Sunday, September 2, 2012

1879/80s Autograph Album from Searsmont, Maine


This tiny autograph album appears to have been owned by Nettie of Searsmont, Maine.   It's badly discolored in places and missing its covers and possibly other pages as well.  

Since I didn't have a cover or title page or ownership page to display at top, I chose a page at random, which happened to be the page signed by Edith Farrar of Searsmont, Maine, in 1880.

Sadly, if any family members signed pages in Nettie's album, they didn't identify themselves as such, so there are no clues as to which of several possibilities this Nettie is.  I'm fairly sure that she was not Nettie Bicknell, as that Nettie signed a page in the middle of the album.

The album is approximately 4" x 2-1/2" and contains about 36 autographs; several are illegible.

Mary L. Bean of Searsmont, Maine, signed a page in 1881.


Lois E. Ripley of Searsmont, Maine, signed a page in 1880.


Fannie Peirce of Searsmont, Maine, signed a page in 1880.


Nettie E. Bicknell of Searsmont, Maine, signed a page in 1880.


Flora E. Whitten of Searsmont, Maine, signed a page in 1880


Blanche M. Woodsum of Searsmont, Maine, signed a page in 1880. The image below was enhanced to improve legibility.


Ada B. Cammett of Belmont, Maine, and her future husband Horace J. Morton signed pages in 1880 and 1881, respectively.



A Mrs. M. E. Jones and a Linnie Jones of Riverside, California, signed pages in 1882.  I'd love to know their story.  



They could possibly be Mrs. Maria E. (Soule) Percival Jones (first married to Henry C. Percival who died in 1852 and then to widower Silas B. Jones), and daughter Linnie Herman Jones of Massachusetts and California.  

Maria, the daughter of Abishai and Frances (Hobart) Jones, was born about 1833.  Silas B. Jones was born 31 January 1820 at Turner, Maine, son of Tilden and Abigail Jones.  He died at Los Angeles, California in October of 1899.

Their daughter Linnie Herman Jones, born 27 March 1865 at Bridgewater, Massachustts, married Tracy Abbott about 1885.

Tracy Abbott was born in Dixon, Illinois 7 October 1858 [the date and place according to a 1931 passenger manifest from Manila to Honolulu] of parents, possibly William and Harriet Abbott, who hailed from Maine, according to what was reported on the Census.

Obed B. Fuller of Searsmont, Maine, signed a page in Nettie's album.


Julia A. Fuller of Searsmont, Maine, signed a page in 1881.


Miss Rose Fuller of Searsmont, Maine, signed a page on 28 February 1882.


Maud E. Muzzy of Searsmont, Maine, signed a page in 1880.


Complete list of signers, in alphabetical order, at least by surname:

  • From "your Lover"; possibly same person as the signer with initials           I. M. L.
  • Charles P. Bean of Searsmont, Maine, 1880
  • Mary L. Bean of Searsmont,  Maine, 1881
  • Nettie E. Bicknell of Searsmont, Maine, 1880
  • Maggie A. Bryant of Searsmont, Maine, 1881
  • Ada B. Cammett of Belmont, Maine, 1880; her future husband             Horace J. Morton of Norway also signed a page
  • Augusta Caswell of Searsmont, Maine, 1880
  • Wilfred A. Collins of Searsmont, Maine
  • David Craig of Searsmont, Maine; hard to read; son of Horace and             Elizabeth (Keating) Craig
  • [possibly] H. Bell Dana or Wm. Bell Dana
  • Edgar S. Darby of Searsmont, Maine; nearly illegible; son of Isaac             & Mahalia B. (Hart) Darby
  • Edith Farrar of Searsmont, Maine, 1880
  • Obed B. Fuller of Searsmont, Maine
  • Rose Fuller of Searsmont, Maine, 1882
  • Julia A. Fuller of Searsmont, Maine, 1881
  • May A. Haskell of Searsmont, Maine, 1879
  • Katie Henderson of Searsmont, Maine, 1880
  • Mrs. M. E. Jones of Riverside, California, 1882
  • Linnie H. Jones of Riverside, California, 1882
  • I. M. L., initials, 1883; possibly same person who signed page as            "your Lover"
  • Mary McCorrison of Searsmont, Maine, 1882
  • Lue A. Moody of Searsmont, Maine, 1883; possibly Lucy A.             Moody, daughter of William F. and Addie Jane (Simmons) Moody
  • H. J. Morton of Norway, Maine, 1881; his future wife Ada B.             Cammett of Belmont, Maine, also signed a page
  • Maud E. Muzzy of Searsmont, Maine, 1880
  • F. C. Overlock of Searsmont, Maine, 1881; likely Freeman C. Overlock, son of Ephraim and Martha Overlock
  • Fannie Peirce of Searsmont, Maine, 1880
  • Lois E. Ripley of Searsmont, Maine, 1880
  • F. R. Sheridan of Providence, Rhode Island
  • Rachie M. Simmons of Searsmont, Maine; Rachel M. Simmons,             daughter of John and Mary Simmons
  • A. T. Waltz of Searsmont, Maine; possibly Albion T. Waltz
  • Annie Waltz of Searsmont, Maine, 1881
  • A. A. Wentworth of Searsmont, Maine; possibly Albert Augustus             Wentworth, son of Silas and Ruth Ann (McKinney) Wentworth
  • Flora E. Whitten of Searsmont, Maine, 1880
  • Blanche M. Woodsum of Searsmont, Maine, 1880

If you have any corrections to the information above, a guess as to Nettie's identity or information on the signers in Nettie's album, please leave a comment or contact me directly.


Thanks for stopping by!

3 comments:

  1. I'm not sure who Nettie was, but Obed, Julia, and Rose Fuller are my 1st cousins four times removed.

    ~Sarah O'Connor

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for your comment, Sarah. I hope you got a kick out of seeing your relatives' handwriting. I've amended the post to show you the page signed by Miss Rose Fuller.

    ReplyDelete