Description:
Oval mourning brooch with a coiled lock of light brown hair surrounded black enamel frame and an attached long pin on the back and a stick pin connected by a chain, which belonged to Eliza Colton Alexander (1811-1891). There is an inscription on the back: "In memory of Dwight M. / who died May 2cd 1838, / and Charles, April 30, 1841. ECA." The son of Isaac Colton (1760-1803) and Elizabeth Calkins Colton (d.1811), Richard Colton (1787-1872) was born in Wilbraham, Massachusetts; married Betsy Hale (1791-1865) of Enfield, Connecticut, in 1808; and moved to Northfield. Mass., in 1811. Richard was a plow and wagon maker, skilled surveyor, and active in civil affairs as a Northfield selectman, Representative in the Legislature in 1827, Justice of the Peace and County Commissioner. Richard and Betsy had six children: Eli Hale (1809-1882) who married Cynthia Terry (1813-1889) of Enfield in 1838; Eliza (1811-1891) who married George Alexander (1805-1887) of Northfield in 1834, whose two sons, Dwight Morelle (1835-1838) and Charles (1838-1841) are memorialized in the inscription; Amanda (1814-1899) who married Charles Alexander (1810-1892) of Northfield in 1845; Alonzo (1816-1890) who married Sophronia Brewster (1821-1901) of South Hanson, Mass., in 1852, and moved to Hanson; Edwin Williams (1831-1862) who married Mary S. Newton in 1860; and Edwin's twin brother, Edward Wells (1831-1887) who married Susan Maxwell Heard (1837-1874) in 1861, and Fanny Matilda Warriner (1838-1917) of Brattleboro, Vermont, in 1877. Edward Wells and Susan Colton had three children: Everett Wells (1862-1929); Maria Heard (1864-1934) who married Newton Keet; and Joseph Richard Colton (1869-1952) who married Ada Newell Starr (1876-1979) in 1899 and continued to live in East Northfield. Joseph Richard Colton worked as a clothing agent of Wanamaker & Brown of Philadelphia, insurance agent, surveyor, entrepreneur, etc. Joseph and Ada Colton had three children: Florence Amanda (1899-1979); Evangeline Darrow (1904-1979) who married David Craven Cook in 1934; and Priscilla Maxwell (1908-1987) who married Harold James Carroll of NYC in 1908. This brooch descended through the family to Maria Cook Rogers, the daughter of David and Evangeline Colton Cook. The beveled glass suggests a better quality item. The brooch still retains its original clasp and collar pin, the latter extending beyond the dimensions of the piece, which is characteristic of brooches from the first half of the 19th century.
Label Text:
Jewelry containing a deceased child’s hair kept their presence physically close and sustained their memory. This brooch belonged to Eliza Colton Alexander (sister of Amanda Colton Alexander) who lived in Northfield, Massachusetts. It contains the entwined hair of her two deceased sons, Dwight M. Colton (1835-1838) and Charles Colton (1838-1841).
Tags:
mourning Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2008.25.4 |
