Sarah (Pardee) Winchester grew up in New Haven, Connecticut and attended Yale’s Young Ladies Collegiate Institute (please see part one of this series for more on Sarah’s life). She traveled in the social circles that included many of Yale’s progressive thinkers. Both she and her husband had family members who were Freemasons. The influences of [...]
Sarah Pardee, The Belle of New Haven Sarah Lockwood Pardee was the fifth of seven children born to Leonard Pardee and Sarah Burns. There are no records to confirm when she was born, but it is estimated to have been between 1835 and 1845. Her family was part of the upper middle class in New [...]
Clementina Elphinstone Fleeming was born on June 1, 1822, at Cumbernauld House, located near Glasgow, Scotland. Her father was the Honorable Admiral Charles Elphinstone Fleeming who served in the Venezuelan and Colombian wars of liberation from 1811 through 1825. Her mother, Catalina Paulina Alessandro of Cadiz, an exotic beauty, was 26 years his junior. Clementina [...]
You never know what you are going to find when doing research for a Recollections blog post! While learning more about the Victorian pastime of tableau vivant, or posing for vignettes, the name of Julia Margaret Cameron came up. She was a very interesting woman who came to photography after her children were grown. She [...]
We have almost unlimited choices when it comes to entertainment today. When we think about what life was like 150 years ago and the entertainment choices of the Victorians, the list is a lot shorter. There was no television. Cinema was in very early development and a commercial entity. There was no radio. There was [...]
Two views of Fairlawn Mansion Halloween is one of our favorite holidays at Recollections. Recently, we asked our Facebook community to let us know what their favorite Halloween events were. Cindy Ayers Smith let us know about a favorite of hers; the Flashlight Tour at Fairlawn Mansion. The Flashlight Tour takes place each [...]
Oh, what fun it is to sit down with a good period drama. Downton Abbey, Somewhere in Time, My Fair Lady, Hello Dolly, Anna Karenina, etc. all provide glimpses into what was worn during their respective time periods. But, what about contemporary cinema of the day? When film was a new medium, many contemporary movies [...]
When Recollections needed a photographer a few years ago, Jennifer Adkins heeded the call. We sat down for a chat recently to find out more about her, her photography, and her Recollections connection. Us: How did you become Recollections' photographer? Jen: It was three years ago in November, Marianne had a (photo shoot) set up [...]
Regency Fashion Flashback Gift of Miss Irene Lewisohn, 1937; Metropolitan Museum of Art Although King George III's son didn't become Prince Regent until 1811, the Regency Period in fashion is generally regarded as the years 1795 through 1820-ish. Fashion in 1795 was influenced by the aftermath of the French Revolution when people wanted [...]