Friday, December 12, 2014

1876-1881 Autograph Album of Luella N. Williams, Student at Almira College at Greenville, Illinois


1876-1881 autograph album that belonged to Luella N. Williams, "Lou", who was a student at Almira College, now known as Greenville College, at Greenville, Illinois, when a majority of the sentiments were acquired.  

Many thanks to the Archivist at Greenville College for sending me the residences of many of the signers.


The album measures approximately 7-1/2" x 5" and contains the sentiments of about 100 people, a few of whom signed more than one page.  Many were Luella's fellow students at Almira College.  

She apparently belonged to a group, formal or informal, called Q. Q.  Several signers referred to Q. Q., and one page entitled Q.Q., with a graphic on its facing page, had four autographs on it, including that of Luella herself.  The others were Belle Knowles, Lottie M. Palmer and Laura Newberry; they also signed individual pages.



Another page, entitled "In Memory Of", was penned at Geneva, Illinois, on June 26, 1876 and lists five names.  The facing page shows a cross and flowers.

A. G. Coleman
C. A. Howell
H. S. Chambers
I. Bevan Hopkins - not sure of this name
W. Lee Chambers



Several of Luella's relatives inscribed pages, including her brother, Thomas Irby Williams, and several cousins: 
  • Rosie
  • John B. Hoagland and wife Delia Hoagland, one of whom was presumably Luella's cousin by blood.
  • G. Williams of Hornsby, Illinois; the middle initial might have been A.


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

Luella N. Williams, "Lou", was born August 29, 1856 in Illinois, the daughter of Madison and Lydia (Moore) Williams of Wood River, Illinois, near Alton, by the Mississippi River.  Lou had, I think, five siblings.  One of them, J. Abel Williams, was killed by oxen at the age of 13.  Another, Mary J. Williams, died in 1866.  

Lou's oldest brother, Thomas Irby Williams, inscribed a page in her album as Irby Williams; he described how pleasant it would be when Lou returned home.  There's a scrap of fabric tucked in this page.


Later in life, on February 17, 1918 in Los Angeles, California, Lou married Thomas Hamilton.  Perhaps he was related to the Hamiltons who inscribed pages in the album, including Effie N. Hamilton, who may have been Lou's close friend.  

C. S. Stahl inscribed a page on Monday, April 18, 1879 and pasted a newspaper clipping that mentioned that Mr. A. G. Williams of Clyde was visiting Cinderella.  Someone, presumably C. S. Stahl rubbed part of the text out and inserted the names of Luella and Effie.


Luella N. (Williams) Hamilton died in 1940 and is buried in Upper Alton, Illinois, with her husband and her family.  

For more information on Luella's family, see here and here, information provided by the Alton Museum of History and Art at Alton, Illinois.

If you have corrections and/or information on any of the people mentioned, please leave a comment for the benefit of other researchers.

Surnames in the album - some may be repeats

DJS
? [10]DavenportJohnsonSeward
ADayJonesSimpson
AmmannDeckKSmith
AppersonDorsey [2]Knowles [3]Stahl [2]
ArantELStoutenburg [2]
BEmersonLemenT
Baker [2]FLewisThomas
BevanFlickLuman [2]Tobler
BoeschensteinGLumsdenTunison
BoyerG ?MU
Brumback [2]GearingMarshallUtt
CGoodMerriamW
C ?Gratian ?NWebster
CartwrightHNeillWhipple
Chambers [3]Hamilton [3]Newberry [3]White [2]
ChandlerHarrisonPWilliams [6]
Coleman [2]HenryPalmer [3]Willoughby
CooperHensonPearceWood [2]
CowenHoagland [2]RWyllie
CraigHoldenRhodes
Crawford [2]Hopkins
Howell
Huddleston

Signers in the Album         [Note: Given names within a specific surname may not be in alphabetical order.]  Again, many thanks to the Archivist at Greenville College for supplying the home towns of many of the signers who didn't already do so.
  • J. W. H. sketched a spray of flowers and wrote Luella's name in fancy script.
  • Sallie, signed in July 1878, possibly initials S.M.B.
  • Rose or Rosie, signed at Almira College on June 12, 1876
  • Lillie, signed on August 24, 1876; mentions Laura, Let and the centennial
  • Sarah, signed at Collinsville, Illinois, on November 29, 1877
  • "loving Friend Quip". The page is full of reminiscences; mentions Q.Q.
  • Rosie, "your cousin"
  • Laurien of Troy, Illinois
  • Z. F. C. or Z. F. E.
  • Guess Who?
A
  • Lou Ammann of Highland, Illinois, signed at Almira College at Greenville, Illinois on October 28, 1876. Louise Ammann
  • Sadie Apperson of Bourbon, Illinois
  • Viola C. Arant of Lewiston, Idaho, signed on June 7, 1876
B
  • T. Le? Baker of Fayetteville, North Carolina; not sure of surname - could be Bakey or Bakes
  • Etta Baker of Pin Oak, Illinois, signed at "College House" on June 7, "Centennial", 1876. Almira College at Greenville, Illinois.  Loretta Baker.
  • Mae Bevan of Atlanta, Illinois, signed on June 7, 1876
  • L. Boeschenstein of Highland, Illinois, signed at Almira College on March 10, 1877. "Say girls, won't you let me have some fire?"
  • Annie R. Boyer, signed at Almira College on June 8, 1876
  • Artie Brumback, signed on April 19, 1877
  • Artie Brumback, signed at Almira College on June 10, 1876
C
  • Ada C., signed on June 8, 1876; perhaps Addie Cowan
  • ?. M. Cartwright; first initial is too ornate for me to decipher
  • H. S. Chambers.  Name on a page entitled "In Memory Of" and dated June 26, 1876 at Geneva, Illinois
  • W. Lee Chambers.  Name on a page entitled "In Memory Of" and dated June 26, 1876 at Geneva, Illinois
  • H. S. Chambers, signed at Geneva, Illinois, on June 26, 1876
  • Belle Chandler
  • A. G. Coleman
  • A. G. Coleman.  Name on a page entitled "In Memory Of" and dated June 26, 1876 at Geneva, Illinois
  • S. M. Cooper, signed on August 9, 1877
  • Blanche Cowen or Blanche Corvere, Room 23, signed on February 15, 1877 at Almira College
  • Jasper Craig of Pana, Illinois, signed at Hickory, on September 30, 1880
  • Mollie C. Crawford, signed at Wood River on September 2 [no year written]
  • W. Crawford; middle initial might be I.
D
  • M. Susie Davenport, signed at Almira College on April 27, 1877
  • C. Eugene Day, signed at "Hay Field" on July 14, 1877
  • J. S. Deck
  • Smith Dorsey, signed at Moro, Illinois, on February 11, 1879
  • Leon S. Dorsey, signed at Moro, Illinois, on February 16, 1879. "P.S. Remember our old friend 'Houdan'"
E
  • Mae E .Emerson of Alton, Illinois, signed on January 9, 1878
F
  • O. J. Flick, signed on February 13, 1880 at San Francisco, California
G
  • J. G.
  • J. M. Gearing, signed at Alton, Illinois, on May 10, 1880
  • Carrie Good of Alhambra, Illinois, signed at Almira College on June 2, 1877
  • Lizzie Gratian or Lizzie Gratiau of Alton, Illinois, signed on January 2, 1878
H
  • James Hamilton of Tombstone, Arizona, signed on December 3, 1883. Middle initial possibly G or Y or ?
  • Lou Hamilton, signed on Thanksgiving, November 29, 1877, at Upper Alton, Illinois
  • Effie N. Hamilton of Wood River, Illinois, signed on January 21, 1878. She may have been the sister of Luella's future husband, Thomas Hamilton.
  • Belle Harrison of U. Alton, Illinois, signed at Almira College on March 16, 1877
  • Ella Henry of Springfield, Illinois, signed on June 9, 1876
  • Rebecca Henson of Greenville, Illinois; signed at Almira College on June 9, 1877; floral design on page.
  • Delia Hoagland, signed on December 1, 1877; "your cousin"
  • John B. Hoagland, signed on December 1, 1879; inscribed "To Cousin Lou"; his wife Delia also inscribed a page. I don't know which of them was Luella's blood cousin.
  • Florence B. Holden of Greenville, Illinois
  • I. Bevan Hopkins; not sure of name.  Name on a page entitled "In Memory Of" and dated June 26, 1876 at Geneva, Illinois
  • C. A. Howell.  Name on a page entitled "In Memory Of" and dated June 26, 1876 at Geneva, Illinois
  • Florence V. Huddleston of Gillespie, Illinois, signed at Bethalto, Illinois on December 17, 1878
J
  • Lou Johnson, signed on July 25, 1877
  • L. Belle Jones of Alton, Illinois, signed on January 2, 1878
K
  • B. Knowles; sketch of a man's head; mentions Q.Q.  Belle Knowles, who signed other pages.  
  • Belle Knowles, 31.  Presumably D. Belle Knowles of Fillmore, Illinois.  On a page entitled "Q.Q., with Lou Williams, 42 [the album owner]; Lottie M. Palmer, 50; and Laura Newberry, 99.  
  • Signed by "31", who may have been Belle Knowles, judging from a group page where she was identified with that number.
L
  • Ella A. Lemen of Collinsville, Illinois
  • Ellie Lewis, signed at "College", presumably Almira College, on April 27, 1877
  • J. W. Luman of Golden, Colorado, signed on March 18, 1884; presumably John W. Luman (1854-1900)
  • Emma J. Luman, signed on September 17, 1878
  • Ella Lumsden, signed on April 24, 1877; sketch of three bonneted girls dancing.  M. Ella Lumsden of Virden, Illinois.
M
  • Maggie Marshall of Centralia, Illinois, signed at Almira College on June 18, 1877
  • Bessie B. Merriam of Atlanta, Illinois, signed at Almira College on June 7, 1876
N
  • R. M. Neill
  • Laura; her page is full of reminiscences.  Presumably Laura Newberry, who signed other pages.
  • Laura Newberry, 99.  On a page entitled Q. Q., with Belle Knowles, 31; Lou Williams, 42; and Lottie M. Palmer, 50
  • Signed by "99", who may have been Laura Newberry, who identified herself with that number on a group page.
P
  • Lottie M. Palmer of McLean, Illinois, signed at Almira College on June 10, 1876; she signed other pages as well.
  • Lottie M. Palmer, 50   On a page entitled Q. Q., with Belle Knowles, 31; Lou Williams, 42; and Laura Newberry, 99
  • Signed by "50", who may have been Lottie M. Palmer, who identified herself with that number on a group page.
  • S. P. Pearce of Marietta, Ohio
R
  • Ze. Kate Rhodes of Nokomis, Illinois, signed at Almira College on April 23, 1877. She was Zerina Kate Rhodes
S
  • Nettie Seward of Raymond, Illinois, signed at Almira College on June 19, 1877
  • Hattie E. Simpson of Collinsville, Illinois, signed at Almira College on June 20, 1877. "Graduates '77"
  • Joseph H. Smith, signed on January 1, 1881 at Moro, Illinois
  • C. S. Stahl, signed on Monday, April 18, 1879; pasted a clipping that reads: Mr A. . Williams of Clyde is visiting Cinderalla...[handwritten: Luella, Effie] on Woodriver. Effie may have been Effie N. Hamilton, who signed another page.
  • Mary C. Stahl, signed at Moro, Illinois, on April 14, 1879
  • T. W. Stoutenburg of Bithallo, Illinois
  • Mrs. Stoutenburg, signed at Bethalto, Illinois, on August 19, 1879
T
  • Phel. A. Thomas of Xenia, Illinois, signed on June 9, 1876 at Almira College;  Ophelia A. Thomas, who married John R. Chatham.
  • P. Tobler, signed at St. Jacobs, Illinois
  • S. Ella Tunison of White Hall, Illinois, signed at Almira College on June 12, 1876
U
  • Annie Utt of Virden, Illinois, signed on June 12, 1876
W
  • H. M. Webster, signed at Elmore, Illinois, on August 2, 1877
  • Annie L. D. Whipple of Princeton, Illinois, signed at Almira College on June 9, 1876
  • Annie E. White
  • W. O. White, signed at Greenville, Illinois, on June 18, 1877
  • Luella N. Williams, dated June 2, 1876 at Almira College at Greenville, Illinois. Album owner
  • Irby, inscribed to "Sister Lu Ella"; refers to how pleasant it will be when Luella's school days are over. He was Luella's brother Thomas Irby Williams.
  • G. Williams, signed at Hornsby, Illinois; inscribed to "Cousin Lou". Possibly G. A. Williams
  • Theo Williams or Thes Williams
  • Lou Williams, 42 of Upper Alton, Illinois.  On a page entitled Q.Q., with Belle Knowles, 31; Lottie M. Palmer, 50; and Laura Newberry, 99.
  • Julius E. Williams of Gillespie, Illinois, signed on February 1, 1879
  • Rilla Willoughby of Troy, Illinois, signed on May 29, 1877
  • Emma Wood of Marine, Illinois, signed on June 2 [no year written]
  • Cornelius Wood, signed on August 2, 1877
  • May Wyllie of Marissa, Illinois, signed on June 12, 1876; "Classmate in Algebra"


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