A Wedding in the 1880s: 52 Ancestors 2024 Prompt “Favorite Photo”

A Formal Photo for a Formal Occasion: A Typical 1880s Wedding Photo

Elizabeth “Minnie” Hoffman: 1869-1945 (Maternal Great-Grandaunt)
Frank L Graham: 1863-1939 (Maternal Great-Granduncle by Marriage)

 

My grandmother, Nora Hoffman Macbeth, passed down a number of family photos, including wedding photos for most of her numerous aunts and uncles. My brother has the originals; I scanned them for my records. One of these family treasures is this 1888 wedding photo, featuring my grandmother’s Aunt Elizabeth Hoffman and her new husband Frank Graham. I was charmed by the details and the facial expressions in the photo, and by what the image can tell us about weddings in the 1880s.

So who were Elizabeth Hoffman and Frank Graham? Elizabeth was born January 3, 1869 to parents Johannes Heinrich Wilhelm Hoffman and Sophia Maria Christiane Streu. Johannes and Sophia had immigrated from Germany in the 1850s and married around 1860 in the Milwaukee area. Elizabeth was the fifth of their eventual eleven children.

The family moved to Blue Earth County, Minnesota around 1870, so Elizabeth grew up on their farm near Mankato.

Frank Graham grew up on a farm in Martin County in Tenhassen Township, nearly 65 miles away, appearing on the 1880 federal census and the 1885 Minnesota State Census living with his parents.  I am not sure how the two young people met. Perhaps Frank moved to the Mankato area at some point after the 1885 census and they met there.

They married July 1, 1888 in Decoria Township, Blue Earth County, Minnesota. Frank was 24 years old, and Elizabeth was just 19 years old.

What can we gather and surmise from this photo?

First, the bride is not wearing white. It was quite common in the 1880s for brides to simply wear their best dresses for their weddings. White wedding dresses were becoming more popular thanks to Queen Victoria wearing one for her 1840s wedding, but many women could not afford a special dress, especially  in such an impractical color.

Elizabeth’s dress was fairly elaborate, featuring a jacket with dark velvet sleeves, collar and pockets. It is impossible to tell what color it was, but it was obviously quite dark, perhaps a dark green or blue, or even black. Even though Frank and Elizabeth were married in midsummer on July 1, Elizabeth’s skirt and jacket appear to be made of heavy fabrics—possibly a winter-weight wool. Elizabeth wore a blouse beneath her jacket—you can see the shirt sleeves peeping out from the velvet sleeves, and the dark shirt rises above the jacket’s velvet collar. The shirt collar rises high along her throat, edged with light colored piping. Elizabeth wore a bar-shaped broach to pin the shirt collar closed. Given how warm this outfit was, I suspect she may have worn the outfit only for the formal photo with her husband, and wore a lighter weight gown for the actual wedding ceremony.

Elizabeth was also wearing a corset, giving her that wasp-waisted shape that was so desirable in the Victorian era. The jacket hugs her corseted waist, with a double row of buttons holding the jacket closed. The skirt is rather plain in design compared to the jacket, but appears to be well tailored.

Elizabeth also took pains with her hair, which was elaborately curled and pinned.

As for Frank, he has also taken pains with his appearance. He is wearing a handsome suit and vest. Beneath the suit he wore a fancy shirt with a pattern of stripes or checks. The shirt also seems to have a sort of built-in tie or ascot that he has tacked down with a square tie pin. He has a watch chain and fob artfully draped across his chest. His boots look clean and cared for, and he appears to have visited the barber—his hair is neatly cut, and his chin and neck clean-shaven. I found his blond mustache—a contrast to his darker hair—charming.

Frank has a slight smile on his face, while Elizabeth looks very young and very solemn. Of course, due to the long photo exposures of the period, sitters were told not to smile so their image wouldn’t be blurred by movement.

The final thing to note about the photo is that neither the bride nor groom are wearing wedding rings. Was the photo taken before the ceremony, or did the couple not use wedding rings?

So what happened to Elizabeth and Frank after this photo was taken? The couple had only one child, Laura Jane, who was born seven years after their marriage. I suspect Elizabeth may have had some miscarriages or fertility problems.

After her birth, Frank volunteered to serve in the Minnesota Infantry in the Spanish American War. I have been unable to find details about his service, other than that he was a private in the 13^th  Minnesota Infantry, Company D. The Minnesota 13^th was sent to Manila in 1898 to put down an insurrection there. They returned to the United States in 1899. Did he volunteer to earn extra money? Out of patriotism? At 32, he was older than most of his fellow soldiers. It must have been hard on Elizabeth to be left at home to care for their young daughter alone.

By the time of the 1905 state census, Frank was back in Minnesota. He was working as a mason and the couple and their daughter were living in Fairmont, Minnesota. They continued to live in Fairmont at 1000 North Elm Street until their deaths. Frank died March 22, 1939 at age 75. Elizabeth died March 5, 1945 at age 76. Their daughter married and had two children.

1000 N. Elm, Fairmont, MN today, from Google Street View

I love Elizabeth and Frank’s wedding photo. It may not be the most elegant or beautiful photo, but it captures that moment in their lives so vividly, and gives us a window into the world of hard-working immigrant families in 1880s Minnesota. Let’s raise a toast to the bride and groom!