Meet Austin and Miranda (Threlkeld) Wayland

Two amazing portraits --- of Austin and Miranda (Threlkeld) Wayland --- were added to the Lucas County Historical Society collection this week. They were "orphaned" (we don't know who the last family members to own them were), but fortunate enough to fall into the hands of a donor determined to see that they were preserved. Somewhere along the line they lost their original frames, but remain in remarkably good condition.

As it happens, I know quite a bit about this couple --- and also know a great-great-grandson who had never seen images of these ancestors. So not long after the portraits arrived Tuesday, they left the building to be framed and hopefully will be back and on display sometime during the current season.

These are examples of what sometimes are called "crayon" portraits and several of Chariton's early photographers were skilled at the technique. But there's no indication who produced them. The technique involved enlarging a photographic negative onto drawing paper covered with a weak photographic emulsion. The artist then drew over the faint image that resulted with charcoal or pastels, attempting to duplicate the photograph while making it look hand drawn.

The portrait of Miranda is especially well done, but in her case the artist probably was working from life and probably had photographed her himself. Austin died during 1877, 46 years before Miranda, so the artist most likely was working from a much smaller and older photograph when the portrait was done. We do know from the portrait that Austin had blue eyes and a magnificent mustache.

+++

I've written briefly about Austin and Miranda a couple of times before: "First death, then the judgment ..." here and "Causes of death and Uncle Joe Slattery" here.

Austin was a twin and both he and brother Elijah were sons of Joseph (1784-1851) Wayland and his second wife, Patsy Threlkeld. The twins were born on 13 April 1841 in Johnson County, Indiana. Following Joseph's death, Patsy brought her children west to Lucas County, Iowa, where many members of the extended Threlkeld family also settled.

Austin and Elijah enlisted at Chariton for Civil War service as privates in Company E, 34th Iowa Infantry, but Elijah fell at age 22 on July 1, 1863, at Vicksburg and is buried among the "unknowns" at Vicksburg National Cemetery. Austin returned home safely and on Jan. 17, 1864, married a cousin, Miranda Threlkeld, daughter of Washington and Lucinda Threlkeld. They had seven children, six of whom survived their father and ranged in age from 13 to 2 when Austin died at the age of 35 on April 10, 1877.

When Austin died, an inscription memoralizing his twin was added to his tombstone, located southwest of the rules-and-regulation sign near the Chariton Cemetery entrance.

Miranda persevered and, according to her obituary, continued to "fight life's battles as best she could."

Some of the children were farmed out, but all remained close to their mother. Her twin sons, Egbert and Elbert, were only five when their father died. "Bert" was taken in by Joseph and Jennie Sanborn, of Cedar Township, and he took the name of his foster parents. Bert's son was the late Jubal Sanborn, who I remember very well indeed as a childhood neighbor of my grandparents.

Miranda outlived Austin by 46 years, dying at age 80 on her 59th wedding anniversary, Jan. 17, 1923. She is buried near him --- and their deceased children.