Elizabeth Brown married bootmaker Hiram Montier in 1841. The two were members of the largest Free Bl

Elizabeth Brown married bootmaker Hiram Montier in 1841. The two were members of the largest Free Black community in the North, which thrived in Philadelphia even before the complete eradication of slavery in Pennsylvania. The artist depicts the Montiers by using the traditional European vocabulary of aristocratic portraiture, with elegant fashions and grand architectural settings. Fine jewelry and books testify to their prosperity, literacy, and faith. This rare pair documents a story of racial integration dating back to the early years of Philadelphia. Hiram Montier’s direct ancestors were Richard and Cremona Morrey, an interracial couple who lived together openly in Cheltenham, just north of Philadelphia, during the early 1700s. Richard’s father, Humphrey Morrey, was appointed Philadelphia’s first mayor in 1691.

See these portraits on view in our New Early American Galleries.

“Portraits of Hiram Charles and Elizabeth Brown Montier,” 1841, by Franklin R. Street (On loan from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. William Pickens III)