The
early part of the 19th century (1812 to 1845) was a time of
transition in America. The war of 1812 had finalized conflicts with distant
neighbors over territories of the new west and manifest destiny was born ,
though the phrase had not been coined until about 1845 , the philosophy of
manifest destiny was alive and well in America, and thusly , the newly formed
nation began to forge it’s own ideas and culture.
In a
book by Author Jack Larkin, “The reshapning
of everyday life 1790-1840” (Harper Collins books copy right 1988)Larkin wrote;
The years just around 1800 saw a sharp
transformation of the silhouettes of both sexes. For men , knee breeches, long
tailed coats and cocked hats or low crowned, broad brimmed hats gave way to
pantaloons (a close fitting garment covering the hips and legs), short ,snug,
close-fitting coats and tall stove pipe hats with narrow brims. By 1815 older
style clothing such as knee breeches, shoes with buckles and the wearing of
wigs with large brimmed hats, became the relics of the past.
Clothing took on a more simplistic styling and had the working
look of sailors and laborers. Longer pants and shorter coats were a distinct
reality.
Women’s fashions also changed, with a shift from full skirts,
long sleeves and high necks (18th century styling) to a “classical
mode” which fit the figure more closely and exposed far more of the arms and
upper body.
While
researching my own family history some years ago, I found that I was closely
related to the Curtis family ( William
–Wiley Curtis & Lovey (Inman) Curtis ) of Crawford County Illinois. The
Curtis family was among some of the first groups of settlers to come to
Illinois. Even more interesting was the fact that two very early photographs of
William (Wiley) Curtis and his wife Lovey (Inman) Curtis were still in
existence.
Photo;
William (Wiley) Curtis Photo Lovey
(Inman) Curtis
1793-1869 1798-1869
Background;
William
and Lovey Curtis lived in Crawford County Illinois, in Kibbie, which is near
present day Oblong Illinois. William was a Preacher (New Light Christian),
soldier and farmer. Lovey was a housewife. Kibbie is still, by modern
standards, a remote location with the exception of being located on the
Embarras River and relatively close to the Wabash River. So it is probably safe
to say that life in Kibbie evolved at a fairly slow rate.
It
is not known when these photos were taken. Judging by the approximate age of
both persons, it is probably pre-civil war. And the photographic process being
used in Williams picture appears to be a tin type or ambrotype process, which
wasn’t used until the 1850’s.
There
is one more clue, which tells us that these photos are probably a good
representation of clothing for the time period covering the 1830’s-1850’s. That
clue is the last will and testament of William Curtis to his family, in which
he leaves behind very little material property. The items in the will
included: A blanket, a dresser, some
tools and a few dollars for his children and nothing more. So it is very
probable that the clothing we are viewing here were long term possessions. This
information also confirms more Jack
Larkins writings, of which he writes;
The
families of farmers were clothed in articles of their own making, in garments
of home-produced linen, wool or a combination of the two, while wealthier
Americans had their clothes made of fine linens, woolen broad cloth, imported
silk and cotton. Most people owned relatively few clothes, because garments
were expensive.
Drawing
on these clues from Mr. Larkin’s work and a closer examination of the
photos reveals the following;
William
is wearing a short close fitting coat and long pants. Under his coat he is
wearing vest, white shirt and tie which appears to be a length of material tied
by hand in the front.
While
the photo of Lovey, as presented here is of very poor quality. I have seen a
cleaner copy, and the following is a description of what is found in that
photo.
Lovey
is wearing a simple calico pattern dress, with a low -neck line. She is also
wearing a bonnet. The bonnet appears to cover here entire head up to the face
and ties beneath her jin.
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Materials;
In 1814 U.S.
Businessmen, Francis Cabot Lowell and Patrick Tracey Jackson built the first
textile mill in America. The mill took raw cotton and turned it into finished
cloth. This innovation, along with the increase of British textile
manufacturing made the available a wide range of materials. Though it must be
noted that by the 1830’s millions of Americans were still wearing homespun
clothes made of tow-cloth (a coarse linen made of the shortest flax of fibers)
and linsey-woolsey (a mix of cotton and wool). These types of homespun cloth,
would have probably been more prevalent in secluded rural areas (such as
Crawford County).
The Hunting Frock
Picture: Henry Dodge ( Michigan Territory
Volunteers) in frontier dress
Black Hawk
War period
The
hunting frock , by many historical accounts can be found in use from the time
of the American revolution and up to the civil war. Many military units adopted
the use of the hunting frock in many different colors.
In
an article written by John Lee Allaman; Uniforms and Equipment of The Black
Hawk and the Mormon War (Under Western Illinois Regional Studies), Allaman
states:
Most
volunteers (militia) undoubtedly wore the usual civilian clothes during their
military service. Men in frontier Illinois often wore brown or blue jeans
clothing-pants made with a flap in front, knit yarn suspenders, and sometimes a
coon skin cap.
They also wore heavy cowhide boots or shoes. Another important
item of clothing was the fringed hunting shirt, hunting frock or wamus. People
often utilized linen or cotton material, and leather skins to make to make this
garment.
The hunting frock closely resembled the common working frock worn
by “country people” and laborers . Sewers sometimes made the shirt or frock as
a pull over item of clothing and other times it would be open in the front and
then held shut with a sash or leather belt. John Reynolds claimed that a blue
linsey hunting shirt with fringe. Composed of red and other bright colors was
the universal outside wear of early Illinois.