Berengera Caswell [?], ca. 1849
Contributed by Susan Reynolds-Phaneuf through Maine Historical Society
![Berengera Caswell [?], ca. 1849](http://www.mainememory.net/media/images/450/75/29132.JPG)
Item 29132
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An ambrotype that may be Berengera Caswell, a mill girl who in 1849 died after a botched abortion and whose body was found in a Saco stream.
The photo -- unidentified -- has been passed down through the family and the young woman pictured fits the physical description of Caswell as recalled in period newspapers.
Caswell's life, and unfortunate death, was memorialized in fictionalized accounts such as Mary Bean, The Factory Girl (1850), and Life of George Hamilton (1852).
Other Information
- Title: Berengera Caswell [?], ca. 1849
- Creation Date: circa 1852
- Subject Date: circa 1852
- Town: Saco
- County: York
- State: ME
- Media: Ambrotype, photograph
- Object Type: Image
For more information about this item, contact:
Maine Historical Society
489 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101
(207) 774-1822
http://www.mainehistory.org
Cross Reference Searches
LC Subject Headings
Abortions--Maine
Pregnancy--Maine
Caswell, Berengera--Portrait photographs
Textile mill workers--Maine
Women--Maine
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