Dress, Wedding
Object number2018.121.1
MediumFabric; Lace; Metal
Credit LineGift of Elsie Morey
DescriptionOff-white diaphanous fabric, eyelet, and lace wedding dress. Rounded neckline with straight front section. Bodice is constructed from diagonal floral eyelet and lace panels creating a V-design down front and back. Wide three-quarter-length sleeves are constructed from horizontal bands of same floral eyelet and lace fabrics. White fabric waistband. Floor-length skirt with pleated waist is constructed from horizontal bands of same floral eyelet and lace fabrics. Ten metal hook and eye fasteners down back opening.DimensionsHeight x Width (Width at waist): 53.5 x 13.5 in. (135.9 x 34.3 cm)Historical NotesWedding dress that belonged to Marie Bender. William Martin Bender (born October 6, 1859, Baden, Germany) and Emilie Gamer (born October 6, 1860, Baden, Germany) married on January 26, 1882. The family came to the United States in 1889, arriving at Ellis Island with four children: Emilie, Marie, Frieda, and Martin. They settled eventually in Pittsburgh where Martin worked as a farmer. Martin Bender and the children died in 1891 of typhoid, except for Marie. By 1900, Emilie Gamer Bender was living in Reserve Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. She worked at St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Orphan Home as the Assistant Deaconess and is listed in the 1900 census as the mother of six children, one living. In 1901, she married Louis Strache (himself widowed by the typhoid epidemic) who had two sons, Gustave and Charles, from his first marriage. Emilie and Louis had one daughter, Frieda. Both Gus and Charlie served in WWII and returned in bad health. Gus apprenticed as a stockbroker and returned to that profession after the war. Charles apprenticed as a baker, but committed suicide not long after his return due to what the family now believes was PTSD. Marie Frieda Bender was born September 28, 1883, in Baden, Germany, the first child of Emilie Gamer Bender and Martin Bender. She reportedly apprenticed at a shoe store on East Ohio Street in the 1890s, but by 1907 she owned a store of her own, M.F. Bender Shoes at 632 Braddock Avenue, Braddock, Pennsylvania. In June of 1907, she married Friedrich Franz (Frank) Hilsman, the son of William Hilsman. They had three children: Emilie, Helen, and Frank. Friedrich Franz (Frank F.) Hilsman was born in Westphal, Germany on September 18, 1883. He became a naturalized citizen on November 24, 1913. His siblings were Minnie and Otto. Frank first worked at Union Switch and Signal then owned and operated Hilsman Shoes at 632 and then 734 Braddock Avenue with Marie after their marriage. After Marie’s death (April 5, 1941) he married Opal Reed in 1946. Frank Hilsman, the only son of Marie Bender and Frank F. Hilsman, graduated from Braddock High School in 1929 and from the University of Pittsburgh in 1933. Frank Hilsman worked at Hilsman Shoes with his father. He assumed ownership of the store in 1951. He retired in 1977 and moved to Gettysburg to live with his sister. Frank Hilsman was very active in the Braddock community, serving on the Board of Trustees of Braddock Hospital, 1963-1977, President of its Chamber of Commerce in 1963, and a member of the Braddock Rotary Club from 1950-1977, he later joined the Gettysburg Rotary where he was honored as a Paul Harris Fellow, 1984.
Previous owner
Marie Frieda Bender
(1883 - 1941)
Related institution
M. F. Bender Shoes
Related person
William Martin Bender
(born 1859)
Related person
Emilie Gamer
(born 1860)
Related person
Friedrich Franz Hilsman
Related person
Frank Hilsman
On View
Not on view
1881
1911
1911
c. 1903
c. 1890
c. 1948