Figure 1.--The first photo shows the two youngest Spencer children, Charles and Elizabeth (who were twins), at the age of 5 in September, 1900. Charles wears a sailor suit with a white dickey, knee pants, and long black stockings. His hose supporters are visible underneath his kneepants. Image courtesy of the Hillman Library archives, University of Pittsburgh.

Charles was the youngest of the two boys. He was probably born in 1895. Several photographs show him with his twin sister Elizabeth. Several photographs sgow Charles wearing a sailor suit with a white dickey, knee pants, and long black stockings. The photograph here shows Charles alone at 6 years old in April, 1901. He wears a flat cap and a short overcoat with brass buttons and a breast pocket with a flap. Note that the overcoat is very stylish with a so-called Chesterfield black velvet collar. The style is perhaps somewhat nautical and goes with the sailor suit that he apparently is wearing underneath. You can see just the dickey at his throat. His knee pants have the standard ornamental buttons at the hem. Again his hose supporters show underneath the pants since he is sitting on a wooden fence, the same one that appears in the first photograph. Here Charles appears to be a little displeased with being made the object of the camera. His father Charles Spencer, Sr., was a skilled photographer and took all the pictures of his family, although he wasn't very good at getting the children to smile. Apparebntly this was not something he was trying to do because children thus age love to have their photographs taken.

Created: February 4, 2004
Last updated: February 4, 2004