More, Captain John

Object/Artifact

Historical Society of Carroll County, Maryland

Name/Title

More, Captain John

Entry/Object ID

1996.078.056

Description

Miniature, ivory, painted portrait of Captain John More, Petersburg, VA. The oval form measures 2" x 1 ¼". John More wears a green coat in his portrait, painted on the front ivory disk. On the reverse side, the artist rendered in hairpaint a scene of a woman sitting under a weeping willow, regarding a neoclassical urn. At the top, the inscription reads "THO LOST TO SIGHT IN MEM’RY DEAR". The tree limbs are formed of the hair of John More’s deceased daughter, whose name is unknown. Both ivories are covered with convex cover glasses. The frame is of gold and copper alloy, brightcut in geometric patterns. At the top there is a split ring for the threading of a ribbon so that the miniature could be worn. The piece is not signed.

Acquisition

Accession

1996.078

Source or Donor

Werling, Margaret Whittlesey

Acquisition Method

Gift

General Notes

Note

John More’s miniature is noted in Hyder Family History, written by Ella Beam in 1909. She notes the owner of the miniature as Eliza Hollingsworth More, a friend of the Hyder family, who possessed the miniature of her father John More. Eliza Hollingsworth More was born and grew up in Petersburg, Va. and moved to Frizzelburg, Maryland, in Carroll County, after her parents deaths. Her father’s family was from the Frizzellburg and Petersburg, Md. area, creating some confusion as to the provenance of the object. As the owner of a local general store and a Quaker, John More may have had his likeness made during buying trips to Philadelphia, Baltimore, or Richmond. Ella Beam, Hyder Family History (The Carroll Record Print, Taneytown, Md., 1909 ) p. 11. HSCC Library. Rebecca Fifield, Materials Survey and Preventive Conservation Recommendations: Ivory Portrait Miniature of Capt. John More, c. 1790 (1997). Accession Records.