This silhouette of Peleg and Elizabeth Bartlett Wadsworth, created by W. King, hung in the Wadsworth-Longfellow House on Congress Street (formerly Back Street) in Portland, which the couple built in 1785-1786. Elizabeth, affectionately known as "Betsey," was a descendant of Mayflower Pilgrims John and Priscilla Alden, inspiring her grandson, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, to celebrate their legacy. Together, she and Peleg raised 11 children—three daughters and eight sons.

Peleg, a Revolutionary War general, led the Penobscot Expedition to reclaim Fort George at Castine. Although the mission failed, Peleg’s reputation strengthened, and he was later tasked with defending Maine from the Piscataqua to the St. Croix. Captured by the British in 1781, he escaped and eventually settled with Elizabeth in Falmouth (now Portland).