The Herlitz Sisters

Walk into any antique shop, and you will likely find a basket of Victorian era cabinet cards stripped of their names, dates, and stories. But every so often, a piece survives. 

​Such is the case with a photo taken in the late 1880s by prominent photographer William E. Vilmer at his studio in Crown Point, Indiana.

​The original albumen print captures three sisters seated together on an upholstered bench. Thanks to notes on the back of the photo, we don't just know what they looked like, we know exactly who they were and what became of them.

In the photo, the sisters, Ellen, Mary, and Anna Herlitz are styled in matching, high button boots and dark, long sleeve winter dresses.

​​But beyond the late 19th century fashion and artistry, it is the contrasting fates of the girls that makes this photo so meaningful. 

​As they sat for the camera, no one could have predicted how different the sisters' futures would be.

  • ​Ellen Herlitz (Left): Ellen’s story is one of heartbreaking brevity. Not long after this portrait was taken, she tragically passed away in her early twenties. Her life was cut short by Bright's disease, a medical term used at the time to describe chronic kidney disease.
  • ​Mary Herlitz (Center): Seated in the middle, Mary’s path was entirely different. She went on to live a long life that stretched into her nineties. Mary became a pillar of her community, shaping generations of local children as a schoolteacher in Hammond, Indiana, for 47 years.
  • ​Anna Herlitz (Right): Rounding out the trio is little Anna. Together with her sisters and their younger brother, Julius "Jackie" Herlitz, she represented the wave of first generation American children building roots in Lake County.

A photo like this is a piece of Midwestern social history. It reminds us that behind every serious gaze frozen in sepia tones, there was a lifetime of experiences, community impact, and family love.

​

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