This Cabinet Card is an image of a bride and groom and their wedding party. This photograph is a bit unusual because most wedding cabinet cards include the bride and groom without any other people at the wedding. The wedding appears to be quite fancy as corsages abound and everyone is formally dressed. Note that the bride is wearing a dark wedding dress. This photograph is from the studio of J. Lodgaard of Bloomer, Wisconsin. The town of Bloomer was named after a wealthy merchant named Bloomer. In 1848 he had selected the area to build a mill and a dam. He didn’t stick around very long and sold his property during construction. The town was settled in 1855.
THE WEDDING PARTY: PHOTOGRAPHED IN BLOOMER, WISCONSIN
Bernard Roelker: Esteemed Lawyer and Friend of Longfellow
Bernard Roelker (1816-1888)) led an active life in Literature and Law. He attended the University of Bonn on the Rhine where he studied law. He came to the United States in the late 1830’s. He settled in Bridgeport, Connecticut and privately taught German and Music. He then went to Harvard and became friends with Henry Longfellow who was a professor there. Roelker became friends with a number of literary luminaries. He taught at Harvard and renewed his study of the law. He then practiced law in Boston and later moved to New York City where he started the law firm of Laur and Roelker. He built a large practice, especially among the Germans of the city. He was expert at wills and contracts. He argued an important case, Meyer vs Roosevelt, in front of the United States Supreme Court in 1863. It was the first legal tender case heard before the court and Roelker won the decision. Roelker and his friend Samuel Tilden organized the Prairie du Chien Railroad in Wisconsin. Tilden ran for President in 1876. Roelker never married. The photographer of this Cabinet card portrait is the famous photographer Sarony of New York City. The photograph is dated November, 1879.
Dapper Black Gentleman in Watertown, Wisconsin
This Cabinet card is a photograph of a dapper young Black man posing in Donner Brothers Studio in Watertown, Wisconsin. Watertown is located in southeastern Wisconsin and was settled in 1836. Around the time of this photograph, there was an influx of German immigrants into the town. These immigrants started the first kindergarten in the United States soon after their arrival in Watertown.
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 