1856 Wedding Dress

[Cinnamon Teal]

Yesterday. while we were at Sutter's Fort for our January Demonstration Day, we had the luck of seeing Patty Reed's wedding dress. Patty Reed was married Christmas Day in 1856. She is one of the survivors of the ill-fated Donner Party. She was 8 years old at that time. Her doll and many other family items are at Sutter's Fort. Some on display and others in the archives. Here are a few pictures that I thought you might like to see.

[Cinnamon Teal]

Here are some more pictures

[Cinnamon Teal]

Here are some closeups of the lace and cartridge pleating. The lace picture isn't very clear. I'm still learning how to use the new digital camera.

[Fannie Kikinshoot]

Oh, thank you so much for posting those. And look, that is a dress, not a bodice and a skirt. Cool. :ty :ty

[Catawba Kate]

Thank you!! Those are great pictures!!:ty

[Lady LaSalle]

Man! She had some small feet! Nice dress!

[Four-Eyed Buck]

Just question on the color. Is that a gold, or very aged white? Just curious.........Buck:fb :cgun

[Gwen In LA]

It's lovely! Interested to know more about the fabric, etc. Really enjoyed the closeups of the headdress too.

Next time I'm in the area, will visit the Sutter Fort site. :)

About 1990, we stopped on the way from Sacramento to Reno...only to realize we were at the I80 (?) historical marker for the site of the Donner Party tragedy. It truly gave me a very sad feeling.

Glad that little girl survived and grew up to wear such a lovely outfit.

Gwen

[Cinnamon Teal]

I'm glad you are enjoying the pictures. It was a true treat to see it. I'm probably going to ask them to bring it out again sometime so I can look at it a bit closer.

Patty wasn't a very big person at all. That dress is tiny.

Buck, you asked about the color. I'm assuming that it was a creamy ivory color and may have yellowed some with age. The headpiece was the same color so that's why I was thinking that. I was so tickled that this dress was so well cared for.

If anyone gets to this area, please let me know and we'll see if we can't meet up with you. If nothing else, I can let you know what the schedule is for Living History or Demonstration Days.

[Four-Eyed Buck]

Thanks, CT............:cgun

[tarheel mac]

Yeah Buck I was wondering the same thing...glad you asked...

[Four-Eyed Buck]

Good minds think alike, Tarheel..........:grin :cgun