, this oval locket holds George Washington’s hair. After Washington’s death in December 1799, twenty-year-old Eliza Wadsworth (1779-1802) wrote to her father, Peleg, while he was serving in the United States Congress in Washington D.C. Eliza asked for mementos from the president’s passing, especially a lock of hair. While she predicted a lock of hair was an improbable ask, Martha Washington was so moved by young Eliza’s “delicacy” and “innocence,” she granted Eliza’s “greatest wish.”

A precious belonging, before Eliza Wadsworth died in 1802, she willed the lock of hair to her sister Zilpah. Afterward, Zilpah’s son Henry Wadsworth Longfellow had a gold locket made for the strands, engraved with “Washington’s hair given by Mrs. Washington to Miss Eliza Wadsworth, April 5th, 1800, Henry W. Longfellow, 1850.” Zilpah’s daughter and MHS’ most notable benefactor, Anne Longfellow Pierce, gave the locket to Maine Historical Society in 1900.

In March 1800, General Peleg Wadsworth (1748-1829) wrote to the former first lady with “the partiality of a father for his daughter in an apology for this intrusion,” in which he forwarded Eliza’s letter, and delicately asked for Martha Washington’s favor.

Peleg Wadsworth, a Revolutionary War general, was acquainted with the Washingtons from his years serving in the United States Congress. Tobias Lear, President Washington’s personal secretary, replied to Wadsworth on Martha Washington’s behalf. Enclosed with this letter was a lock of George Washington’s hair.

Mourning pins, Germany, 1880–1910. Women used black hair pins, called mourning pins, to affix veils or other hair accessories while in mourning. German manufacturers made these pins for the British and American markets during the late Victorian period.

Mourning hairwork bracelet, 1856. Made from the hair of Sarah M. Taber (1836–1856) of Bristol, Maine, the bracelet includes six tightly braided bands of hair, loosely paired into bands of two. A tintype photograph inside the attached locket-type frame is marked “S.M.T./Died Aug. 14th, 1856.”

At the center is an oval pin encircled with jet beads. It also contains braided hair. The initials “F.T.” appear on the back, likely referencing Sarah’s father Benjamin Franklin Taber (1806–1889.)

Wiswall mourning pendant, circa 1775. An early example of mourning jewelry in the collection, this pendant features an ink-on-paper drawing of a female figure next to a tomb and urn. The tomb is decorated with skull-and-crossbones, and an angel flying above. These were common mourning symbols on 18th century gravestones. The Wiswell family (also spelled Wiswall) were loyalists who lived at Falmouth Neck, now modern-day Portland, during the Revolutionary War. The locket commemorates the death of Mercy Wiswall and her daughter during a pneumonia epidemic in Boston.

Bartlett family mourning ring, circa 1793. Made with ivory and gold, the ring’s watercolor painting includes two urns. The urns are inscribed “S.B./1769” and “E.B./1793” for Samuel and Elizabeth Lothrop Bartlett, the parents of Elizabeth Bartlett Wadsworth, who commissioned the ring. The urn design represents the cultural transition from death-head or skull designs to more subtle references to death. Elizabeth Bartlett Wadsworth and her husband Peleg were grandparents of the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

George Washington mourning armband, circa 1799. When former President George Washington died on December 14, 1799, the entire nation, including citizens in the District of Maine, mourned his passing. Some mourners wore arm bands in his memory. Strips of black gauze appear at the top and bottom of this arm band, with a black gauze rosette. At center is a hand-inked weeping willow next to an urn with “G W” on its base.

Teardrop shaped mourning pin, circa 1829. Commissioned by Maine politician William Pitt Fessenden (1806-1869), under the pin’s glass center is a lock of brown hair. Engraved on the reverse are the initials “EWL” for Fessenden’s fiancé Elizabeth Wadsworth Longfellow (1808-1829) who died before the couple married. The pin is edged with pearls and black onyx, both popular choices for mourning jewelry. Elizabeth was the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s younger sister.

Cummings mourning brooch, circa 1854. A rectangular gold brooch with black enamel border includes braided hair under the center glass. Sarah Ellen Cummings owned this brooch as a mourning memento for her father, Dr. Stephen Cummings (1774-1854), whose hair is enclosed.

Dr. Cummings practiced medicine in Portland. He later bought Richmond’s Island off the coast of Cape Elizabeth. The homestead, then owned by his son, is where the famous Richmond Island coins cache was discovered in 1858.

Hairwork drop earring, circa 1880. This elaborate earring is made from gilded brass and human hair. Associated with the Stickney and Wilder families of Eastport, unfortunately, only one earring in the pair survives.

Hairwork was popular throughout the 19th century, evolving from locks of hair inside a broach, to elaborate works of art including jewelry, embroidery, and wreathes. Hair workers in Maine advertised their skills in newspapers and local directories.

However, not all hairwork was mourning in nature. Hair was also clipped or saved from the living and worked into objects for family and friends as keepsakes.

Abraham Lincoln mourning badge, circa 1865. As with President Washington’s passing, citizens throughout the United States mourned the shocking loss of President Lincoln, albeit with a different tone. Mourning badges, such as this, are examples of the nation’s grief. The rosette shaped badge, made of black and (once) white silk, is typical of what Union soldiers wore after the president’s assassination. The item is paired with a funeral program for a satellite service held at Portland’s City Hall on April 19, 1865.

Funeral services program for a satellite service held at Portland City Hall on April 19, 1865.

"The Workwoman’s Guide by A Lady" published in London in 1838 outlined various aspects of domestic life applicable to clothing and décor. The author recommended four specific fabrics for mourning attire. These fabrics remained popular for mourning fashions throughout the 19th century.

Bombazine: A matte, twill fabric with a silk warp (a warp is a lengthwise thread) and wool filling. To date (2022), an example has yet to be identified in the collection, despite being an extremely popular choice for mourning attire.

Crepe: A fabric with a silk warp and highly twisted wool filling yarns, which create the characteristically dull, crinkled surface, as seen here with the Bradbury Family’s mourning dress. Textile mills developed many other textural variations in the later 19th century.

Muslin: A lightweight plain weave cotton.

Cambric: A lightweight, closely woven linen. Later made from cotton, it is similar to chambray. To date (2022), an example has yet to be identified in the collection.

Source:
"The Workwoman’s Guide: containing instructions to the inexperienced in cutting out and
completing those articles of wearing apparel,& c., which are usually made at home …" London: Simpkin, Marshall and Co., 1838.