Wedding dress

Object/Artifact

-

Jefferson County Museum

Name/Title

Wedding dress

Entry/Object ID

1815

Description

All handmade brown dress made of ashes of roses corded silk and lined. Skirt waist is smocked and separate from the bodice which has a front closure, a collar, an edging on the bodice closure and tiered cuffs of white lace. Cuffs were added to the original dress. The bodice shape has been altered, its skirt being made to point in the front and back.

Context

Made by the bride, Cornelia Strider Engle, and her mother, Sarah Strider Engle, this dress was worn by the bride in her wedding in Harpers Ferry in 1869 to John Tyler Rhulman who had been a hostage of John Brown in the engine house at Harpers Ferry. This dress was altered and worn in turn by Cornelia Strider Engle Rhulman's daughter, Jessie Brown Rhulman, and Cornelia Strider Engle Rhulman's granddaughter, Cornelia Moore James (the donor) at their weddings.

Acquisition

Accession

23

Source or Donor

Dorgan, Cornelia J.

Acquisition Method

Gift

Made/Created

Date made

1869

Material

Fabric, Silk