Author Archives: jennphelps1

Lizzie May, age 6

Imagine the year is 1861. The place is New York City.

A young mother of four wild young boys passes away. The boys’ father Philip, a businessman, decides that the best place for  boys is on a farm breathing in the fresh air of the country. He buys land in the interior of Maine and sends the boys up there with a few hired hands to develop the farm. He spends most of his time focused on his work in New York while his boys run wild and free.

Eight months later the boys receive an exciting letter. Their father has re-married, they will now have a new mother to care for them. Even more exciting was the news that they would also have a new little step-sister, only 6 years old. Enter Lizzie May Ulmer.

The following is an excerpt from Adventures and Reminiscences of A Volunteer  :

We did not know what day they would arrive. So each day about the time the stage coach from Belfast should pass the corners, we would perch ourselves on the fence in front of the house to watch for it, and when it did come in sight, wonder if the folks were in it; if they were, it would turn at the corners and come toward our house. Day after day passed, and they did not come, and we had kind of forgotten about it. Finally one day while we were all busy burning brush, brother Charlie came rushing towards us shouting, “The stage coach is coming! The stage is coming!” Well, such a scampering for the house! We didn’t have time to wash or fix up, and our appearance would certainly not inspire our city visitors with much paternal pride or affection; we looked like charcoal burners. Our faces, hands and clothes were black and begrimed from the burning brush, but we couldn’t help it; we were obliged to receive and welcome them as we were. I pulled up a handful of grass and tried to wipe my face, but the grass being wet, it left streaks all over it, and I looked more like a bogie man than anything else. We all struggled to brush up and smooth our hair, but it was no use, the stage coach was upon us, the door opened, father jumped out, and as we crowded around him, he looked at us in perfect amazement and with a kind of humiliated expression behind a pleasant fatherly smile he exclaimed, “Well, well, you are a nice dirty looking lot of boys. Lizzie,” addressing his wife and helping her to alight, “This is our family, a little smoky; I can’t tell which is which, so we’ll have to wait till they get their faces washed to introduce them by their names.” But our new mother was equal to the occasion for coming to each of us, and taking our dirty faces in her hands, kissed us, saying at the same time, “Philip, don’t you mind, they are all nice, honest, hard-working boys, and I know I shall like them, even if this country air has turned their skins black.” At this moment a tiny voice called, “Please help me out.” All the boys started with a rush, each eager to embrace the little step-sister. I was there first, and in an instant, in spite of my dirty appearance, she sprang from the coach right into my arms; my brothers struggled to take her from me, but she tightened her little arms about my neck and clung to me as if I was her only protector. I started and ran with her, my brothers in full chase, down the road, over the stone walls, across the field, around the stumps with my prize, the brothers keeping up the chase till we were all completely tired out, and father compelled us to stop and bring the child to the house. Afterward we took our turns at caressing and admiring her; finally we apologized for our behavior and dirty faces, listened to father’s and mother’s congratulations, concluded father’s choice for a wife was a good one, and that our little step-sister was just exactly as we wanted her to be, and the prospect of a bright, new and happy home seemed to be already realized.

A home is all right With father and brother, But darker than night Without sister and Mother.

Meet Lizzie May Ulmer



My numerous Google searches of Lizzie May Ulmer have taken me down the rabbit hole and around in circles. There are snippets here and there but pulling her story together is a challenge. One thing is certain, by 1876 when her portrait was painted, Lizzie was a well-known young actress.

This beautiful portrait  is by the celebrated African-American painter Nelson A. Primus (1842-1916). This oil on canvas painting is currently on display at the Connecticut Historical Society in Hartford,CT. The original research on the painting has some discrepancies. While Lizzie May was definitely from Maine, her age would have been 20-21 at the time of the painting. The label on the back of the painting listed George T. Ulmer as the addressee and there was discussion as to which relative this was. My research shows that George T. Ulmer was actually her husband at the time. According to many articles written about her and also articles and books that her husband wrote, it is very obvious that he was very much in love with her and may have commissioned the painting.

The Hartford Courant dated January 16,1877 reports that “Primus had completed a fine portrait of a little actress in Boston (Lizzie May Ulmer) and that it had received the highest praise from the critics of that city”

This painting of Lizzie May became one of Primus’ best known works. The life of Nelson A. Primus is definitely worth the read. Born in Hartford he moved to Boston and then later to San Francisco where his art became inspired by the culture of  Chinatown.

N. A. Primus Advertisement – from the East Boston Advocate 29 April 1882 :

My research of Lizzie May has taken me in no certain order throughout her life. This is not a timeline nor a biography but more an inquisitive journey into the past.

Next up, piecing together Lizzie May’s confusing childhood…

The trunk

   When I was a kid and wanted to find out anything, it meant hours poring over the Encyclopedia. Every family I knew had one and it took up two full shelves on our living room bookshelf.

  Now I just Google everything and am always amazed (and sometimes frustrated) by all the information. That said, I Googled “old trunks”. Through this random and unscientific search  I found a website called  ‘This Old Trunk‘. This is a fantastic website for antique trunks and a fun peek into the way people traveled a century or more ago. No 50 pound limits, no carry-on. Everything you owned fit into a trunk and followed you on your long and arduous journey by stagecoach or rail. The fact that any of these trunks survived is a true testament to this lost craft.

     After scanning the website for contact info I sent off an email to Marvin Miller. Marvin was so helpful and he really knows his trunks. I knew that the trunk had been manufactured by Likly, McDonald and Rockett of Cleveland,Ohio because the original plate was still inside the trunk and in excellent condition.

   From my photos Marvin was able to tell that the trunk is a canvas covered Barrel top or Round Top trunk. This style was made mostly during the 1880’s and 1890’s. It was a popular style in its day. On “Lizzie’s” trunk the inner tray is missing. This is where a woman would have stored her “delicates”as well as gloves, accessories, etc. Apparently , there also used to be a piece in the center lid that is missing which was a papers envelope for letters and such.

   Another search shows the Likly, McDonald and Rockett company STILL in business in Ohio but it is now called the Likly-Rockett Luggage Co. I have contacted them  to see if they kept any old ledgers listing the sales of their trunks. It’s a long shot.

    Now that I have an approximate date of the trunk, my search for it’s owner “Lizzie May Ulmer, young actress” begins…

The beginning…

The beginning was not all that auspicious. I was moving out of my tiny apartment in a century old  house. As I packed my meager  belongings into my car I realized that I had forgotten a few boxes that were  stored in the attic. It was a hot summer day. Stagnant. I debated whether I wanted to climb the three flights of stairs again just for a few boxes of books and decorations. Did I mention the lack of air conditioning and that it was a HOT day? In the end I climbed into that stifling, dusty attic. As I dragged my boxes towards the stairs I took one last glance around and spied an old trunk hidden under the eaves.

The trunk looked old. Really old. The dust was was so thick I had a sneezing fit. The lock was broken and the handles were missing. I wiped some dust off with my already filthy hands and opened the lid. No jewels or gold doubloons. No antique clothing or exciting knickknacks. Nothing but more dust. Still, it looked like it could be just the thing to store towels and sheets and the like in my new place so I dragged it down to my car and off we went.

That was 15 years ago. With every move I have dragged this beaten up old trunk with me. For the last 7 years it has sat in my guest room filled with towels and blankets.

A week ago I was cleaning the guest room and took a good look at the trunk for the first time in years. The paper decorations lovingly glued inside, the broken but beautiful hardware and the faded and ripped playbill glued to the side that you can barely make out. It reads, ” young actress….Lizzie May Ulmer“.

For some reason I cannot  fathom, I walked over to the computer and googled her name. And so the adventure begins…