Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object Name |
Hairwork |
Date |
c. 1900 |
Place of Origin |
Sheridan/Mississauga/Ontario/Canada |
Description |
A braided lock of brown hair. It is fastened at the top with brown thread. |
History |
This lock of hair is from Ethel Irene Hamilton (1885-1962) who lived in Sheridan Village in Toronto Township, now part of Mississauga. She was married to Norman Pomeroy Greeniaus (1876-1970) on March 12, 1913, in Toronto Township. Together, the couple had four children during their marriage. It is unclear when this hair was taken from Ethel Hamilton, but its brown colour suggests she was not elderly. Unlike other parts of the body, hair does not decompose and is, therefore, used as a lasting keepsake. As Godey's Lady's Book pointed out in 1860, "Hair is at once the most delicate and lasting of our materials and survives us like love". Women, in particular, often wore their hair long and commonly kept the hair from their hairbrushes or trims to stuff pin cushions, create elaborate updos or as a material for fancy work projects like hair wreaths. Hairwork could be used to remember both happy and tragic events. Whether to honour the dead, or celebrate a first communion, birth or wedding of a living person, hair was one of the only ways to keep a lasting memory of a person before widespread photography. Together, Norman and Ethel lived on Lot 34, Concession 2, SDS, in Toronto Township's Sheridan Village, South-East of Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) and Winston Churchill Boulevard, Mississauga. Norman's elder brother, Charles Wesley Greeniaus, sold the farm to Norman P. Greeniaus (1876-1970) in 1910. In 1941, Norman sold the property to his son Wilmer Greeniaus (1918-2006), but Norman and Ethel continued to live on the farm. In 1956, they sold the property to United Lands Corporation for the development of the Park Royal subdivision. |
References |
Cenzi, I. (2021, January 15). "Victorian hairwork: Interview with Courtney Lane". Bizzarro Bazar. Retrieved from https://www.bizzarrobazar.com/en/2018/01/04/i-ricami-di-capelli-vittoriani-intervista-a-courtney-lane/ Hicks, Kathleen. "Clarkson and its Many Corners", 2003. Jones, C. S., Mrs. "Ladies' Fancy Work". New York: H.T. Williams, 1876. Kupfer, S. "Tender Remembrance: The Art of Victorian Hairwork". Ohio Memory, 2017. Retrieved from: https://ohiomemory.ohiohistory.org/archives/3206 Schuette, B. "The Hair Wreath". Sauk County Historical Society. Retrieved from: https://saukcountyhistory.org/the-hair-wreath Wallace, Carol. "Victorian Treasures". New York, 1993. |
People |
Hamilton, Ethel Irene |
Search Terms |
Sheridan |