Waist-length seated portrait of Mrs. Benjamin wearing bonnet, holding staff., In The American phrenological journal, vol. 20 (Nov., 1854), p. 101., "She was with the army all through the Revolutionary War. She was in Albany during the hard winter of 1780, and at West Point two or three years, while the army was stationed there ; and when it left under General Washington, she followed. Her business was cooking and washing for her husband and other soldiers. She speaks distinctly of riding horseback through the streets of Philadelphia on the way to Yorktown and also of embarking on board ship at the head of Elk river, and of cruising down Chesapeake Bay, and landing (I think) at James River.”--P. 101., Also known as Sarah Osborn.
Waist-length portrait of Mrs. Morris, seated in chair, wearing a bonnet and a shawl, and holding a book in her right hand and eyeglasses in her left hand., In Smith, John Jay, ed. Letters of Doctor Richard Hill and his children (Philadelphia, 1854), plate preceding p. 393., "Aet 76"., Mrs. Morris was the sixth daughter of physician Richard Hill and of prominent Quaker lineage, belonging to the Hill, Lloyd, Moore, and Morris families of Philadelphia., Presumed that artist is Morris’s grandson, Morris Smith., Another portrait appears in: Smith, John Jay, ed. Letters of Doctor Richard Hill and his children (Philadelphia, 1854), plate preceding p. 89.
In Serious almanac, 1845-’46, p. [31]., Mrs. Crawford, the wife of William Crawford Jr., died in their home in Elkton, Md. Apparently, she started a fire while lighting a pipe. Cf. Philadelphia inquirer (May 21, 1844)., Full-length portrait of Mrs. Crawford, burning to death, with a pipe on the floor nearby., The same image appears in Tragic almanac 18-46 (New York, 1845), p. [17].
Bust-length portrait of Alice, wearing a bonnet., In Thomas, Isaiah. Eccentric biography; or, Memoirs of remarkable female characters, ancient and modern (Worcester, 1804), plate preceding p. vii., Alice, known variously as Black Alice and Alice of Dunk’s Ferry, was a native of Philadelphia and a slave, born to parents who had come from Barbados. She is said to have been 116 at the time of her death in 1802. In extreme old age Alice received many visitors who enjoyed hearing stories about early Philadelphia and its famous first settlers, including William Penn and Thomas Logan. Alice was also a lifelong worshiper at Christ Church in Philadelphia., “Being a sensible intelligent woman, and having a good memory, which she retained to the last, she would often make judicious remarks on the population and improvements of the city and country; hence her conversation became peculiarly interesting, especially to the immediate descendents of the first settlers, of whose ancestors she often related acceptable anecdotes.”--P. 9.
In Cries of the metropolis, or, Humble life in New York (Rutland, 1858), p. [7]., Full-length portrait of Elizabeth Carl, seated with a basket of apples next to her., Born in Potsdam, Elizabeth Carl came to New York City at age 73, and sold apples outside A.T. Stewart’s department store (and possibly other stores) for the following 17 years.
Three-quarter length portrait of the triplets, seated side by side. All three wear bonnets and hold their hands in their laps in a similar manner., In The American phrenological journal, vol. 28 (Sept., 1858), p. 40., “These persons resemble each other very strongly, more especially Mrs. Bushnell and Grennell. Though it is not always the case that twins and triplets resemble each other in appearance and character, yet it is more common for them to do so than it is for those of single birth, because the parents in cases of twins transmit characteristics to the progeny from one given condition of body and of mind….”--P. 40.
