Mary Livingston Colin Crounse

The engraving on the back of this miniature reads: “Lorenzo L. Crounse and Mary Livingston Colin December 27, 1859,” indicating that this miniature was created to commemorate either an engagement or wedding. In 1861, Mary was told that her husband’s leg was going to be amputated due to a wound he suffered in the Civil War. Knowing that her husband would not want his leg cut off, Mary rushed to the hospital to stop the doctors. Lorenzo’s injury made him unable to continue serving in the military, and spurred him to enter politics. A popular Republican, he was described as being “dignified, serious, but possessed an unruffled tranquility” (Washington County Historical Association). He served as a justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court, U.S. representative from Nebraska, the governor of Nebraska, and was a member of the Nebraska State Senate. Mary died in 1882, leaving Lorenzo a widower until his own passing in 1909. The frame that surrounds the portrait of Mary is made out of a watch and the family’s gold wedding rings.