I find the Quakers in our family lines fascinating, and so when I find new stories that illustrate their proclivities I just need to share them! The illustration of this carriage is from 1863, the time of the story below, but is from a carriage manufacturer in New York.
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| Rachel Harned and Lindley Murray Vail (2nd great-great aunt & husband) |
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| Emma Mott Vail, daughter of above, & Samuel Comly (1st cousin 3 times removed & husband)
Before he was the president of a nuts and bolts company in Westchester, New York, which allowed his wife the privilege of having a full-time cook, Samuel Comly was a carriage-maker. (He's tiny - only 5' 1" according to his passport application.)
The following story comes from Comly Family in America: Descendants of Henry and Joan Comly Who Came to America in 1682 from Bedminster, Somersetshire: with short accounts of the ancestors of Charles and Debby Ann (Newbold) Comly, which is available at Ancestry.com and other places for download.
In 1863, before going to Port Chester [New York], and while a carriage maker in Byberry [a neighborhood in the northeast section of Philadelphia], Samuel's father-in-law [Lindley Murray Vail] asked him to make a carriage for him. Samuel took unusual pains with it, made the cushions thick and comfortable and, as a finishing touch, put on silver door handles and hub caps. His father-in-law was much pleased with everything except the silver fittings, which he thought too showy, so Samuel painted them over.
Quaker practices included plain speech, modesty, and avoiding "showy" things. Like silver fittings on your carriage. Emma and Samuel were Quakers as well, so perhaps Samuel was willing to forego his true feelings about being "showy" to impress his father-in-law. Or maybe Samuel just liked the fine silver handles, and hub caps!
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