Williams, Mehitable (Mehetabel) Lilly (1807-1899)(2of 3)
/George Daniels Morse’s Portrait Photograph of Mehitable Lilly Williams
THE PHOTOGRAPHER/ PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO:
Photographer: George Daniels Morse (born c. 1835)
Photographic Studio: Palace of Art, 315 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, California
THE SITTER:
Name: Mehitable (also spelled Mehetabel) Lilly Williams
Description: In this head-and-shoulders portrait, Mehitable Lilly Williams looks directly at the viewer. She is dressed and groomed simply. Her dark hair is center-parted and combed down over her ears and pulled to the back of her head. She wears a simple blouse with a center placket and a white collar. At her throat is her only adornment, a large, vertical, oval brooch.
Biographical Note: George and Mehitable Williams were stellar examples of the pioneer spirit of hard work and determination. After testing his luck searching for gold, George sailed up the Petaluma River in 1851 in search for a location to build a family home, and in 1855 he convinced his wife and children to join him. In a strange twist of fate, Mehetabel and the children journeyed west while George was journeying east to fetch them. They eventually rendezvoused in Petaluma in August of 1855.
In his memoir, My First Fifty Years, George Roscoe Williams described his mother, Mehitable Lilly Williams: “Many pictures of my mother, Mehitable Lilly Williams, come to mind, among them, her cooking in the large open fireplace with crane and copper kettles, baking biscuits in the front of it, and spinning and weaving. Mother was older than most women of those days when she married, having taught school until her twenty-eighth year, and was a quiet, gentle, and capable housewife.”
George and Mehitable celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary in November of 1898. They both died in 1899 and were buried in Petaluma’s Cypress Hill Memorial Park.
Family Affiliation: Mehitable Williams’ mother-in-law was Elizabeth “Betsy” Bailey Williams (1792-1882). Her husband was George Bailey Williams (1809-1899), and her children were: Clarinda “Clara” Damsen Williams McNear (1837-1866), George Roscoe Williams (1839-1934), Rosetta Lilly Williams Weeks (1842-1899), and Laura J. Williams Barstow (1842-1904).
Bibliography:
THE PHOTOGRAPH:
Format / Size: carte de visite
Medium: albumen photographic print mounted on cardstock
Description, front:
Description, back: The back of this carte de visite is unusual. The photographer’s information is printed horizontally, and it includes a reference number for the portrait’s negative, under which is written, “Duplicates of this picture can be had at any time.”. Additionally, along the bottom is written, “Pictures Copied, Enlarged and Finished in Oil, Ink, or Water Colors.”.
Date: According to Peter Palmquist, George Daniels Morse operated his studio at 315 Montgomery Street between April of 1867 and 1872. Peter E. Palmquist and Thomas R. Kailbourn, Pioneer Photographers of the Far West, Stanford University Press, 2000, pp. 407-408.
Condition: This carte de visite is significantly faded.
Owner: The James Allen Family Collection, digital copy by permission
Reproduction rights: The Petaluma Museum Association makes no assertions as to ownership of any original copyrights to the digitized images here reproduced. These images are intended for personal or research use only. Any other kind of use, including, but not limited to commercial or scholarly publication in any medium or format, public exhibition, or use online or in a web site, may be subject to additional restrictions including but not limited to the copyrights held by parties other than the Association. USERS ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE for determining the existence of such rights and for obtaining any permissions and/or paying associated fees necessary for the proposed use.