Mary King Scrimgeour dress, Lewiston, ca. 1895
Item 48279 info
Maine Historical Society
When Mary King Scrimgeour (1849-1930) died in Lewiston, the newspaper wrote that she "was a woman of great refinement and her gentle, kindly nature won for her many friends."
She and Charles Scrimgeour (1841-1920), natives of Ontario, Canada, moved along with their five children to Lewiston in 1885 when Charles became master mechanic of the Bates Manufacturing Company. He was an authority on steam and electricity and helped the mill electrify.
Charles won several patents -- but so did Mary, for household inventions.
Fine quality fashionable apparel appealed to Mary Scrimgeour, whose family saved several articles of her clothing. She and her husband lived well in the factory town of Lewiston.
The two-piece cream lace and satin dress has leaf designs and details such as rosettes and peach-colored bands around the skirt. Her dressmaker, Dunton Robes of Augusta, probably made the dress following the design on the advertisement of Paris fashion.
Among Mary Scrimgeour's possessions mentioned in her will was a pair of opera glasses, suggesting one venue to which she wore her finery.
Item 5 of 19
