Tuesday, January 1, 2013

1880s-1900 Autograph Album of Emma E. Hunnikin of New York


Oversized autograph album containing pages signed from the 1880s through 1900.  It was owned by Emma E. Hunnikin of Brooklyn, New York, and upstate New York.



The album is approximately 9" x 6-3/4" and contains 36 pages signed by Emma's relatives and friends.  An alphabetical list of the signers appears at the end of this post.

From online research, hopefully correct: [corrections welcome!]

Emma E. Hunnikin was born about May 1873/1874, perhaps at Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Frederick James Hunnikin and Matilda Charlotte (Angel) Hunnikin, who were born in England and on the Isle of Jersey, respectively.

Emma's mother signed a page in her album in 1891.



Two aunts that may have been the sisters of Emma's mother signed pages.  Aunt Emily signed a page in 1893.



Aunt Emma signed a page in 1883.



Emma's paternal grandparents were William and Elizabeth (McBride) Hunnikin.  Her maternal grandparents were Arthur John Angel and Matilda (Davis) Angel.

By 1910 the family had moved from Brooklyn, New York, to Schenectady, New York.  


In 1913 Emma was a teacher at Guilderland, New York.  Her name was listed in a Cornell Rural School Leaflet article that discussed the schools that participated in Corn Day.




The Hunnikin family may have had a farm at Schenectady.  The American Milch Goat Record Association booklet of 1914 lists Emma as a resident of Schenectady and the owner of Robin Hood, a hornless buck.






Emma must have shared our interest in family history, judging from a letter she wrote to the newspaper The Argus at Melbourne, Australia.  It appeared in the issue of 11 April 1927 and concerned a book in her possession that she felt deserved to be with a family member of one of the 425 people on board the emigrant ship Netherby, which was lost at Kings Island on 14 July 1866.

To the Editor of the Argus

Sir - The "Netherby Gazette" is a book published in Melbourne in 1866.  It is an account of the voyage and wreck of the emigrant ship Netherby, which left London on March 31, 1866 for Melbourne, and was wrecked on July 14, 1866 on Kings Island.  There were 425 people on board.  Their names are in the book.  Any one of those people or their children may have the book for the asking.  The first person asking gets the book.  The book is nothing to me, but if any of my people were on the Netherby, I should prize it highly, hence this letter.
Emma E. Hunnikin
756 Pawling Avenue, Troy, New York, U.S.A.

Emma's cousin B. E. Angel signed a page with a fancy sketch.



Emma's cousin Mary Butler signed a page at St. John in 1883.  Could St. John be in the Channel Islands?



C. M. Kirby signed a page in 1891.  He gave his address as 197 Harrison, which might have been Harrision Avenue in Brooklyn.





If you have corrections to the above information or additions to it regarding the Hunnikin and Angel families or regarding any of the signers listed below, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

Alphabetical list of signers [Note: given names within a specific surname may not be in alphabetical order.]


  • Mary, written on 10 May 1883
  • Eunice
  • Edith, 12 February 1900
  • Herbie of Newtonbrooke, Ontario, signed 16 July 1900
  • Winnie, signed at Newtonbrooke, Ontario, on 16 July 1900
  • Essie, signed at Newtonbrook, Ontario on 16 July 1900
  • Aunt Emily, 1893.  Emma's mother Matilda Charlotte (Angel) Hunnikin had an older sister named Emily who married George Routledge
  • Aunt Emma, signed at Brooklyn, New York, on 26 September 1883.  Emma's mother Matilda Charlotte (Angel) Hunnikin had a younger sister named Emma (Angel) Wackett
  • Emma's cousin B. E. Angel; fancy sketch
  • W. H. B., signed 4 February 1890
  • Emma's cousin, Mary Butler, signed at St. John on 19 August 1883
  • E. Cohoon, signed 29 December 1887
  • Frank W. Gray, signed at Yonkers, New York, on 16 January 1895
  • A. H., written 27 March 1894
  • P. B. Hardy of Andover, New York, signed 8 February 1891
  • Mrs. J. G. Honecker, signed at Brooklyn, New York, on 20 January 1900
  • Emma E. Hunnikin of Brooklyn and Schenectady, New York; album owner
  • Emma's mother, Matilda Charlotte (Angel) Hunnikin, written 15 February 1891
  • Totsy, Emma's sister, signed on 19 March 1889.  Emma had two sisters, Matilda and Marguerite.  Maybe because their mother's name was Matilda, young Matilda acquired the nickname Totsy?
  • C. M. Kirby, 1891, 197 Harrison.  Perhaps Harrison Avenue in Brooklyn, New York?  He included his image on a stamp
  • John McClay, signed at Brooklyn, New York, on 26 January 1894
  • A. R. Miller of Andover, New York, signed at Brooklyn, New York on 12 January 1891
  • E. C. L. Mueller, signed at Brooklyn, New York on 26 September 1883
  • Harry E. Perrin, written at Brooklyn, New York in October 1883
  • E. J. Perrin
  • W. F. Pettes, signed 22 July 1894
  • Grace Pettes, signed at Brooklyn, New York, on 18 September 1893
  • Charles E. Slocum, signed at 33 Tompkins Place, Brooklyn, New York, on 10 April 1894
  • Margaret P. Smith, signed at Brooklyn, New York, on 9 November 1885
  • Mary E. Smith, signed at Brooklyn, New York, on 9 November 1885
  • Julia F. Smith, signed at Brooklyn, New York, on 8 November 1885
  • Arthur Norton Southard of the Green Mountain State, Vermont, 1894
  • Belle W., 1897
  • Mrs. Willingham, signed at Brooklyn, New York on 27 March 1897
  • W. H. Wrigley, signed in 1894.  I believe this is the same person who signed a subsequent page on 4 July 1894


14 comments:

  1. I am intrigued by what appears to be a photo stamp in the last two images of this post. Do you think that's what it is? If so, it's pretty unusual, in my experience. I would very much like to feature it on Photo-Sleuth some time, with full acknowledgement of course, if you wouldn't mind.
    http://photo-sleuth.blogspot.co.nz/

    Regards, Brett

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'll see what I can do to get you a better scan. If this is something unusual, and you can shed some light on it, that would be great!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Pam,

    I'm not sure how unusual these things are. I've heard of them, but this is the first example that I can recall seeing.

    Regards, Brett

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is so cool. Emma was my great great aunt. Anything more on the Hunnikin family?

    ReplyDelete
  5. I might have some photographs and will check for you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is so cool. Emma was the sister of my great grandmother Marguerite Florence (Hunnikin) Spellman. Thank you for posting this and would love to see anything else you have on the Hunnikin or Angel families.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My name is Luke Hunnikin I would love to talk to see if we know anymore about of families

      Delete
  7. I might have a photo album but not sure, and not sure how soon it will be before I work my way through to it. Glad you enjoyed the images of this album!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Where was the autograph book found? I told my grandmother about this and she asked if I could find out. She sent a number of Emma's journals to my father about a decade ago but didn't know the autograph book existed.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Purchased on eBay a few years ago; other than that, I don't know the provenance.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Purchased on eBay? Do you have a connection to the family which prompted you to purchase it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, but I thought it might have a better chance being returned to family if I scanned and blogged about it than if it stayed on eBay.

      Delete
    2. Hello my name is Luke hunnikin I find this extremely interesting

      Delete
    3. Glad you happened by, Luke. This is not my family, so I don't have any more information, sorry.

      Delete