A Face to a Name

By John Hart, Assistant Curator of Collections

A while ago I wrote about Brevet Brigadier General T. Ellery Lord and the collections of objects at the museum that he once owned. Well, as luck would have it, one of his distant relatives – actually the daughter of the donor who gave us Lord’s swords – contacted us recently and sent along a copy of the Deed of Gift from 1988. I was shocked when I looked at it and saw not just the three swords, but a daguerreotype listed on the form. I had looked at this form before in our files and can’t believe I missed the photo! Needless to say it took some digging and detective work, but I found the image in storage and it’s absolutely fantastic.

[Captain] T. Ellery Lord (1841-1886), Daguerreotype, Artist Unknown. ca. March 21, 1863- June 1, 1865.

N0030.1988. New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, New York.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that we have the frock coat pictured in the daguerreotype. I examined Lord’s two frocks that we have and both show evidence of having shoulder boards but never were equipped with the catch and latch for epaulettes. The coats are correct for the rank of Captain, but they are certainly not the one he’s wearing in our image. We do have the epaulettes though, so we are still able to interpret the differences in uniforms. Sadly, too, we don’t have the shoulder boards for the rank of Captain.

Frock Coat, Maker unknown, Wool and brass. N0262.1941.

New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, NY

Frock Coat, Maker unknown, Wool and brass. N0263.1941.

New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, NY

The collection of T. Ellery Lord’s objects is still one of the most comprehensive of its kind at the New York State Historical Association, and it certainly provides a wonderful look into the life, ranks, and promotions he received.