Woman's Dress, 1862–68
date: label: Date made
content: 1862 - 1868
label: Date made
content: 1862-1868
name: label: user
content: Faulkner, Sallie Mason
label: maker
content: unknown
notes: label: Description
content: This dress was worn by Sallie Mason Faulkner in Christian County, Kentucky. Born Sallie Coleman Mason on July 28, 1847, she married Ephraim James Faulkner on December 9, 1862 when she was just fifteen. Mr. Faulkner, who was a farmer, came from a neighboring county but purchased land in Christian County in the 1860s. Mrs. Faulkner died in 1868, six years after they were married. According to family tradition, this was the dress she wore the day she died. We do not know the cause of her death. She had four children, one of whom died in infancy. Their granddaughters donated this dress to the museum. At the time of the donation, the donors stated that Ephraim had served in the Federal (Union) Army during the Civil War. Their other grandfather (maternal) had served in the Confederacy. This would not have been unusual, as Kentucky was divided over the issue of slavery. However, to date we have been unable to track down Ephraim's service records on either side of the conflict.
label: Description
content: Based on its construction, this dress would have been considered a "work" dress. Most work dresses of the mid-nineteenth century have an inset waistband, fuller sleeves, and a bodice cut with a looser fit than more stylish dresses. However, this dress includes decorative trimming. As we learn more about the family’s economic circumstances, we might be able to ascertain whether this was an everyday dress of a woman from a substantial farm family or a "best" dress of a less affluent farm woman.
label: Description
content: This one-piece dress is constructed from a printed cotton calico that has a brown ground with an abstract design in beige, red, and cream. The unlined bodice section has a slightly V-neckline edged with piping. A center front opening has six worked buttonholes on the left side and dark gray buttons on the right side, and is trimmed with a narrow white braid to create a placket effect. The inset waistband is piped at the bottom edge and is lined with a napped fabric. The bodice front is gathered into the waistband at either side of the center front, and the bodice back is cut in one piece and gathered into the waistband at the center back. The front of the bodice extends slightly into the back at the shoulders and the side seams. The long sleeves are gathered into the armholes with piping. The sleeves are also gathered to wristbands that are trimmed with the same narrow white braid as the center front. The wristbands fasten with a worked buttonhole at the wrist closure. The skirt section is narrowly gathered and attached to the waistband with the upper raw edge of the skirt concealed between the waistband and the lining. Two metal hooks-and-eyes form the skirt section closure at the center front waistband. The hem is faced with coarse brown cotton. The waist measures 27 inches.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: Place Made
content: World
label: used in
content: United States: Kentucky, Christian county
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Costume
label: See more items in
content: Clothing & Accessories
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Myrtle Faulkner Hunter, Maude Faulkner Carter and Sallie Faulkner Linsey
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: CS.306799.001
label: catalog number
content: 306799.001
label: accession number
content: 306799
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Dress, 1-Piece
label: Object Type
content: Main Dress
label: Object Type
content: Woman
label: Object Type
content: Dress
label: Object Type
content: Entire Body
label: Other Terms
content: Dress, 1-Piece; Entire Body; Main Dress; Female
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: cotton (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: glass (buttons material)
label: Measurements
content: waist: 27 in; x 68.58 cm