Call It What You Want...

I was at the local antique shop a couple weeks ago, looking for something that spoke my sister-in-law's name but wasn't too large or fragile to take back to her country. I didn't find it. What I did find, I thought was pretty cool.

(This is not the actual item; more on why later.)

I'd been flipping through a pile of "old" photos. What caught my eye first was the woman's nice 1880s dress; this is why I picked it up. Then at the bottom of the image (not here, the actual one) was the name of the photographer's studio, Arnold, and the location, Watertown, Dakota. Watertown, Dakota! I know that! It's Tim's hometown. Of course, since 1889 and the statehood for the two states made from the Dakota Territory, it's been a part of South Dakota, but never mind that. I shelled out the $2 for the picture as a neat item from Tim's hometown.

Yesterday good friend and fellow living history and historical clothing nerd Mel was over for a visit after our museum's holiday breakfast (she needed a Mark and Adam fix, and we needed a good visit), and I showed her the picture. We spent a good many minutes enjoying the lady's dress, pointing out that she's slumping (even in her corset, an art an experienced corset-wearer masters), checking out the frizzes at the top of her head (either side of the part, and you have to look closely), and, of course, speculating on which of the boys was the rebel and who was the solid, trustworthy one. We decided that the father was a Civil War veteran.

This naturally led to wondering about the family. Who were they? How did this picture end up in an antique shop in Noblesville? Whatever happened to them?... And on. Yeah. Dead a long time. Who knows... But I thought, "Golly, that would give me something interesting to do the next time we make the trip out to Watertown. I could take this to the Mellette House or the local historical society and do a little research."

Later in the evening, Tim speculated that there could be a "Mellette connection" -- Governor Arthur C. Mellette, the first governor of South Dakota, was originally from Muncie, Indiana (not that far from here). So he went online to read up a little on the illustrious fellow. "Find a picture!" I demanded. "Find a picture!"

The very first picture of the governor answered my first question.

Who were these people? Why, it's the governor and his family: his wife Maggie and their sons (left to right) Wylie, Dick, Anton and Charles.

And the photo I pasted in my blog -- the same one I picked up in the antique shop? That comes from the page about the Mellette family on the Mellette House's website. The Mellette House was his home in Watertown, at the top of the bluff, a mere eight blocks from Tim's family's home.

I still wonder how it got to my little antique shop, and it does make me curious about the people in the picture. The next time we're in Watertown, we will visit the Mellette House, and perhaps learn a little more about the family than we could find on the internet.

It was a fun little trip through history.