1836 - Elizabeth J. Porter

Silk wedding dress, 1836.

... an off-white silk wedding dress with a pattern motif of floral sprigs in a damask style. The bodice is trimmed with lace and features full leg-o-mutton sleeves. The full skirt features cartidge pleats in the center back.  

Elizabeth J. Porter wore this dress upon her marriage to Dr. Francis Vergnies Noyes on July 7, 1836 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Dr. Noyes was born in 1809 in Newburyport, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard Medical College in 1831 and practiced medicine in his native Newburyport from 1831-1844. He and Elizabeth had two daughters, Ellen Maria born in 1837 and Catherine Porter in 1839. Elizabeth was the daughter of John Porter and Hannah Bartlett. John and Hannah were married in 1811. Hannah's father, William Bartlett, was a prominent merchant in Newburyport. When he passed in 1841, he left his home to Hannah and $20,000 to each of his grandchildren, including Elizabeth. Sadly, Elizabeth passed in 1857. Gift of Friends of the Historic Costume & Textiles Collection

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