Alfretta Ronemus Ambrotype   Save
Ohio History Connection
Description: This 4 by 7-inch (10.16 by 17.8 cm) ambrotype shows Alfretta Ronemus of South Vienna, Ohio at the age of three. As an infant, she was selected as the winner of the first baby contest in the United States, held at the second annual Clark County Fair on October 5, 1854. The 10-month-old Alfretta was picked out of a crowd to enter the contest. Her mother protested that Alfretta was not dressed in suitable clothes for the occasion, but the organizer insisted that she enter the child. Alfretta may have won the first prize because she was dressed in a simple white dress with a black silk jacket, while the other children were decked out in fancy "furbelows." View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om1361_1160368_001
Subjects: Arts and Entertainment; Daily Life; Infants; Contests
Places: South Vienna (Ohio); Clark County (Ohio)