This dress was worn by several women in the March/Kilham family over several generations. It was first worn by Anna Coffin March who lived in Beverly, MA. Family history notes that she may have worn the dress to a ball in honor of George Washington. The dress was worn by subsequent women in the family for special occasions, and slightly altered over the years. It eventually made its way to Missouri and was gifted to the Museum by members of the Adams (later Carnahan family). The care with which the family kept the garment and the multiple photographs of family members in the dress indicate the importance of the narrative linking the dress to the first president and a great degree of pride in their connections to the founding of the United States.