Sunday, December 28, 2014

1879-1884 Autograph Album of Annie Laura McMurray of Wadesboro, North Carolina; at Charlotte Female Institute


1879-1884 autograph album that belonged to Annie Laura McMurray of Wadesboro, North Carolina, with many of the sentiments acquired while Annie was a student at the Charlotte Female Institute at Charlotte, North Carolina, still in existence as Queens University of Charlotte.

T. W. Steele, Jr., gave the album to Annie, as noted o the inside front cover.


The album measures approximately 7" x 4-1/4" and contains the sentiments of 36 of Annie's friends and schoolmates.  An alphabetical surname list and an alphabetical list of the signers, together with any personal information they offered, appear at the end of this post.


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

Annie Laura McMurray was born May 24, 1863 in Union County, North Carolina, the daughter of Joseph Walkup McMurray and his first wife, Sallie Howard, who died in 1871.  I believe that Annie had two full siblings, a sister and a brother, and two half-sisters from her father's second marriage to Julia Ann Little.

As noted above, many of the signers were Annie's fellow students at the Charlotte Female Institute.  Some of them mentioned the school's initials, as did Katie C. Johnston of Rock Hill, South Carolina, who inscribed her page on January 22, 1880.


And Hattie Avery of Morganton, North Carolina, who inscribed her page on February 2, 1880.  See the list of signers below for the names of more students.


On May 20, 1885, Annie married grocer James Osgood Andrew Craig, son of William Evans Craig and Margaret (Parke) Craig.  I believe Annie and James had two children, a daughter and a son.  James died in 1924 and Annie in 1926; they're buried at the Eastview Cemetery at Wadesboro, North Carolina.

If you have corrections and/or additions to the information above, or information on any of the signers listed below, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

Surnames in the album

? [4]CJN
ACaldwellJohnston [2]Neal
A ?Coppedge [2]KR
AlexanderCovingtonKerrRoss
Anderson [2]DKlueppelbergS
AsburyDeWolfeLSchiff
AveryDowdLongSpencer
BFLyonSteele
B ?FinlaysonMY
BellHMcLaughlinYoung [3]
HargraveMcMurray
Hudson

Signers in the album        [Note: Given names within a specific surname may not be in alphabetical order.]

  • Tonsy or Tansy or Torrey or ?
  • B. Very intense sentiment!
  • Smith [?], signed on March 29, 1882
  • T. I. Fetze, signed on January 18, 1881; not sure of the initials or the surname
A
  • B. B. A.; April 4-17, 1882
  • Eva Alexander, signed at the Charlotte Female Institute at Charlotte, North Carolina, on October 29, 1879
  • Nannie Anderson of Morganton, North Carolina, signed on September 20, 1879; middle initial either T or F
  • Hollie Anderson of or signed at Camilla, Georgia, on September 11, 1883
  • Minnie E. Asbury, signed at the Charlotte Female Institute at Charlotte, North Carolina, on October 9, 1879
  • Hattie Avery of Morganton, North Carolina, signed at February 2, 1880 at Charlotte Female Institute
B
  • F. B., signed at Paris, North Carolina, on September 28, 1883
  • Eddie Bell, signed on December 31, 1879 at "City", presumably Charlotte, North Carolina
C
  • Bessie Caldwell of Harrisburg, North Carolina, signed at C. F. Institute on January 21, 1880
  • Bettie Coppedge, signed at Wadesboro, North Carolina, on March 27, 1880
  • Mattie Coppedge, signed at Wadesboro, North Carolina, on March 27, 1880
  • Nelia E. Covington, signed on June 8, 1882
D
  • Louise DeWolfe, signed at Charlotte Female Institute on January 10, 1880; schoolmate
  • Julia Dowd of Charlotte, North Carolina, signed in June 1880
F
  • Sallie Finlayson of Mobile, Alabama, signed at Charlotte Female Institute on January 28, 1880
H
  • Fred Hargrave, signed on January 20, 1881; not sure of surname; might be Horgrave
  • Mary Hudson of Augusta, Georgia, signed on February 26, 1884
J
  • Willie Johnston of Concord, North Carolina, signed on January 22, 1880
  • Katie C. Johnston of Rock Hill, South Carolina, signed at the Charlotte Female Institute on January 22, 1880
K
  • Jennings B. Kerr of Charlotte, North Carolina, signed on January 15, 1880
  • Charlotte Klueppelberg, signed at Charlotte, North Carolina, in May 1879; page is written in German
L
  • Lillie W. Long
  • M. A. Lyon of Richmond, Virginia, signed on January 21, 1880
M
  • Annie McLaughlin, signed at Charlotte, North Carolina, on August 14, 1879
  • Annie McMurray, album owner; the album was given to her by T. W. Steele, Jr.
N
  • Etta Neal, signed on September 29, 1879
R
  • Eldora M. Ross of Charlotte, North Carolina, signed on December 1, 1879
S
  • Emma Schiff, signed at Charlotte, North Carolina, on October 29, 1879
  • Sallie Spencer of Charlotte, North Carolina, signed on December 1, 1879
  • T. W. Steele, Jr. - presented the album to Annie McMurray
Y
  • Sallie W. Young, signed on December 3, 1879 at Charlotte, North Carolina
  • Sarah V. Young, signed on December 6, 1879
  • Louise Young; not sure of given name
Wadesboro, North Carolina, to Charlotte, North Carolina



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