Fort Edmonton Wedding Dress

3D Model

Maria Pruden was the granddaughter of John Peter Pruden (Chief Factor at Fort Augustine, which he renamed Fort Edmonton, after his birthplace in the London area, in England), and his Cree wife Patasegawisk/Ann ‘Nancy’. On December 13, 1879, Maria married George Kennedy in the “Big House” (Hudson’s Bay headquarters) in Edmonton. Her dress was made in Winnipeg of taupe alpaca wool with satin trim. She also wore a bonnet trimmed with ostrich plumes. George also worked in the fur trade, and was in charge of many HBC posts in Alberta. The couple had seven children. Maria Kennedy died in 1955, aged 98. This dress is the oldest European-style dress known to have been worn in Alberta in the Museum’s collection.