Stereograph

Description

Brother Rufus Crossman (1798-1891) and Sister Dolly Sexton (1776-1884) are seated in chairs at an east entrance to the Church Family Office at Mount Lebanon, New York. They are joined by four young Shaker children -- two boys and two girls. It is likely that the photograph was made to draw attention to the oldest and youngest members of the Shaker family. Dolly Sexton died May 1, 1884, just a few days short of her 108th birthday. The young girl on the left is Julia Matilda Dalton, who eventually left the Shakers, married Henry Terry Clough, a Shaker Brother, and eventually donated this stereograph to the Shaker Museum. Although similar to 1950.4100.1 these two images were produced from different negatives. It is likely that the photographer, A. J. Alden, sold a negative to McDonnald & Sterry, which they used to produce the stereograph that appears to be the same as that sold by Alden. Look at the distance between both boy's feet to see that they are not the same photograph. The card is printed on the front, "Stereoscopic Scenery. Mount Lebanon. N.Y." and "McDonald &Sterry, Photographers, Albany, N. Y."