THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 3, 1996 TAG: 9604020171
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: COASTAL JOURNAL
SOURCE: MARY REID BARROW
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Four generations - great-grandmother Beth Farley, grandmother Eileen Cooper, mom Siobhan Miller and her tiny babe, Eva Miller - were all around the table in the den of Cooper's Bay Colony home.
The conversation was all about the upcoming christening of 2-month-old Eva. A christening is a special day in any baby's life, but especially significant for Eva and her family.
On Mother's Day, Eva will be the 50th child in the family to be baptized in the 120-year-old, Farley christening gown. The ceremony will take place in St. Mark's Catholic Church in Gordonsville, where Beth Farley lives.
Five generations of Farleys have worn the gown since it was made in 1877 for Eva's great-great-grandfather, Joseph A. Farley. The dress was made by some of the Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul in Richmond and given as a gift to Joseph Farley's mother.
Subsequently, it has been a Farley family tradition to pass the gown around from one baby cousin to the next. Siobhan Miller and her brother, her sister and Cooper, their mom, were christened in the gown. Cooper's father, Lawrence Paul Farley, donned it as well.
The long cotton gown, all initially hand-stitched, is made of tucks and handmade eyelet inserts. The scalloped eyelet collar matches the eyelet hem around the bottom of the full flowing gown.
Early on, the family saw to it that the dress was machine stitched over the hand-stitching, Beth Farley said, laughing. The sewing machine had not been invented for long, so the family story goes, and at the time, it was considered more fashionable to have a machine-stitched gown.
That may be one of the reasons the gown has held up so long. Only the top of the dress around the neck is wearing. The rest is in good shape. Beth Farley says the family has considered giving the gown to the Valentine Museum in Richmond before it wears out completely. They also have discussed remaking the worn bodice so the dress can continue to be handed down from generation to generation.
For five generations at least, the gown has served the family well. It's been passed from family to family, preserved only in blue tissue paper, a traditional way of storing white cotton.
``It's just kept by whomever used it last until the next person needs it,'' Cooper said. ``We've mailed it all over the country.''
Although the Farley family roots are in Richmond, Cooper's generation and their children are living all over the United States, she said. Just recently, another of Cooper's grandchildren was christened in the gown in Colorado. The dress also has been to Ohio, Florida and West Virginia, Cooper recalled, and it has been written up in two other newspapers.
The well-traveled gown also has spent time in Europe, Beth Farley said. She packed it up and mailed it overseas when it was time to christen a family member born in Germany.
The christening gown has kept Cooper's spread-out cousins in touch.
``It's neat to have that connection,'' Cooper said. ``It keeps us tied together even though we are all over the country.''
Miller lives in Charlottesville. The gown will become a future link for her and her cousins, too.
But it will be some time before little Eva appreciates her christening dress. When she tried the gown on, it was enough to make a person cry. As long as she has a full tummy, any old rag will do.
P.S. THE VIRGINIA BEACH BEAUTIFICATION COMMISSION is seeking nominations for its annual landscape recognition awards. Awards are given in three categories: residential, commercial and institutional. Send nominations with a picture, if possible, by May 1 to the commission at P.O. Box 1052, Virginia Beach, Va. 23451. To find out more, call Johnnie Miller at 467-1549. MEMO: What unusual nature have you seen this week? And what do you know about
Tidewater traditions and lore? Call me on INFOLINE, 640-5555. Enter
category 2290. Or, send a computer message to my Internet address:
mbarrow(AT)infi.net. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Infant Eva Miller will be the 50th family member baptized in this
120-year-old dress.
by CNB