Name/Title
Painting, Emma Hazeltine Wigglesworth MillerEntry/Object ID
2019.005.02Description
Portrait of Emma Hazeltine Wigglesworth Miller (1839-1936) by John Adams Elder (1833-1895).Context
Miller was a decendant of Sarah Lewis (1739-1748) who was the child of Robert Lewis and Jane Meriwether. As a decendant of Marywether, Miller shares her lineage of Lady Joan Beaufort (1379-1748) daughter of Katherine Swynford and John Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster. Gaunt and Swyford are considered to be ancestors of most of the kings and queens of England. She was born on February 27 to Lucy and Warren Wigglesworth in Spotsylvania, VA.
Emma Hazeltine Wigglesworth married Sgt. William Gardner Miller on November 17, 1858 at St. James Episcopal Church in Richmond, VA. Sgt. William was a prominent tobacco businessman in Richmond, Va who went on to serve in the Civil War in the Otey Battery of Light Artillery. This portait was painted in conjunction with a portriat of Miller's husband (1835 - 1919). Both are buried in the Hollywood Cemetary in Richmond, VA in plot G section 95. Three of there six children; Ashley M. Miller Reeve, Dr. Clifton Meredith Miller and Carroll Miller, are buried at Hollywood Cemetary as well. Richmond, Va who went on to serve in the Civil War in the Otey Battery of Light Artillery. This portait was painted in conjunction with a portriat of Miller's wife, (1839-1936). Both are buried in the Hollywood Cemetary in Richmond, VA in plot G section 95. Three of there six children; Ashley M. Miller Reeve, Dr. Clifton Meredith Miller and Carroll Miller, are buried at Hollywood Cemetary as well.
Elder was a European trained portrait, genre and history painter working in realism. He joined the Confederacy after the December 11, 1862 Battle of Fredericksburg and worked in the Ordinance Department in a documentary capacity. Elder contracted malaria while painting Jefferson Davis (1808-1889) in Biloxi Missisippi. This was complicated by his alcoholism and he passed away in his home and studio at 1111 Main Street, now 1111 Caroline Street. He is buried in the Confederate Cemetary.Inscription/Signature/Marks
Location
bottom rightTranscription
A. Elder 1868Dimensions
Dimension Notes
Frame Size: 29 h x 27 w"
Image Size: 23 h x 20 w "