U.S. Data Repository -- USGenNet Inc. -- Please read the U.S. Data Repository Copyright Statement on the following page: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (pages 147-169) Chapter VIII Before the Rule of Fashion The apparel oft proclaims the man.覧Shakespeare. If there's a hole in a' your coats, I rede ye tent it; A chiel's amang ye takin' notes, An' faith, he'll prent it. 覧Robert Burns. Just as many changes have taken place in the cookery and in the furnishing of the home since the days of grandmother's great-grand- mother, so has a wonderful transformation taken place in the fashions, although that remote an- cestor was more sensibly, if more rudely gowned than we; for she wore linen and linsey-woolsey and woolen garments, woven and dyed by her own hands. She placed the stems of the flax plants which she grew in her garden in water and left them until the bark was rotted away. The bast, or tough fibers remained, and this the spinning wheel converted into linen threads, later to be woven into cloth on the hand loom and made up into towels, sheets and clothing覧 "short gowns" for the women, and shirts and trousers for the men and grown-up boys. The very finest and best linen was called "eight hundred" because it was woven in an eight hundred reed, containing 800 splits with two threads to a split. The ticking was closely woven in fine twilled stripes. Sometimes the tow was used in combination with wool, and then the product was called "linsey-woolsey." The hunting shirts of the men were made of this material. The early settlers often made shirts of cloth woven from the fibers of the common nettle, instead of flax. These must have proven as severe instruments of torture as the hair shirts of the ascetics of the Middle Ages, for the cloth was so stiff that it was neces- sary to soften it by rubbing it between the hands. Great-great-great-grandfather reared his flocks and sheared them of their coats覧rusty, full of briars and cockleburrs, but capable of being transformed into the whitest and fleeciest of wool. The fleece was carded into rolls about two feet long and as thick as one's finger, spun on the "big wheel," and woven on the loom into blank- ets and other articles for winter use. Grand- mother's great-grandmother did the weaving herself, but grandmother's mother sometimes had hired help when there was an extra amount of work to be done, for times had improved since her grandmother's day. Grandmother's great-grandmother knew more about the practical use of trees and herbs than most women of to-day. Out to the woods she went, digging up roots and stripping various trees of their barks to use in coloring her cloth. She knew that sumac and black oak and wal- nut hulls would yield a black dye, and that yellow root, yellow poplar and tulip root would color her garments yellow. She also knew that the best preparations were made by boiling the roots and the barks in just enough water to cover them, and that better results were obtained when the mixture was allowed to cool before the yarn was weighted to the bottom of the ves- sel in which the dye was made. The following was a well-known receipt: Peel off walnut bark and cover with water in a wooden trough. Leave for ten days or until well fer- mented. Take out bark and place cloth under liquid. Remove material from liquid, wring, and hang out to air for fifteen minutes. Replace in liquid. Repeat operations for three or four days. This gives brown. Grandmother's mother was not as learned in the lore of the woods as her grandmother had been. She had easier methods at hand; there- fore, instead of selecting roots and barks from the trees, she used copperas and logwood to make her goods black, and a solution of indigo to color them blue; and she knew how to add blue vitriol to the mixture before she boiled it, to make the colors fast. Besides all this, she gave her cloth a more brilliant hue than her grandmother was able to obtain by the use of pokeberries and sumac berries and madder, for she dissolved cochineal in water and produced a flaming scarlet. These are two of the receipts she used: Place copperas in water, set aside until well dissolved. Weaken dye in order that goods may be handled with- out injury to the skin. Souse yarn in copperas liquid. This gives a dark color. Wring and dip in lye water. Repeat three times. This gives a pale yellow which never fades. To make green覧Soak bran for one day and save water. Place indigo in bag, put it and some powdered madder in water. Leave for nine days. Then mix half and half of water and other liquid. Place article to be colored in liquid and wring out every three hours until material is dyed black. Then place in liquid made by boiling green hickory bark and alum with water to cover. When cool, place cloth under liquid. This gives a fast green. However, grandmother's mother had learned one thing from her grandmother that she did not forget, and that was that "dyed-in-the-wool" as an expression indicating fast colors was not a fallacy, but originated from the fact that yarn must be dyed before it was knitted, or woven into cloth, if an even color were to be obtained. Besides, by this method, she was enabled to secure the wide stripes so popular in her day, as well as in that of her grandmother. And, too, she was fortunate in that she was able to buy "bunches" of cotton to use in her weaving. A five-pound bunch of No. 1 cotton was enough to chain 30 yards of goods for the fill- ing of which she used tow. This combination of cotton and tow for warp and woof took the place of the earlier combination of wool and tow known as "linsey-woolsey," and was known by the same name. If the members of the modern household had to use the crude implements with which our grandmother's great-grandmother patiently fash- ioned garments, they would consider their lot hard indeed, for we find instances in which as late as the early 50's bone needles whetted down to the desired length and thickness were used. The textiles being coarse and the threads far apart it was not difficult to push the needle in and out of the goods. Steel needles were very scarce, high priced, and precious. A fine needle used for sewing silks and delicate goods was worth as much as 1 cents, the price vary- ing according to size and quality. As soon as a girl was old enough to sew, she was given a very coarse needle to use until her ability proved her worthy of a finer one. One of the greatest humiliations that could come to a girl was to lose her needle, and often children in the same family would compete with one another to see which could keep one the longest, as well as to learn to sew most rapidly. The prize was the coveted fine needle, the winner having the privilege of retaining her coarse one also. A gift a bride highly prized was a package of needles of all sizes, the package being large or small, according to the wealth of the giver. These the frugal housewife used in a most care- ful manner, sharpening them as their points grew dull, so that in time the 1-1/2 inch long imple- ments assumed the diminutive proportions of one half an inch. When grandmother's grandmother was a very young girl she wore a homespun linen short gown over a linsey-woolsey petticoat as her mother did. The short gown in the illustration was considered a very elegant garment in its day. A thread of "turkey red" cotton brought from Winchester, and a thread of blue, dyed with indigo bought in the same eastern market, form alternate stripes about an inch apart. A wide plait is laid in the back and stitched down neatly by hand, the row of tiny stitches form- ing a kind of trimming, and the peplum is stitched to the extremely short waist in the same way. As she grew older, while she still wore linsey-woolsey on week days, grandmother's grandmother had a flannel dress to wear to church on Sunday. The costume her father and her grown up brothers wore did not differ much on "high days and holidays" from that worn on week days. It consisted of a hunting jacket, or "wamus," made of heavy flannel, dyed red, which hung loosely from the shoul- ders, three-fourths of the length of the body. Blue linsey breeches, moccasins of hog or buck- skin, and skin caps made by their own hands completed their attire. Sometime later leather breeches became popular articles of wearing ap- parel, and we have ample proof of the vanity of the men of the period from the fact that there is a case on record in which a judge bor- rowed the leather breeches belonging to one of his friends in order to make a good appearance at a meeting in Washington County, Pennsyl- vania. Pythias never showed more striking evi- dence of his willingness to sacrifice himself for Damon than did the loyal supporter of this proud occupant of the bench for his friend, because he was obliged to forego all important social functions until the judge returned with his breeches. Grandmother's great-grandmother did not wear moccasins, but had homemade shoes of calf skin, laced inside, with low, flat heels, which she seldom wore except on special occa- sions. Since in the early days each person could afford only one pair of shoes a year, it was necessary to practice strict economy in the use of them. Women and children walked barefoot to church, carrying their shoes until within sight of the meetinghouse; then they stopped and sat down to put on their shoes and stockings. In the fall, when the frost was very thick, the boys who drove the cows to and from the milking places waited as long as possible in the morning to give the sun time to warm the ground, and then ran along, standing on as many rocks as could be found; for rocks were more quickly warmed than was the frosted grass. There were few toilet articles in the first homes in Marion County, and they were the barest necessities; this may in part account for the simpHcity of the coiffures of these early periods when the women wore their hair in a simple knot at the back of the head, and the children wore theirs braided down their backs in "pig tails." Grandmother's great-grand- mother made her own combs from cows' horns, which were heated very hot and pressed under heavy weights until they were flat and cold, when notches were sawed in the horn, and the comb was finished. Wooden combs were used when horn could not be obtained. When Mr. Harrison Manley brought the first fine comb into his neighborhood it was an article of great curiosity and its use was highly appreciated as a luxury. Mr. Manley sat down on Sunday morning to comb out his weekly hatch of little pests, and a neighbor, stopping for a morning's call, was much impressed by what he saw and borrowed the comb. In time knowledge of the utility of the article spread abroad, and it was in constant use every Sabbath day, but on Sab- bath evening it was returned to its owner for another week's keeping. The children of this, as well as of the pre- ceding period, wore a long home-spun linen shirt, reaching to the ankles. This was the only gar- ment worn in winter and in summer, until the child reached the age of twelve or fourteen years. Elbert Moran, who has reached the advanced age of ninety-five, says that this garment was worn in his boyhood, as late as 1834. His mother made him linsey trousers when he was a half- grown lad, and these he invariably stole out and donned whenever he knew that company was coming. Many of the growing children wore no shoes覧a thing that seems incredible to us, when we know that the snow lay on the ground three or four feet deep during the entire winter season. However, we are told that mothers often utilized the tops of old shoes to make moccasins for their babies. About the year 1830 skin caps became very popular in Middletown. It seems that some boys, influenced by the idea that musk could be secured from muskrats, trapped about thirty of these little animals and kept them almost a year. By that time they had become obnoxious; and as the boys had not discovered the method for securing the perfume, they killed and skinned the muskrats and made caps out of their pelts. When grandmother's mother was young, shoemakers did the work that had formerly been done by the head of the house; and twice a year she and her brothers and sisters were measured for shoes. Indeed, if she were an ultra-fashionable young lady, she might even possess a pair of bronze shoes, not nearly so clumsy in appearance as those of home manu- facture. Grandfather's father still wore home- spun, but about this time boots became fashion- able for men, and were worn on all occasions, continuing in vogue for many years after the period with which this narrative ends. It is said that Benjamin Fleming had squirrel skins tanned and converted into high grade footwear. Mr. Fleming traded skins for shoes, also. Women made everyday gloves of sheep skin. The hide was placed in moist wood ashes, after which it was scraped with a dull- edged tool, and pounded well to remove the lye. While the leather was drying it was fre- quently rubbed to make it soft and pliable. After it was completely dry a thick coat of grease was applied to keep it soft as well as waterproof. On dress up occasions "half banders" were worn. "Half banders" were mittens without fingers, knitted out of silk, with artistic flower designs on the backs. The stockings, too, were knit, being very warm and serviceable for winter wear. At the age of seven, girls were expected to knit their own stockings; at ten they must be able to knit for themselves and for two brothers, if they were so fortunate as to pos- sess them, and they were always expected to knit a year's supply in advance. A fashionable article of the period was the knitting sheath, which was made of two small pieces of silk sewed together and pinned at the waist. The end of the needle was inserted in this small pocket while the busy fingers of the owner were at work. Mrs. Rebecca Robe, who was Rebecca Prickett, has a knitting sheath and a small satin pin cushion that were sent from eastern Virginia by her great-aunt Rebecca to the little namesake. The pin cushion still contains some of the clumsy hand- made pins that were in it when Mrs. John Prickett carried it on horseback across the mountains to her baby daughter in 1837. Hats for women were unknown. Bonnets were made of linen; the fronts stiffened with wooden or pasteboard slats. The skirt of the bonnet hung almost to the waist. Summer and winter these were worn, the style varying little from year to year. When muslin came into use, it was bought in large quantities on account of its cheapness, and dyed according to the taste of the wearer. Yellow seemed to be the most popular color for Sunday dresses. In 1816 Mary Cochran and her elder sister Hannah made a web of linen and sent it to Winchester by their father, Nathaniel Cochran, to be sold. With the money for the linen Mr. Cochran bought nine yards of calico at 75 cents a yard and, as Mary afterwards said, it made for her and her sister "good, ample dresses." Later in the same year Mary was married in brown silk, but rode away in her "eight hundred" linen dress because she feared she would soil her precious calico. However, when she ar- rived at Brownsville, Pennsylvania, the home of her husband, she donned the calico dress. Great-great-aunt Drexy Hunsaker's calico gown cost 75 cents a yard also, but by the time the dress goods was sold in Fairmont it cost but 40 or 50 cents. Its advent was hailed with delight, as only a few of the people had owned gowns of the material, or knew what it was like. In the spring of 1833 a Mr. McKee, who at that time kept a store in Fairmont on the comer where Holt's drug store now stands, made a trip across the Alleghany mountains to a village in Virginia to get his yearly supply of salt. Upon his arrival at his destination he heard people talking about a certain material that could be made into dresses, but was not homespun; "for," they said, "it is woven by machinery." Small, bright figures printed on the fabric in dif- ferent colors added to its attractiveness. Mr. McKee examined the new dress goods and brought all he could carry back across the mountains. One day, shortly after his return, a woman came into his store to whom Mr. Mc- Kee showed the calico. She promptly ordered enough to supply her whole family, but the store- keeper refused to sell her more than three yards, saying that he must keep some for each of his customers; so the disappointed woman had to content herself with the limited amount. Calico soon became so popular that all the better dresses were made of it, while homespun served for everyday wear. One hundred linen was eagerly traded for it, and in the latter part of the period a woman thought she was receiving a high price for her butter if she could trade four pounds of it for a yard of calico. Grand- mother's mother went shopping in a calico dress, a sunbonnet, a white apron, and perhaps a white linen collar and cuffs. Very few of the wo- men had silk dresses, for silk had to be im- ported. Miss Mary Black's grandfather, who made guns in a shop on Bell Run, brought a silk dress and a fine shawl to his wife, who was a member of the Fleming family, on a return trip from Pittsburgh in the early 40's, and these garments were among the first of the kind in Fairmont. The woman who was anxious to buy such a large amount of calico from Mr. McKee must surely have lived near Miss Ferris, who, in 1840, brought the first sewing machine into Marion County. Miss Ferris was one of the best dressmakers of the period. After learning her trade in London, she came to Fairmont, where she set up her shop on the corner of Jack- son and Quincy Streets. Her sewing machine was about one foot long and six inches wade. It was screwed to the top of a table, was hand propelled and sewed with a lock stitch. She bought this machine after she came to Fair- mont, paying $80 for it. The "pill back" dress belongs to this period. Its peculiarity consisted in that, instead of but- tons or other fastenings, from the neck to the waist glittered many pins, placed as closely to- gether as possible. At this time thorns were commonly used as pins, and the bright "store pins" were considered highly ornamental. Shortly after 1840 the men of the wealthier class began to wear ruffled shirts with stiff pleated bosoms and, at the neck, a stock collar with a bow, commonly called the "stand-up dickey." When paper collars and cuffs were introduced they soon came into general use on account of their utility. Tall silk hats were worn also by those who could afford them. During the same period capes fastened with silver buckles were introduced, as well as shawls of many colors覧some gray, some black, and some with gaily colored borders, or fringe. A young man in the community of Barrackville borrowed a shawl, and was the first to introduce the style into that section. He wore this bor- rowed apparel, which was of gray cloth, with silver fringe, to church, and created such a sen- sation that he almost broke up the meeting. When grandmother's grandmother was young her skirt was scant and plain, but grandmother's mother's skirt was short and wide, ruffled at the bottom, and gathered or shirred around the waist. If she were a lady of means, her gar- ments began to take on the airs of the outside world at this time. When the evenings were chilly she wrapped around her shoulders a shawl of cashmere or of silk, or maybe a cloak of satin. The sleeves of her gown were of the leg-o'-mutton variety, gathered large and full. Her bonnet was made of Leghorn, a beautiful white straw, and decorated with flowers and ribbons in profusion. Another type of head- gear was the poke bonnet. Grandmother's mother was not content with a simple coiffure such as her mother wore, and many showy orna- ments, brilliant pins, and combs glittered in her hair. The little girls wore dresses of hand-woven linen in summer and warm linsey-woolsey in winter. The waists were plainly made, and the skirts were plaited very full at the waist- line. We have a daguerreotype of a little girl taken in this period. Her dress was white, and over it she wore a crocheted vest of blue, trimmed in white with blue buttons. Her hair was drawn back tight from her face, and one curl lay across her shoulder. On her head she wore a small black straw turban trimmed with roses, from the back of which a white veil hung down almost to the bottom of her skirt. A string of large black beads hung around her neck, and bead and gold earrings, miniatures of a woman with one hand hanging at her side, and the other above her head, reached almost to her shoulders. People judged the wealth of the child's parents by the elaborate earrings she wore, for unless her ears were set with gold rings, grandmother's mother would not have been considered fashion- able during the period from 1835 to 1850, when the custom of piercing the ears was in vogue. There were two ways in which this was done. In the first, the lobe of the ear was pinched between the thumb and first finger until the ear became numb, and then a sharp needle threaded with silk was run through it. The wound was allowed to heal before the earrings were inserted. The other method required a longer time, but was less painful. A lead ring was cut and the ends were sharpened and fastened on the lobe of the ear. Each morning and evening these ends were pushed deeper into the lobe until a hole was pierced, into which a silk thread or a straw was inserted. Most children had their ears pierced when they were between the ages of four and six. In the "Ladies' Guide to Needlework, a Gift for the Industrious," published at Phila- delphia in 1852, a copy of which is owned by the Misses Davis on Cherry Avenue, the author, after making the statement that "this useful branch of female education (sewing) is not, in our opinion, cultivated with the care which its importance demands," has this to say on the subject of dress: No one will deny the importance of dress; It is. In fact, an index to the character; and the female who Is utterly regardless of her appearance may be safely pro- nounced deficient in some of the more important quali- ties which the term good character implies. On the other hand, a regard to neatness and order, held in due subordination to the exercise of the nobler faculties, will generally be found to stand in close connection with an earnest endeavor after the attainment of in- tellectual and moral excellence. Thus, an attention to neatness in dress and its judicious arrangements, so as to be in accordance with the station and circumstances of the wearer, becomes of much more moment than, on a superficial view of the subject, some might be dis- posed to admit. In this day of cheap paper patterns the fol- lowing directions, copied from the same book, will be found of interest: Proceed to take the proper measures for the front and back of the body by fitting a paper pattern to the shape of the person for whom the dress is intended. The paper should be thin, and you commence by fold- ing down the corner the length of the front and pin- ning it to the middle of the stay-bone. Then spread the paper as smoothly as possible along the bosom to the shoulder, and fold it in a plait, so as to fit the shape exactly, and bring the paper under the arm, making it retain its position by a pin; from this point you cut it off downward under the arm, and along the waist; the paper is then to be rounded for the armhole and the shoulder, and you must recollect to leave it large enough to admit of the turnings. In the same manner you pro- ceed to form the back, pinning the paper down straightly and leaving sufficient for the hem. You fit it to the shoulder and under the arm so as to meet the front. You will thus have an exact pattern of half of the body, and this is all that is necessary, as, of course, you cut both sides, both of the front and back, at the same time. The linings are to be cut by the pattern and the silk by the linings. An interesting figure of this period was the itinerant peddler. With large oilcloth packs strapped on their backs and carried in their hands, these men traveled from house to house, selling dry goods, table linens, plaster of paris toys, and sundry small articles such as brass jewelry, combs and fancy pins; in fact, almost everything needed or coveted. Some few of them were Jews, but the majority were Irish, and many tales are told of the rollicking na- ture of this Irish folk. Often they were wel- come guests who enlivened the firesides with jest and song, and their coming was looked forward to eagerly. These wandering venders brought to the rural folk the commodities of the outside world, and the ready-made ar- ticles tempted them to buy. So while our grandmother's great-grandmother manufactured from the raw materials the clothing and minor necessities for her household, her daughter and granddaughter purchased like articles from the itinerant peddler. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -