#37 - You’re not going out looking like THAT, are you!? The
way we wore.
 |
| Detail from the “Brothers of the Brush” certificate issued to Harry Drum in celebration of Hazleton’s Centennial in 1957. |
Previously, with our most recent posts, we’ve been
getting, as they used to say, “up close and personal” with the Drums. We’ve looked at what they read and how they “got their hands dirty”. Now we want to
take a look at how they presented themselves on a daily basis to the world! How
did they dress? How did they style their hair? Did the men have beards?
Etcetera.
“You’re not going out looking
like THAT, are you!?”
My mom’s words rang in my ears. I’d just spent the last
hour or so of one of my precious teenage days trying to decide what to wear,
finally made my choices, and had gotten dressed, only to be greeted with that
question! “I-I thought so,” came my weak response. “I don’t think so,”
she said and soon had me back in the bedroom looking for “better” clothes while
she was muttering to herself, “What would people think?”.
I suppose it’s a conversation between parents and
children that’s been repeated many times in many homes across the expanse of
time. Mark Twain is often credited with first saying something of the same ilk
when he said, “Clothes make a man. Naked people have little or
no influence on society."[1]
Although, one might argue that the naked person in public does garner quite a
bit of attention. Just saying.
As Twain, himself, clearly knew, however, he wasn’t the
first to express the thought, for he also once said, “Adam was the only
man who, when he said a good thing, knew that nobody
had said it before him!” [2]
Twain surely knew that the worry over what one wear’s,
how one presents him or herself in public, goes back way further than Twain, himself.
A perusal of Shakespeare's Hamlet will allow a close reader to find
these words spoken by Polonius to his son Laertes,
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not expressed in fancy—rich, not gaudy,
For the apparel oft proclaims the man.
I grew up in the 1960’s and ‘70’s. I can tell you from
personal experience that what a person wears is cause for social judgement.
Furthermore, not only is clothing a hairy issue, but hair styles (both on top
of the head and on the chin) are sources of social judgement as well! Even I
heard the term spit out at me a few times (and I was “calm”, to use my mom’s
term, as compared to many others): “HIPPY!”
 |
| This is me taken about 1978. I hadn’t changed much by 1981. See? “Calm”. Right? I mean, would you call THIS a “Hippy”? |
In the Fall of 1981, I was coordinating a tour of
Washington, D.C. area civic and historic sites out of the National 4-H Center
for National 4-H Council. My group during one week was composed of about 40
older adults, what many refer to as “Senior Citizens”. One (approximately)
70-year-old woman came to me on Wednesday of the week (they arrived on Sunday
and would leave on Saturday) and said, “You almost ruined my trip! We think you
should shave your beard.” “Excuse me, Ma’am?” I sputtered. “Your beard. Shave
it. You are not a Hippy! I missed everything you’ve said these first two days
of the week because I wasn’t listening to you!” “Why was that?” I asked, rather
shocked by the comment. She leaned in to me, close-like, and said in a very low
voice, “I thought you were a Hippy!” then she took a more normal stance and
added, “I now realize you are not. Now you go shave so no one else makes the
same mistake!”
As an aside, I didn’t shave but she did come to like the
beard, and me, by the end of the week.
It is clear that how we dress and present ourselves, the
cut of our jib, as they say, is seen as something of importance by our fellows.
We are actually judged by our appearance. Oh, and by the way, in case you are
interested, a “jib” is the sail one finds on the front, or face, of a sailboat
so, when someone says they like “the cut of your jib”, assuming you aren’t
actually on a sailboat at the time, it (sort of) literally means they like your
face, but, more figuratively, that they like the way you present yourself.
So, we now ask, how did the Drums present themselves? The
regular readers of these posts, and you both know who you are, are by now tired
of my complaining about the lack of letters, diaries, news items, etc. that
would be able to fill us in on such details leaving us to make educated, at
best, guesses, I guess.
What was Philip wearing that day, September 9, 1738, when the ship Glasgow sailed into the Philadelphia harbor? If it was usual September
weather in Philly, it was probably a nice day, temperatures in the mid to high
70’s. No one appears to have recorded this detail in any of the materials about
that day that I’ve seen. One guesses that he was wearing a homespun pair of
wool trousers and a linen shirt, possibly a jacket of some sort, and leather
shoes, probably made by himself; looking everything like an Amish farmer of
today. Did he sport a beard? Perhaps.
A geography book[16] published in 1873 included this picture of "German Peasants" in the section on Europe. The book leaves you with the impression that the image is "present day", thus mid-1800's, but to me the couple seems more 18th century than 19th in style. It causes one to wonder how much styles might have changed in 100-150 years in Europe. I included it here for interest's sake only because I also question if "our" Philip would have been dressed in what seems rather "fancy" for a "peasant" whether 1760 or 1860!
A geography book[16] published in 1873 included this picture of "German Peasants" in the section on Europe. The book leaves you with the impression that the image is "present day", thus mid-1800's, but to me the couple seems more 18th century than 19th in style. It causes one to wonder how much styles might have changed in 100-150 years in Europe. I included it here for interest's sake only because I also question if "our" Philip would have been dressed in what seems rather "fancy" for a "peasant" whether 1760 or 1860!  |
| This is a toy hat. I bought it someplace like Fort Ticonderoga or Valley Forge or someplace. |
I’m guessing probably not, however. Attitudes seem to
carry on down through the ages, children think somewhat like parents by and
large, in my experience, and high fashion never was a sustainable component of
recent-times Drum life. I’m guessing the same would be true then as well. If
it’s High Fashion vs affordability, durability, and
comfort; affordability, durability, and comfort win. That’s true now and I’m
sure this was true when Philip arrived in 1738, when George joined the army in
1782, even after the Drums finally made it to the Drums Valley in the late
1790’s.
According to one historian, it wasn’t until the 1820’s
that “homespun had given way to store bought clothing and other goods” [4]
in early Luzerne County life. The 1820’s puts us four generations down the
line: Philip, Jacob, George, and George’s son Philip. Philip’s son, John, was
born 1825. Philip’s father, George, built his inn in 1820.
However, to get a “flavor” of the style described above,
we can try these:
I believe this lamp was one of my parents’ wedding
presents. These people seem more
French than American, however. I doubt many men made their way through Philly
streets wearing pink coats and gold slippers – then or today. Still, the couple fits the description.
I believe this lamp was one of my parents’ wedding
presents. These people seem more
French than American, however. I doubt many men made their way through Philly
streets wearing pink coats and gold slippers – then or today. Still, the couple fits the description.
To the right is an advertisement for a calender for the year 1898 Again, the people depicted do fit the description but appear
to be a bit more "lavish" then one might expect of the colonies. I’m thinking
18th century France, again, BTW.
Finally! On the right we see something that looks AMERICAN! Now, the fellow
on the left in the picture, he is probably more like what one might see hanging around the
streets of most late 18th century American communities. He is
wearing boots but I’ll bet the stockings are there underneath; those are probably
riding boots. I’m also guessing that the fellow on the right, the blacksmith; most
of us Drums probably looked a lot more like him than the other guy![5]
Regarding style, it doesn’t appear as though things
changed too much 1820’s – 1850’s. We had a country to found. Who had time for
clothing styles? By the 1820’s, however, long-legged trousers were replacing Breeches
for everyday use, Breeches by now being pretty much a thing of the past –
out-of-style - although Breeches were still seen in formal settings[6].
James Monroe, the fifth president, did still wear dark color Breeches and
stockings upon occasion, but he did so mostly to maintain his nostalgic connection
with the bygone Revolutionary era [7]. He
was, after all, “the last Founding Father”, so to speak. His administration ran
from 1817 to 1825.
James Monroe, the fifth president, did still wear dark color Breeches and
stockings upon occasion, but he did so mostly to maintain his nostalgic connection
with the bygone Revolutionary era [7]. He
was, after all, “the last Founding Father”, so to speak. His administration ran
from 1817 to 1825.
One imagines 62-year-old George Drum standing behind the
bar in his Drums tavern in 1824, perhaps wiping down the bar after a patron had
spilled his drink during an argument over the next presidential election. Who
would be the better President, John
Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, or Andrew Jackson; Crawford, being much too
sick and old? Of course, I see George through my eyes so, like me, he
has a short, well-trimmed beard that has turned white. He is wearing a light
color cotton shirt, open collar, sleeves rolled up above his elbows, and long woolen
pants. Nothing formal about this Tavern! George only uses the formal look when
he is acting as the Justice of the Peace, I’m betting.
Through the 1830’s; the years when John’s sisters Susanna
(1831), Anna Margaret (1834), and Lovina (1835), as well as his brother, Nathan
S. (1837), were born; most “Middle Class” folks kept small wardrobes; one
outfit for daily use, one outfit for Sunday use, and one outfit, or parts
thereof, for seasonal changes or for use when something was waiting to be washed
or mended. The 1830 look for men was linen or cotton collared shirts, waistcoats,
cravats, long pants and, for women, long skirts. Linen and cotton were the clothing
materials of choice. It must be remembered, as well, that all of the clothing
anyone was wearing at this time, was hand stitched. The first sewing machine
wasn’t introduced until 1846 and Singer didn’t introduce his until 1851. Therefore
few, if anyone, even the wealthy, had many “changes of clothing” to choose
from. [8]
In the following scene we see depicted an assassination
attempt on President Andrew Jackson’s life. [9]
The date was January 30, 1835 and the incident occurred outside the United
States Capitol. It was the first known attempt to murder a sitting U.S.
President. A 35 years old house-painter named Richard Lawrence became so angry
at President Jackson that he tried to shoot Jackson. However, both of his
pistols misfired. Jackson clubbed Lawrence with his cane, forcing him down onto
the pavement where he was taken into custody by the authorities, leaving
Jackson a very angry man!!! We assume that Mr. Lawrence is the fellow laying
there in the picture beside his two, misfired pistols, one of which appears to
still be falling. Lawrence survived the clubbing and lived until June 13, 1861.[10]
In the picture we see Jackson apparently being restrained
by some men, probably Congressmen and/or Presidential aides. All are wearing long trousers, bow ties,
waistcoats (vests) and long coats cut short in front with tails behind.
Accessories include walking sticks and top hats probably made of silk as Beaver
was by then losing favor. Beards are not apparent but bushy sideburns seem to
be the style for some.
Our bearded (?) George never knew of this attempt on
Jackson’s life, George died in 1831 as did his son, George. Another of George’s
sons, Jacob, had died in 1830. However, we believe George’s other sons,
Abraham, Philip and William, would each have fit right in with this crowd
style-wise; maybe not quite this fancy, though.
Again, styles didn’t change much in the 1840’s. As
depicted in the 1830’s scene above, the 1840’s shirts still had long necks,
long sleeves, and men wore trousers. Men also wore hats. Women wore bonnets. Women
continued to wear long skirts. [11]
In the south, a great many hoops were still the style, worn under skirts to
make them seem very large and bell-like. The Drums, however, were not in the
South, at least not Drums from “our” family tree, so I assume there was less
hooping going on in these parts.
Here we have a picture of George’s son, Abraham Drum. It
is, to my knowledge, the earliest image of someone from “our” tree in existence.
He died in 1862 having reached the age of 65. This is obviously not an image of
a young man. I’m guessing, given the style of clothing and the outward appearance
of this man, Abraham is probably around age 63 in this image placing the year
around 1860.
Here we have an image of another Abraham of about the
same vintage. I got this image from someone trying to sell me Lincoln pennies! I
noted that there are a few similarities between the two Abrahams’ styles; bow
tie, coat and vest. Lincoln, of course, had that famous beard while our Abe was
mostly clean-shaven except he sported what look to be rather bushy sideburns. We might even call them muttonchops..
An interesting side note is that as my hair has grayed,
my beard went white first. I had a barber once who was surprised by that,
although I understand this is a fairly common thing. He wasn’t that great of a
barber either.Anyway, here is a photo taken of me in 2016; I’m about 60 in this photo. Don’t worry. I haven’t changed much since then. Now look closely at Abe Drum’s image. His muttonchops are not only bushy, they are WHITE, too! He sported bushy, WHITE muttonchops at around age 60; and I am sporting a WHITE, not quite as bushy, beard at around age 60, too, not to mention the resemblance of the eyes. I guess it is genetic!
In the next photo, we see a couple from the Conyngham
area taken between, I think, 1860 & 1870. According to my mom, this is Mr.
and Mrs. John Getting. “Mr. Santee’s Uncle” is what Mom wrote below the photo
which she glued into one of her scrapbooks. Mr. Santee is Ella Nora Santee
Drum’s father, George Santee. Ella is
Elmer Drum’s wife, Harry Drum’s mother, and my Grandmother.
However, at the moment, I’m interested in the styles that
we can observe in the photo. Of course, they are “dressed up”, but dressed up
for what? Just to get their “picture made”?
Mrs. Getting’s dress is beautiful. Her hair is tied up in
a very stylish bun. Mr. Getting is looking sharp, as well. His tie is much
smaller than the larger versions seen being worn by others. I kind of like it!
Too bad that’s not a style of today! But John, really? Chin-whiskers? Well, if
you liked that look…
Neither one appears to be wearing any jewelry but Mrs. Getting
does have some sort of bolo-tie-like necklace arrangement that I find interesting.
Sort of nice how she has her hand resting on his shoulder. I’m sure the
Getting’s would have looked very stylish in John’s
(or was it George’s) Drums Hotel lobby.
Which all brings us back to the question, why was the
picture taken; why are they dressed so fancy?
Well, I think I figured that out, too. John Getting’s
first wife was named Sarah Ann Heimbach Getting. She died in 1857.
Hannah was, therefore, John’s second wife but in what year were they married?
Hannah was born 1840. She is not included in the Getting household list in the
1860 Census. She is listed in the 1870 Census as Hannah, her occupation is
listed as “keeping house”, but her age appears to be only 3; clearly an error.
The recorder obviously meant to write 30. This tells us that John and Hannah
were married between 1860 and 1870 which makes sense.
It would seem that this photo then, is their wedding photo!
In 1879 George W. Drum(George, George, Jacob, Philip) became the only Democrat from the area to be elected to state office that year. He served as a state legislator from 1879-1882. I found this photo of him included on the Pennsylvania Legislature's Web site. Receding hairline balanced by mutton-chop sideburns. Nice.
In 1879 George W. Drum(George, George, Jacob, Philip) became the only Democrat from the area to be elected to state office that year. He served as a state legislator from 1879-1882. I found this photo of him included on the Pennsylvania Legislature's Web site. Receding hairline balanced by mutton-chop sideburns. Nice.
Our next photo takes us into the early 1900’s. These two young people are brother and sister, Gertrude and George Dreisbach. We know more about them then we did the Getting’s, however, so less detective work required here, we already know that “they are some relation”.
John Drum’s daughter, Louisa (B: January 4, 1862; D:
March 3, 1918)[12],
married Levi Dreisbach.[13]
I’d like to say when they were married but Helman kept the marriage date a secret.
A wild guess places the marriage about 1882. They apparently had seven
children. If Helman listed them correctly in order of birth, because she again
does not help us with birth years, George, listed first, was the oldest.[14]
According to the Findagrave website, we know he was born June 20, 1886.
Gertrude is number four in the list. She was born April 22, 1890. [15]
If we guess her age to be 16 in the photo, it would make George around 20 in
the photo and the photo, itself, therefore, taken about 1906. Of course, we
might be off by up to 5 or so years. That writing on the photo? My mom did
that.
Gertrude is wearing glasses and a pretty knit-top, not
quite a turtle-neck. We can’t quite make out her hair style but it looks to be
cut short. George has that familiar high, stiff, turn-of-the-Century collar
that, to me, always looks so awfully uncomfortable. Interesting part in his
hair, not quite in the middle but not quite off to one side either. As usual
with most people in these earlier photos, see the Getting’s WEDDING photo for
example, they seem very happy.
As the 1890’s rolled into the 1900’s, all sorts of big
events were on the horizon, yet to occur; events that would change the way we
Americans lived, worked and thought about ourselves and our place in the world.
Two world wars, a global depression, the invention of the airplane, the Model-T
Ford, the invention of 4-H, something called radio, then television, the WWW,
social media, all were yet to come in this new century – the 1900’s. Even the
first electric railroad was yet to be pioneered; the one they called the “WB&H
Railway” that ran behind Elmer’s and Ella’s Fritzingertown farm as it
made its way between Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton. Each of these things and all of
these things would change the way the families living in Drums and around the
world would think of themselves. And that would be reflected in the way we
dressed!
Join us again on February 11, 2020 for Part 2 of The way we
wore: Patches make Perfect (or, at least make things last longer)!
[4]
Zbick, Dr. Paul, Jr., Luzerne County: History of the People and Culture
(Charleston, MA and Lancaster, PA: Strategic Publication, 1994) p. 49
[5] Image
found in: Devens, R. M., Our First Century: being a Popular Descriptive
Portraiture of the One Hundred Great and Memorable Events of perpetual interest
in the History of our country, Political, Military, Mechanical, Social,
Scientific and Commercial: embracing also delineations of all the great
historic characters celebrated in the annuals of the Republic; men of Heroism,
Statesmanship, Genius, Oratory, Adventure and Philanthropy. (Springfield,
MA: C. A. Nichols & Co.; Easton, PA: J. W. Lyon, 1876).
[9] Image
found in: Devens.
[12] Find
a grave web site
[13]
Helman, Laura M., History and Genealogy of the Drum Family (Allentown,
PA: Berkemeyer, Keck & Co., 1927), p 8
[14] Helman,
p. 9
[15]
Find a grave web site
[16] Guyot, A., Guyot's Geography Series: The Earth and its Inhabitants. Common-School Geography (NY: Scribner, Armstrong & Co., 1873), p. 81
