A widow’s trunk of memories...

It certainly could be mourning clothes, although it's hard to tell. She's not wearing any obvious mourning jewelry. What do you think @Mrs. V?
Well, given how sad she seems..I’d say mourning clothes, but later mourning when she would have still been wearing black. The bodice is quite fancy, and that would have been “later” and before she would have gone to gray…as far as jewelry goes she jusst may not have had the funds. And if she didn’t have any of his hair, there would not have been any brooches/etc made.
 
Well, given how sad she seems..I’d say mourning clothes, but later mourning when she would have still been wearing black. The bodice is quite fancy, and that would have been “later” and before she would have gone to gray…as far as jewelry goes she jusst may not have had the funds. And if she didn’t have any of his hair, there would not have been any brooches/etc made.
Thank you so much, Mrs.V. Wow...I did not know much about mourning etiquette. It makes sense. She gets the letter in July of ‘64. Her mother dies a few months before her own death. So I guess she died before she “would have gone to gray”....fascinating info, and much appreciated 👍🏻👍🏻...
Her obit, referencing her mother’s death and her four small children...
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Wonderful heirlooms and a touching letter! It is so great that this has been kept in the family. I hope your relative takes good care to keep them preserved.

As for the medicine, apparently Ovelmo (at least some versions of it) contained Calomel, another name for mercury. Yikes!
While the creams appear to be for eczema, they also made antacid laxative tablets, and 'tonic' tablets and 'eliminative' tablets all branded as Ovelmo.
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The medication does not appear to have been around during the civil war, as JC Hutzell was born in 1878 and his company seems to have been created around 1911.
It seems Ovelmo experienced complaints due to false advertising, which isn't really surprising.
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I did not see this original post earlier. What a treasure you have in your family! I’m struck with the photo of the widow and how completely sad she is (with good reasons). It makes me wonder what she even thought of the original idea of the war and if she had premonitions of death as the war started, etc. I would love to know her thoughts on everything!
 
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