Tuesday, September 30, 2014

1840s Autograph Album of Jane C. McDonald of Joliet, Illinois - with Additions


1840s autograph album and journal of Jane C. McDonald of the Joliet, Illinois, area.  Jane would marry Charles H. Weeks, who became an Ilinois judge.  The album has a few items tucked inside, including letters, one of which was written by Charles H. Weeks, and a wedding memento that I believe was addressed to Jane's brother Jonathan Stickney McDonald.


An enlargement of the text area:


The album measures approximately 7-3/4" x 6" and contains only a few sentiments, most of which lack the inscriber's full name.  Tucked inside the album are three letters, a paper scrap and a tiny envelope with two cards inside, one bearing the maiden name of the bride and one bearing the married name of the new couple.
An alphabetical list of people whose names occur in the album itself or on one of the items tucked inside appears at the end of this post.

The album was published by J. C. Riker of New York and contains four handcolored engravings of flowers scattered throughout.


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

Jane C. McDonald was born at Syracuse, New York, on April 2, 1827, the daughter of Asa and Olive (Rudd) McDonald.  She married Charles H. Weeks, a New Hampshire native, on May 6, 1846 at New Lenox, Illinois.  He was born June 7, 1821, the son of Nathaniel and Abiah (Haseltine) Weeks.  Read more about Jane and Charles and their families here.

Jane and Charles, who became a judge, made their home at Joliet, Illinois, and had three children, two of whom died young.  Daughter Eva Weeks would marry George H. Munroe.  One of the items tucked in the album is a letter that Charles H. Weeks wrote to his friends, the Frasiers, while he and Jane were enjoying a vacation in Florida in April 1899.  Sadly, he would die less than two months later.  Jane died in 1817.



Another interesting item tucked in the album was a letter signed by eleven outraged young women and directed to Messrs. Crandall and Waite of the Ladies Department of St. Charles High School at St. Charles, Illinois.  Apparently a male student or more had had the run of the schoolroom before the young ladies arrived in the morning and made quite a mess of their slates.



Transcription

Ladies Department, St. Charles H.S.
A Request
Messrs. Crandall & Waite
Sirs, as we have ever been assured by our Preceptress that books, papers, etc. if left in our department would not be molested, we have never given ourselves any uneasiness respecting them.  But what was our surprise when, on entering the School room this morning, we found that our slates on which were written our compositions had been been taken from under the desks where we left them, and were scattered about the room, and, as we do not know who could be the author o so much mischief, we would politely request that the Gentlemen should not henceforth take possession of our room previous to our arrival in the morning. 
Signed
Lucy W. Fay; Tave Fay; Mary Person; Mary S. Fay; Mary A. Walker; Eliza A. Jackman; Jane Sanford; Hellen M. Dole; Susan Wood; Julia A. Simmons; Catharine Walker


Another interesting item tucked inside is a small envelope addressed to J. S. McDonald and containing two cards, one bearing the name Margaret W. Broadie and the other the names of Mr. and Mrs. R. Kercheval.  This item relates to the June 1857 wedding of Margaret W. Broadie [often seen online as Brodie] and Reuben Kercheval.  It's likely that J. S. McDonald was Jane's brother Jonathan Stickney McDonald.


If you have corrections and/or additions to the information above, please leave a comment or contact me directly.



Surnames in the album, whether inscribed within or appearing on a memento tucked inside

?  [13 inscribers who didn't identify themselves fully or at all]
Dole, co-signer of a letter
Doolittle  [2 inscribers]
Fay  [4 - co-signers of letters]
Jackman - co-signer of letter
McDonald  [2 one is album owner; the other was the addressee of a wedding memento]
Person - co-signer of letter
Sanford - so-signer of letter
Simmons - [2 - co-signers of letter - could be same person]
Walker  [2 - co-signers of letter
Weeks - letter writer
Wood - co-signer of letter

Names in the album

 ?
  • 2 pages inscribed by ? - initials hard to read, but surname initial is S.  Possibly A. G. S., who also signed the next page.
  • A. G. S.
  • 2 pages inscribed by A. G. S. at Joliet, Illinois, on February 15, 1845
  • J. F., inscribed at Joliet, Illinois on June 8, 1845
  • E. Z. C.; not sure of initials
  • 2 pages inscribed by "S" at Joliet, Illinois
  • A. E. K. D., inscribed at Jolit, Illinois in July 1844
  • Sarah
  • Vera Amicitia, True Friend
  • Unsigned
  • Amicus
  • Unnamed, signed on May 6 at 11 o'clock
  • Initials, the first of which is V., inscribed at Joliet, Illinois in July 1844
D
  • Hellen M. Dole; co-signer of a letter tucked inside the album; addressed to Messrs, Crandall & White in the Ladies Dept at St. Charles H.S.
  • L. D. Doolittle, signed on June 8, 1845. Presumably Lyman D. Doolittle, son of Elijah and Arathusa (Cole) Doolittle.
  • 2 pages inscribed by Mrs. L. D. Doolittle at Joliet, Illinois, on November 23 [no year written]. Wife of Lyman D. Doolittle.
F
  • Jane Fay; an Editor of the Gleaner, who wrote a letter tucked inside the album with co-Editor Julia Simmons to the Editors of the Review
  • Lucy W. Fay; co-signer of a letter tucked inside the album; addressed to Messrs, Crandall & White in the Ladies Dept at St. Charles H.S.
  • Tave Fay [?]; co-signer of a letter tucked inside the album; addressed to Messrs, Crandall & White in the Ladies Dept at St. Charles H.S.
  • Mary S. Fay; co-signer of a letter tucked inside the album; addressed to Messrs, Crandall & White in the Ladies Dept at St. Charles H.S.
J
  • Eliza A. Jackman; co-signer of a letter tucked inside the album; addressed to Messrs, Crandall & White in the Ladies Dept at St. Charles H.S.
M
  • Miss Jane C. McDonald; album owner
  • J. S. McDonald; presumably Jane's brother Jonthan Stickney McDonald; envelope tucked in the album; contains two cards, one of Margaret W. Broadie and the other of Mr. & Mrs. R. Kercheval.  They were married in June 1857.
P
  • Mary Person; co-signer of a letter tucked inside the album; addressed to Messrs, Crandall & White in the Ladies Dept at St. Charles H.S.
S
  • Jane Sanford; co-signer of a letter tucked inside the album; addressed to Messrs, Crandall & White in the Ladies Dept at St. Charles H.S.
  • Julia Simmons; an Editor of the Gleaner, who wrote a letter tucked inside the album with co-Editor Jane Fay to the Editors of the Review
  • Julia A. Simmons; co-signer of a letter tucked inside the album; addressed to Messrs, Crandall & White in the Ladies Dept at St. Charles H.S.
W
  • Mary A. Walker; co-signer of a letter tucked inside the album; addressed to Messrs, Crandall & White in the Ladies Dept at St. Charles H.S.
  • Catharine Walker; co-signer of a letter tucked inside the album; addressed to Messrs, Crandall & White in the Ladies Dept at St. Charles H.S.
  • Charles H. Weeks, future husband of Jane C. McDonald; letter, tucked inside the album, that he wrote to Mr. and Mrs. Frasier on April 16, 1899 less than two months before his death.
  • Susan Wood; co-signer of a letter tucked inside the album; addressed to Messrs, Crandall & White in the Ladies Dept at St. Charles H.S.
Joliet, Illinois, and St. Charles, Illinois



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