North central Ohio reanacting of the early 19th century

NWT, welcome to the forum.

When France ceeded it's North American possessions to the British in 1763, the French living there didn't disappear. The colonial administrators and some military officers may have gone back to France (or it's other possessions), and those who couldn't, most likely stayed where they were and got on with their lives. It would not have been unusual for a French-speaking "Canadian", or a Metis to turn up almost anywhere west of the Alleghenies and north of the Ohio River.


Ohio formally became a state in 1803 (If memory serves me correctly?), although it would have still be a frontier society until after the War of 1812, when British influence in the Lakes Region was more or less settled and westward expansion across the Plains began in earnest. Older individuals who were adults during the Revolution may have continued wearing clothing they were familiar with, although their children may have adopted the newest styles.

How someone dressed circa 1803, might be influenced by their age and what style of clothing they liked (or their wife/women in their life knew how to make), cultural background or if they were European immigrants vs those who came from the British Isles), and so on. The 1790s and the French Revolution resulted in cultural changes that affected how people dressed, with knee-breeches being replaced by long drop front trousers, waistcoats getting shorter, hair styles becoming shorter (say bye-bye to long hair and pony-tails) and more. Their occupation would also influence what they wore, and how they dressed. The closer to towns and "civilization", the greater the likelihood someone would try to keep up with current trends and customs. The 18th century was a period when there was a social and economic scale, in which people judged others based on their appearance, whether they owned property, had social importance in their community, etc.

The "British" tended to be a bit more formal in clothing, with people wearing a waistcoat over a shirt if they were in public, and a hat to cover the head (it helps keep longer hair cleaner and neat in appearance). The French??? That's a different story. French-Canadians, based on period drawings, etc, may have dressed similar to people in France, adopted local clothing developed to meet the local climate and conditions, or even blended French/Canadian and Amerindian clothing, and very likely the use of cloth instead of leather for clothing. A French-Canadian might wear a "veste" over his shirt, or a "gilet" which could be worn under and even over the shirt for cooler or cold weather, and in summer wear a shirt with nothing over it in the warmer months of the year.

Mocs are often worn by reenactors, living historians, etc, and they were worn by the French-Canadians and Metis also. That was not the only style of footwear, and the "souliers de Boeuf's" were a particularly unique form of boat shoe looking footwear worn almost entirely by the French/Canadians. These are a bit harder to make, although the thick leather soles are tougher and should last longer.

If you can find out where Finley was born and raised (in the America's vs Ulster/Northern Ireland) that may give you an idea of whether he would have been influenced by a society that was relatively show to change (Ireland?), or in a melting pot society where people came from different parts of the British Isles and Europe, indigenous peoples, and intermarriage. If Finley was born and raised in the America's chances are that he would have been comfortable adapting and adjusting to local conditions, etc. If he had wealth or any measure of being successful, how he wore signs of it would have most likely been expressed in ways that reflected his thinking of what world(s) he lived in and who he normally interacted with routinely.

The Lenape were originally located in the NJ/eastern PA area, and during much of the 17th and 18th centuries had been in relatively constant contact with colonial era Europeans/Americans. By 1800, the had been pushed over the Alleghenies, along with acquiring a familiarity for western trade goods, etc. The Lenape were heavily impacted by European/American contacts, and by the 1780s, some Lenape in eastern Ohio were converting to Christianity, building log cabin settlements (i.e, Gnaddenhutten and other Moravian settlements). If you can find any of David Zeissburger and J. Heckwelders' journals, they might be a good place to start for first hand accounts of descriptions of indigenous peoples living in central Ohio between 1780/1810.

Depends on the age of the person you wish to portray. An older person might still wear clothes from their younger days that were out of fashion and out of date or older items might be re-tailored to match the current fashion.

Ohio largely was Shawandase land along with the Seneca. Obviously other tribes were scattered throughout but again, predominantly Shawandase for the most part. Many tribes from Northern Michigan also migrated Southward as did my ancestors. Many people don't realize native peoples were very quick in adopting European stylings into their clothing, vise versa for settlers adopting native clothing. Ohio in short was a vast pool of many cultures during the period and also it was considered the "West".

The above advice is great, while selecting a persona is important I like to recommend doing extensive research into the period of interest (like your doing) before going full bore with a persona. What I mean is the little details surrounding everyday life. When you gather the findings from your research it makes building your persona much easier and more believable.