Delilah Ann Oxford Hill, Gelatin Silver Photographic Print, ca 1920

My mother, Sylvia, has written on the reverse of this gelatin silver photographic print from Elsie's collection, "Elsie's grandmother."  I see so many aspects of my grandmother Elsie's face in this particular portrait of Delilah, her paternal grandmother.  I love Deliah's beads and wonder what kind (trade beads?) and what color they are.  I wonder about her dress, too--it might not be black!

Marilyn, who descends from Delilah's only daughter, Eldora Hill, also has a copy of this studio portrait of Delilah Ann Oxford Hill.  Both Marilyn and Patsy confirm her identity--thank you!

Delilah looks like she might be about 75 years old.  If that estimate is correct, we might date this photo to circa 1920, which corresponds with her style of dress.  Delilah's dress is most likely her "Sunday-best" and, judging by the lace trim, is possibly a mass-produced "catalog" dress.  

The dress is definitely post-WWI and reflects the looser, more practical style of dress that women adopted after almost a decade of the women's suffrage movement, which culminated in 1920 with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution.  

See http://char.txa.cornell.edu/art/dress/historic/earlyart/earlyart.htm for a good website on "Historic Dress:  Early Art Deco (1911-1929)."

circa 1890s Cabinet Card Photo of Delilah Ann Oxford Hill

Sylvia Smith Roberts has written "Elsie's grandmother" on the cabinet card's reverse side.  Patsy has verified that this is their great-grandmother, Delilah Hill, W. C. Hill's mother.  Again, she is wearing a Victorian era bar pin.

The photographer's studio was in Abilene, but--other than finding more of his cabinet cards online--I have not been able to find any information on the Studio of G. E. Ward, Artist.  

According to the "Mrs. Delilah Ann Oxford Hill Interview and Original Printing 1935," at the age of 45, Delilah moved with her family from Erath County, Texas to Merkel (near Abilene), Taylor County, Texas in 1890, so the photograph most likely would not have been taken prior to that.

The cabinet card can help date the photo.  The artist claims "One Gold Medal, Texas State Fair, Dallas."  The first Texas State Fair was held in Dallas in 1887.  http://www.bigtex.com/sft/AboutUs/StateFair.asp  

I have found references online to the "Aristo finish" noted underneath the photo from newspaper  advertisements and magazine articles from 1893, 1894, and 1898, so I believe this photo can safely be dated to that decade. 

Andrew Jackson Hill, Delilah & Son(?), Tintype, ca 1885

This is a tintype, also from the "Brown Period" (1870-1885), of William Claborn Hill's parents, Delilah Ann Oxford Hill and Andrew Jackson Hill with, presumably, one of their sons.  Their cheeks have been colored or tinted.  Thank you, Patsy, for the I.D.  

 Although Delilah looks older than in the previous tintype I posted of her, she appears to be wearing the same two-piece dress (ca 1870s) she wore in the earlier tintype.  She is wearing a different collar this time, fastened with a Victorian bar pin, which she may have been wearing in the earlier tintype.  She might be 35-to-45 years old.  Delilah was born 30 Dec 1845; her age estimate dates this photo ca 1880--1890.

Andrew Jackson Hill is a handsome man who looks to be 35-to-45 years old.  He was born 5 Jun 1840 in Camden, Union County, Arkansas; his age estimate dates this photo to ca 1875--1885.   Since Delilah's age estimate dates this photo to ca 1880--1890, I will narrow down the date to the overlapping years of ca 1880--1885.

This handsome young man looks to be in his late teens to early twenties.  In 1885, A.J.'s and Delilah's oldest son, John Wesley "J. W." Hill, b. 18 Feb 1866, is 19 years old.  Their next oldest son, Andrew Jackson Jr., b. 9 Feb. 1872, is only 13 years old in 1885.

If my "powers of deduction" are worth a hoot, I'd say this photo is from around 1885.  Delilah is around 40 years old, A. J. is around 45 years old, and this is their oldest grown son, John Wesley, who is around 19 years old.  The 1880 U.S. Census shows the Hills living in Erath County, Texas; A. J. is a farmer.  The Hills lived there from after the war until 1890, when they moved to Merkel, Taylor County, Texas.

1870s Tintype of Delilah Ann Oxford Hill

This is a tintype from Elsie's collection.  Thank you, Patsy, for identifying this beautiful young woman as your great-grandmother Delilah Ann Oxford Hill, Andrew Jackson Hill's wife and mother of William Claborn Hill.

Delilah was born 30 Dec 1845 near a little town called Tarrent in Hopkins County, Texas to William Claborn Oxford, a farmer born in Buncombe County, North Carolina 6 Aug 1808, and his wife, Louisa Ramsey, born in Tennessee Mar 1810.

The website "Dating Old Photos," at http://www.billblanton.com/date.htm, is a nice reference on tintypes and other early photography.  This image seems to be from the "Brown Period" of tintypes produced from 1870 to 1885, which is also consistent with the use of the painted rural background. The tintype has been colored or tinted on Delilah's cheeks.

The shape of Delilah's long bodice fitted to the hips (by 1877) and flounces and ruffles on her skirt look to be from the 1870s, so perhaps she is 25 to 35 years old--married, with children--and most likely is living in Erath County, Texas.

This site is helpful for dating historic images:  http://www.uvm.edu/landscape/dating/index.php.