The historic Andrew Johnson Homestead will open on Friday, October 25 for a rare evening opportunity to experience “Garments of Sorrow: The Andrew Johnson Homestead in Mourning.”
The public is invited to share this unique experience beginning at 5 pm. Meet staff and observe the way the Johnsons mourned the passing of a loved one in the late 19th century.
While Halloween was recognized differently in Andrew Johnson’s day, families in the Victorian era observed specific mourning rituals in response to the death of a loved one. Mourning is the outward manifestation of grief and dates to the beginning of time. During the 19th century, however, Victorians expanded on the traditions of mourning and made them part of their highly structured system of etiquette. The Victorian era lasted between the years 1837 and 1901 and was named after Queen Victoria.
Two major factors in the mid-19th century contributed to the outpouring of grief –
The first was the death of Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert. When Albert died on December 14, 1861, at the age of 42, Queen Victoria went into deep mourning which lasted until her death in 1901.
The second was American Civil War. The nation was reeling from the loss of nearly 700,000 people and Abraham Lincoln’s assassination seemed to be the culmination of the Civil War’s many deaths. The nation responded to the devastation with many tributes and deep mourning.
There was great social pressure to make grieving public not private, and the public mourning was expected to be practiced in accordance with the popular culture of the day. Mourning clothing traditionally reflected a spectrum of emotions and societal norms, using specific colors to symbolize varying stages of grief and the relationship to the deceased. Black typically signified the deepest mourning, while transitioning to lighter shades like silver, grey, and violet indicated a gradual healing process or a more distant connection to the lost individual.
