Friday Family Photo

This group of young college students, ca. 1895, were enjoying the social contacts made through their "boarding club," at Mt. Morris College in Mt. Morris, IL. I know they don't look thrilled to be there, but I think that's because photography still required the subjects to be quiet still. The older woman in the middle of the group is the "house mother," probably a local widow who opened her home and supplied the meals for a small income. Many of the student would have also roomed at homes in the community.



My maternal grandparents probably met this way, she is in the upper left, next to her future brother-in-law, and he is in the lower right. Grandma was from Ashton, about 20 miles away and probably used a train to travel back and forth, but Grandpa was from near Dayton, Ohio, (Jamton, which no longer exists) and I am told that he and his brother bicycled from the Dayton area to get to Mt. Morris. Bicycles were still fairly new then and long distance travel was not unusual, especially with clubs. Their materials and innovations and the rider's sense of freedom and independence really paved the way for the automobile, and many early bicycle makers became auto makers.

One of the things I find interesting in this photo is the clothing. It looks rather plain to us in the 21st century, but these young people were most likely members of the German Baptist Brethren (later called Church of the Brethren), but none are dressed "in order," the word "order" meaning discipline and separation. For men this might be suits without ties or lapels, and for women dresses with no adornment and prayer coverings over the hair. I would need to check with an historian of this group, but it is possible that they did not dress "in order" until they were baptised which may have been in adulthood.

After one year of college, Grandma went home to Ashton to manage her father's farm home because her mother died, but she did continue with her painting and took private lessons. Grandpa and his brother after two years of college headed west, taught school along the way in the Dakotas, worked as lumberjacks in the northwest, and tried to get into Alaska for the gold rush. Eventually the young adventurers returned to the midwest. My grandparents got together to renew a college friendship (he was probably out of money), and married in 1901.

Update: Modern view on anabaptist dress.

Church of the Brethren
Mt. Morris College
Mt. Morris, Illinois