Morenci Farm Images (Medina Township, Michigan)

     This c.1900 photo captures several significant images: the large brick home and stately trees, the ladies on the lawn, the painted barn, and the beautiful horse hitched to a handsome carriage (as I understand it, when a family paid for a  photograph in this particular era, they liked to include their prized possessions!) Apparently this Lenawee county farmer, my great-aunt's father-in-law, Elwood Stoffer, was quite successful. Of course, I never knew him as he was born in 1858 and died in 1923; my mother remembers only that the farm was very clean, "never a fly to be seen", something she may have heard from her own mother.

     The interior of the home is shown below, and again, there is evidence of Elwood's prosperity. That is his daughter, Marie, in a sitting room or parlor which boasts an upright piano, books, framed portraits, a tufted fainting couch, and beautiful carpets - all very Victorian and ornate. These are not the sort of furnishings one would expect to see in a standard farmhouse located in the upper Midwest.

     Following is another view of the farm. Attired in light summer dresses, Marie and my great-aunt Florence seem to be enjoying a romp in a field of wildflowers. Perhaps they were on a Sunday drive and stopped to gather a bouquet of blooms. Were the fringed surrey and horses included on purpose? If not, they do add interest and intrigue to the photograph, as one can also see the older couple waiting patiently in the back seat . The man, Elwood,  is dressed in a dark suit and hat, and his wife is swathed from head to toe in some type of fabric, which is probably a dust robe designed to protect her good clothes from the earth kicked up by the horses' hooves. 

Ps:
     This photo was probably taken by Marie's brother Fred, who was also Florence's husband - I was given a copy of the original by their son.
      Fred and Marie, (whose given name was actually Ethel Marie) were the only children of Elwood and Angie Stoffer. The first babies of Fred and Florence were born in Morenci, though they later moved to Grand Rapids. Tiny Marie never married; she had one leg shorter than the other from a childhood illness, but she was a hard worker and helped her mother cook for the family and farm hands. She must have been delighted when her brother married and provided her with a sweet sister-in-law. Marie (Auntie Ria to the nieces and nephews) spent her final years in Grand Rapids at the home of Fred and Florence.