Gallery Walk: The 1843 Wedding Dress

See also: Gladys and Edward Williams and Jacqueline and Sewall Butler

In 1843 a wedding dress was made for the wedding of Adeline Bigelow to Rev. Henry Newell Beers. It was worn again in 1914 by their granddaughters Gladys House (who married Edward Williams) and Ethel House (who married Benjamin Bliss). It was worn for a fourth and fifth time by cousins Elizabeth House (in 1928 to Robert Earl Courtney) and Gladys Jacqueline Williams (in 1943 to Sewall Butler). Most recently by Linda Commadari (in 1982 to Tolbert Butler). See Chart below for relationships of those who wore the dress. (As of 2024, the dress is boxed up in the attic of the Savage/Butler Homestead in Cromwell, CT.)

An alternate history of the wedding gown



Gladys and Edward Williams
Gladys and Edward H. Williams III

Wedding 1943
Rev. Edward H. Williams, Jacqueline and Sewall Butler

Jacqueline W. Butler, 1976
In 1968 Jacqueline W. Butler wore the dress in honor of her 25th anniversary. She also wore it in 1976 for a Bicentennial event.

Wedding 1982
S. Tolbert Butler and Linda Commodari, 1982


Wedding Dress Chart

Text version of chart
Wedding Dress Chart