Portrait of Nehemiah Weaver, Son of Temperance

Nehemiah Weaver, 1850-1860. United States. Special Acquisitions Fund, 88.42.11. Photograph by Michael Cardinali.

Years after this photograph was taken, a caretaker noted that the portrait’s subject was “Nemiah Weaver Father of Helen M. married to G. W. Lester.” Decades ago the daguerreotype came to the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library with this information about the subject and the observation that the portrait depicted a member of a fraternal group. Which group was not specified, but recent research has added detail to this story.

If the message on the back of the image correctly identifies the sitter, he was, most likely Nehemiah Knight Weaver (1808-1890). Nehemiah (also spelled Nemiah) was not the father, but rather the uncle of Helen (also spelled Hellene) Marion Weaver (1837-1908) who married George W. Lester (1834-1905) in 1862 in New Hartford, Connecticut. A daguerreotypist working in New England captured Nehemiah’s image in the mid-1800s. From 1850 through 1870 census takers recorded Nehemiah living in Providence, Rhode Island, New Hartford, Connecticut, and Swansea, Massachusetts.

In the portrait Weaver wears glasses, a straw hat, a dark suit, and fraternal regalia. Tinted with color, the image portrays Weaver’s large, light-colored fraternal collar and the ornaments on it: a round badge with a footed cup at the center set against a red background surrounded by a gold border, and a red, white, and gold rosette with two tassels. Examined closely, marks scratched onto the bowl of the cup on the badge spell the initials “L. P. F.”  The long staff Weaver holds is red, white, blue, and gold.

These initials and Weaver’s regalia are clues that Weaver belonged to the Sons of Temperance. This group, open to men and, to some extent, women, pursued an uncompromising mission: “to annihilate the sale and use” of “all Spirituous and Malt Liquors, Wine, and Cider,” and also offered some sick and funeral benefits to members.  The group’s motto was “Love, Purity, and Fidelity,” virtues the Sons of Temperance described as “the cardinal principles of the Order.” Members often shortened their motto to the initials L. P. F.  Popular from its founding in New York City in the early 1840s, the group grew quickly. Thousands of people joined the organization in the mid-1800s. By 1851, for example, there were 85 chapters, or Divisions, of the Sons of Temperance in Connecticut alone.

For meetings and events, the organization dictated that all members don a “White Collar, White Tassels, and Rosette of Red, White, and Blue,” like the one Weaver wears in his portrait. In the group’s symbology, the three colors represented the virtues of love, purity, and fidelity. An outline of the Sons of Temperance regalia published in 1872 described the badges worn by the officers of each Division. For the office of Assistant Conductor, who helped a Division’s Conductor examine potential members and administer oaths, instructions called out a round badge with a silver goblet on a red velvet ground. Guidelines also noted that “The Conductor, Assistant Conductor, and Sentinels, each shall also be distinguished by an appropriate wand.” The instructions did not offer specifics of the wand’s color or length--but the staff in Weaver’s hand is an example. Comparing Weaver’s portrait with the descriptions in the group’s guidelines, this photograph shows him as an Assistant Conductor for a Division of the Sons of Temperance.  What Division Weaver belonged to, and when he held the office of Assistant Conductor is not yet known--hopefully future research will uncover more information about this striking portrait.

References:

Blue Book for the Use of Subordinate Divisions of the Order of Sons of Temperance (Boston, MA: The National Division of North America, 1872), 3, 6, 41-44.

Litchfield Enquirer (Litchfield, CT) May 29, 1851, 3.

Battle of Bunker Hill Anniversary

Today marks the 250^th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill and the 200^th anniversary of the laying of the Bunker Hill Monument’s cornerstone. To commemorate this event, the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library’s Van Gorden-Williams Library & Archives is featuring a small exhibition in its reading room, with objects related to memorializing the Battle of Bunker Hill. Among those objects is this piece of sheet music, published in 1843, and related to the celebration that took place when the monument was finally completed, eighteen years after the cornerstone was laid, and sixty-eight years after the battle.

The Battle

The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775. Most of the action took place on nearby Breed’s Hill. The battle was fought to solidify which side had control over Boston Harbor. The hills in and around Boston were tactically important to both British and colonial forces. The American’s newly formed Continental Army sought to limit the supplies that the British army could bring into Boston via the harbor. The two sides clashed on June 17, each seeking to control Bunker Hill and Breed’s Hill. By the end of the day the British had won the fight, at the cost of 226 dead and 828 wounded. On the opposing side, 140 American combatants had been killed; over 300 suffered injuries.

The Monument

Although the cornerstone was laid with much ceremony on June 17, 1825, the Bunker Hill Monument Association did not complete the monument until July 1842, plagued by years of ongoing funding shortfalls. The dedication took place the following June, on the sixty-eighth anniversary of the battle. The Boston Brass Band performed this piece of music, “’76” Quick Step – a lively march – as part of the celebration. The illustration on this cover depicts the dedication, with the monument featured prominently in the center. Approximately 100,000 people attended the event, including at least thirteen veterans of the battle.

The monument is an obelisk standing 221 feet high on Breed’s Hill at the site of the Provincial forces’ earthen fort, or redoubt, which was a central part of the battle. At the time of its completion, the obelisk was the tallest structure in the United States. From the start, the monument was a meaningful memorial site visited by many. People from all over the world continue to visit it, some to enjoy the commanding view of the surrounding area; many to recall the sacrifice of the soldiers who fought the Battle of Bunker Hill. In an article on the National Park Service’s website, the writer concludes by offering the following reflection:

The Battle of Bunker Hill has inspired generations to consider what it takes to stand up for one's liberties. Abolitionists, suffragists, labor activists, and others have referred to the battle and its monument in their own fight for liberty and justice. Today, we are asked to question what the battle and its Monument means to us as we strive to actualize the country's founding ideals.

Caption:

“’76” Quick Step, 1843. Museum Purchase, 86-08.