Need a new shirt? You can go to any of a hundred different stores in modern Wilmington or even simply buy on online and have it shipped right to your door. But in the mid-1800’s, getting some new threads was not as easy as it is today, even for a wealthy family like the Bellamys. Though we do not know much about the clothing that the Bellamy family wore, we can use written historical records and resources to gain a better understanding of how they acquired the clothing they did have.
First up is the foundation of any piece of clothing, historic or modern- the material. The Bellamy family had their own source for cotton and wool as they owned a plantation in Brunswick County. Ellen Douglas Bellamy, the youngest daughter of John and Eliza Bellamy, mentioned these resources in her memoir Back With The Tide. “We had provisions of all kinds, raising cotton, spinning and weaving our cloth, both cotton and wool, for we had a large flock of sheep,” (p. 14) at Grovely Plantation where John Bellamy kept 82 enslaved workers who did the “raising,” the “spinning,” and the “weaving.” While cotton is the crop most people associate with the antebellum South, plantations in the Wilmington area, like Grovely, mainly grew food products like peanuts, rice, and corn, as well as raising livestock. Cotton and other materials brought in through Wilmington’s busy port were often in the form of already woven fabrics or finished clothing ready for purchase, ranging from rough textiles like “gunny cloth” to refined French cashmere.
First up is the foundation of any piece of clothing, historic or modern- the material. The Bellamy family had their own source for cotton and wool as they owned a plantation in Brunswick County. Ellen Douglas Bellamy, the youngest daughter of John and Eliza Bellamy, mentioned these resources in her memoir Back With The Tide. “We had provisions of all kinds, raising cotton, spinning and weaving our cloth, both cotton and wool, for we had a large flock of sheep,” (p. 14) at Grovely Plantation where John Bellamy kept 82 enslaved workers who did the “raising,” the “spinning,” and the “weaving.” While cotton is the crop most people associate with the antebellum South, plantations in the Wilmington area, like Grovely, mainly grew food products like peanuts, rice, and corn, as well as raising livestock. Cotton and other materials brought in through Wilmington’s busy port were often in the form of already woven fabrics or finished clothing ready for purchase, ranging from rough textiles like “gunny cloth” to refined French cashmere.
There are some records of fabrics being produced directly by the enslaved workers of Bellamy household, once again as told in Ellen Bellamy’s memoirs:
| “One of our women, Mozella, was such an expert spinner that her yarns were too fine and even for our looms. Mother took me with her to Drs. Drew’s, a first rate weaver, file miles from us, and got her to weave a bolt of beautiful white flannel from Mozella’s yarn. It was used then, and long afterwards, for skirts for all our family and kin [...]. We tanned the leather and made our shoes. Richmond, one of our slaves, cut his knee and thus was disabled for doing accustomed work of cutting wood; so Pa apprenticed him for a time to a Mr. Hewett, a shoemaker in Wilmington, and Richmond became quite an expert. His shoes would bear inspection by the most fastidious. My sister would make the uppers of little shoes from old pants or scraps of heavy cloth for my baby brother, and Richmond would sole them” (p. 14). |  Ellen Douglass Bellamy, circa 1860. |
Those in Wilmington without enough money to own a slave but enough to commission a dressmaker or a seamstress to create a garment had many options, as newspaper ads from 1850-1865 show. After the Civil War ended in 1865, many former enslaved women with seamstress skills also began advertising themselves in local newspapers alongside other seamstresses. These ads usually wouldn’t give clues as to the race of the advertiser, leaving the details of their identity to local knowledge.
| The inhabitants of the Bellamy Mansion and its longest resident, Ellen Bellamy (1852-1946), witnessed many changes in fashion and the production of it during their lives. With the introduction of the Singer sewing machine in 1851, the production of garments became much easier. While there are no records of the Bellamy household owning a sewing machine, the Singer sewing machine did have a presence in Wilmington, judging by this ad from 1859. |  Singer sewing machine ad from The Wilmington Daily Herald, published Friday, July 15th, 1859. |
As the Bellamys were wealthy and could afford it, their dresses were often made with numerous folds, full floor-length skirts, and miles upon miles of ruffles. This is evident in the pictures of the Bellamy family which display the family’s fashion choices.
 Two women, identities unknown but most likely Bellamy family or relatives. |  Mary Elizabeth "Belle" Bellamy, circa 1860. |
One part of 19th century fashion the Bellamy women embraced was that of lace collars, as seen in the picture of Mary Elizabeth “Belle” Bellamy above. As with other fashion production in the mid-1800s, the manufacturing of lace became more mechanized in order to produce enough to fulfill demands, but some lace was also still handmade, mostly through methods of bobbins, tatting, or crochet. Accent pieces that used lace were usually in the form of detachable collars that laid over the dress neckline and cuffs that were either detachable or sewn onto the end of sleeves (Origins of Lace).
While there are no clear records of lace use or production in the Bellamy household, it is safe to assume that it existed, especially since we have photos of family members wearing lace collars as seen in this article. There are also contemporary records of lace and lace collars being sold by merchants in Wilmington, ads touting both “real” and “imitation” laces, meaning handmade and machine-made lace respectively (Origins of Lace).
 Ad published in The Wilmington Daily Herald on Tuesday, October 11th, 1859. |  Ad published in The Tri Weekly Commercial on Saturday, September 16th, 1854. |
The culture of fashion and textiles in America changed rapidly throughout the lifetime of the Bellamy family, heralding the beginning of the clothing industry we are familiar with today. While some of the fashion of the era may seem old and antiquated, there are parts of it that survive in our style even today and connect us to the past.
Written by Bellamy Mansion intern and UNCW English Major Caitlyn Dark.
References
Bates, Christopher G. “The Early Republic and Antebellum America: An Encyclopedia of Social, Political, Cultural, and Economic History.” First edition, Routledge, 2015.
Bellamy, Ellen Douglass. “Back With The Tide.” Edited by Janet K. Speaker, Reprint edition, Bellamy Mansion Museum of History and Design Arts, 2002.
Gerard, Philip. “A House Divided.” Our State Magazine, Our State Magazine, 28 April 2011, https://www.ourstate.com/bellamy-mansion/.
“Ladies' Antebellum Clothing - Fabrics.” Historic Northampton Museum and Education Center, 2018, historic-northampton.org/virtual_exhibits/antebellum/fabrics.html.
“The Origins & History of Lace.” The Lace Guild, 2017, https://www.laceguild.org/craft/index.html.
Bates, Christopher G. “The Early Republic and Antebellum America: An Encyclopedia of Social, Political, Cultural, and Economic History.” First edition, Routledge, 2015.
Bellamy, Ellen Douglass. “Back With The Tide.” Edited by Janet K. Speaker, Reprint edition, Bellamy Mansion Museum of History and Design Arts, 2002.
Gerard, Philip. “A House Divided.” Our State Magazine, Our State Magazine, 28 April 2011, https://www.ourstate.com/bellamy-mansion/.
“Ladies' Antebellum Clothing - Fabrics.” Historic Northampton Museum and Education Center, 2018, historic-northampton.org/virtual_exhibits/antebellum/fabrics.html.
“The Origins & History of Lace.” The Lace Guild, 2017, https://www.laceguild.org/craft/index.html.
