Photo supplied. Pictured are proud grandparents Ray and Fran Lowery with granddaughter Meghan Shaughnessy, her husband Derek Miller and their daughter Frances Mae Miller last month at her christening. Frances is wearing a gown created by her great-great-great-great- grandmother in 1868.
Early in December, Meghan Shaughnessy and Derek Miller brought their daughter Frances Mae to St. Thomas More Anglican Church to be christened. Her attire brought additional significance to the event. Frances wore a hand-stitched silk gown created and embroidered by one of her ancestors. Louisa Kenard Nowell of Devonshire England made the gown in 1868. Since then, it has been lovingly preserved and worn by seven generations of her descendants at their own introduction to the church of their forebears.
Photo supplied.
Christening dress detail.
The blanket in which Frances was also holds sentimental value. It was created by her grandmother, Sandy (Inch) Fischl using fabric from her wedding gown, which she wore on May 9th, 1987.
Repurposing fabric from a wedding to a christening gown has a long history. The first references to infant baptism dates back to 160 A.D. At that time, infants were wrapped in swaddling bands of cloth designed to restrict a baby’s movement during the ceremony. Often these were the same pieces of cloth used during the wedding ceremony of the child’s parents. The early wedding ceremony involved tying decorated cloth bands around the clasped right hands of the bride and groom, leading to the description of the wedding process as “tying the knot”.
Swaddling bands were replaced by garments that were easily removed during the 17th century. At this time, baptisms involved the full immersion of the child, requiring clothing that was easily removed. By the 18th century, this practice was dropped, ushering in the era of elaborate gowns made of silk or satin, evolving to reflect women’s fashion of the day and worn over petticoats. During the Victorian era, christening gowns became more elaborate, made of fine fabrics and bearing intricate embroidery. These were both expensive and time-consuming to create, and became family heirlooms, like the garment Frances wore.
The gowns are generally white, reflecting the innocence and purity of the child. Traditionally the child also wore a white bonnet, similar in purpose to the bridal veil, and for practical reasons was wrapped in a white blanket. Churches can be cold! This also makes the repurposing of the wedding gown.
Thanks to the careful efforts of her mother, grandmothers, great-grandmothers and beyond, Frances wore a piece of her personal family history as she was introduced to her new church family in Millbrook. KG
