Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object ID # |
1961.027.001 |
Object Name |
Dress |
Other Name |
Sleeve |
Title |
Baby's Dress Sleeve |
Lexicon category |
3: Personal Artifacts |
Date |
pre-1865 |
Year Range from |
1845 |
Year Range to |
1865 |
Artist |
Mrs. William Sutton |
Made |
Sarawak Township (formerly), Township of Georgian Bluffs, Grey County? |
Place of Origin |
Canada West (Ontario) |
Description |
Hand-sewn baby's dress sleeve, which pre-dates 1865. This dress sleeve is made of a very thin fabric, which has an off-white/natural colour. It has been hand-sewn with very tiny stitchery. The cuff has a plain, doubled band, which has a finely-gathered frill which is 2 cm long. The opening at the shoulder is neatly whip-stitched. |
Makers mark |
None |
Provenance |
This baby sleeve reportedly was sewn by Mrs. William Sutton (née Nahneebahweequay or Catharine Brown Sunego) of Sarawak Township, Grey County who was an Ojibwa (Anishnaabe) woman who married an Englishman, William Sutton, in 1839, at the Credit River mission (a Wesleyan Methodist mission that was assisting Ojibwa families). The Suttons had moved their family from the Credit River area to what would later be known as Grey County in the mid 1840s, in order to assist the Newash Ojibwa band with missionary work. The Newash Band gave Mrs. Sutton and her heirs a quantity of land in what later became Sarawak Township, Canada West. When an 1857 land treaty with the Crown occurred, Mrs. Sutton was in jeopardy of losing her land, as she could not legally obtain title, as she was an "Indian", and could not even purchase it at auction. This injustice, and others, led her to becoming a spokesperson for her people. She was elected by the Council at Rama to be their envoy to England in order to speak to Queen Victoria about the unfair situation for aboriginal people in Canada West. Mrs. Sutton was of the Eagle Totem and was born circa 1824 and raised at the Credit Indian Mission (near the Credit River near Lake Ontario). Her name "Nahneebahweequay" meant "Upright Woman" or "black squirrel". Mrs. Sutton died in September of 1865, at her log home in Sarawak Township, Grey County. She and Mr. Sutton still had young children - sons and daughters in their family when she died. We are not sure for which child this garment was intended. Her mother assisted Mr. Sutton after she passed away, as did Miss Catherine Sutton, the eldest daughter. The sleeve was passed down in the family, eventually belonging to Catherine Morgan (née Staves) of Brantford, Ontario, who was a grand-daughter of Catharine and William Sutton. Catherine Staves was married to Reverend Alfred Morgan. Alfred Morgan was the last owner. Catherine Staves and Alfred Morgan were married in Toronto on August 14, 1906. Catherine Staves was the daughter of Joseph Staves (a cooper), and Sophia Staves (née Sutton). Sophia Staves died of consumption in Sarawak Township on May 17, 1875, and Mr. William Sutton raised his grandchildren, Catherine Staves (b. 18__) and her brother, William Percy Staves (b. April 10, 1875) in Sarawak Township. There is a large archival collection at Grey Roots concerning Catherine Sutton (Nahneebahweequay) and her family, including images of some of her children as adults. |
Collection |
Textiles, 19th-c Clothing Collection, Baby Unisex/Unknown |
Material |
Cotton/Thread |
Dimensions |
W-18.5 L-29 cm |
Found |
Brantford, Ontario |
People |
Sutton, Catharine Morgan, Catherine Morgan, Alfred |
Subjects |
Ojibwa Anishnaabe Sutton Collection Babies First Nations of Central Canada Clothing & dress |
Search Terms |
Sarawak Township Ojibwa (Anishnaabe, Anishnibeg) |
Function |
An unattached sleeve part of a baby's dress |