Cabinet Card of Alice Collier Wayt, Dearborn County, Indiana --1890s

This image of Alice Collier was taken at the studio of Charles Keifer and Henry Kirsch in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Keifer & Kirsch were in the photograph business during the 1890s, and may have been in operation during the last years of the 1880s. Alice is wearing her hair in 1890s style: an up-do without bangs, adorned with a decorative hair barrette. Another noticeable fashion feature is the bar pin she is wearing at the collar. The collar itself is high, with a band of white peeking out. This is very much the style of the early 1890s. I can't get a really good look at her sleeves, but I think they are set fairly straight at the shoulder, and don't appear to have any puffiness to them. This would also point to a date earlier in the decade. The "brooch" Alice is wearing might actually be a watch on a chain.

Alice Collier was the eldest daughter of George Collier and Mary Louisa Walser of Manchester, Dearborn County, Indiana. Her birthdate is conveniently provided on the photograph: 6 Jun 1866. The Colliers were a farming family with at least nine children: Amaziah, Lane, Americus, Sarah, William, Maud, Charles, Emma and our subject, Alice.^1,2,3

Alice married Thomas Wayt, a machinist, in Laurenceburg in 1896 and the family resided in Indianapolis.⁴ This was Thomas' second marriage. I believe he married Dora B. Davison in Indianapolis in 1888 and they had at least one child, Beulah⁶. Dora died in 1893.⁷ Alice and Thomas' daughter, Etta Marie, was born 16 Dec 1897. The Wayt family appears to have been of the Quaker faith. A record of John Thomas Wayt's death on 19 Jun 1905, at the age of 45 years, 6 months, is found in the Quaker Meeting Records.⁵ Alice and Etta Marie's names are dropped from the Quaker register in 1909.

So what happened to Alice after 1909? I've had a little time to try to locate her, but I haven't found her yet. She's proving to be elusive. I suspect she may have remarried. If you know Alice's story, I'd love to hear from you.

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1 "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXXC-SZT : 19 March 2020), Alice Collier in entry for George Collier, 1870.^↩
2 "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHML-PBB : 24 August 2017), Alice Collier in household of George Collier, Manchester, Dearborn, Indiana, United States; citing enumeration district ED 50, sheet 235A, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,254,272.^↩
3 "Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XXYF-1Q9 : 8 December 2017), Thomas Wayt and Alice Collier, 05 Mar 1896; citing Dearborn, Indiana, United States, Marriage Registration, Indiana Commission on Public Records, Indianapolis; FHL microfilm 004476713.^↩
4 "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M9M3-43B : accessed 28 June 2020), Alice Wayt in household of Thomas Wayt, Center Township, Precinct 4 Indianapolis city Ward 1, Marion, Indiana, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 22, sheet 12A, family 241, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,240,387.^↩
5 U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935 [database on-line] citing Earlham College; Richmond, Indiana; Record Book of Indianapolis Monthly Meeting; Collection: Indiana Yearly Meeting Minutes, Removals, page 160, entries for John Thomas Wayt, Alice A. Wayt, and Etta Marie Wayt.^↩
6 Ancestry.com. Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 [database on-line]. The Indianapolis News; Publication Date: 19/ Jan/ 1888; Publication Place: Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Page 3, “Married: Wayt-Davison.”^↩
7 Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 24 September 2020), memorial page for Dora Wayt (unknown–1893), Find a Grave Memorial no. 46043025, citing Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, USA ; Maintained by John C. Anderson (contributor 47208015) . ^↩