Sunday, February 11, 2018

1879-1930s Autograph Album of Mary Emily (Soules) Morton, "Emma", of Queensville, Ontario, & Keswick, Ontario


Autograph album that was kept by Mary Emily Soules of Queensville, Ontario, before and after her marriage to Jesse Morton and move to Keswick, Ontario.

Emma inscribed her name on one page and a welcome to her inscribers on another.



Inscribers hailed from various places in Ontario and Berrien Springs, Michigan, with many of them being relatives of either Emma herself or of her husband Jesse Morton.


The album measures approximately 7" by 4-1/4" and contains the sentiments of over 60 of Emma's relatives and friends.  An alphabetical list of the inscribers, together with any personal information they offered, appears at the end of this post.

Surnames in the Album

? [4]MMainprizeSSmith
AAndrewsMannSnider
Appleton [2]McCarty [2]Soules [10]
EElliottMoore [2]Soules ?
EveringhamMorton [8]Sowerby
FFraserNNeelandsTTatton [2]
GGraham [3]PPhillips [3]WWood [2]
HHaines or HainerProsser [8]
Hall [2]Purdy
LLewis [2]RRogers
Lloyd

From brief online research, hopefully correct - corrections and additions requested:

Mary Emily Soules, "Emma", was born "about" August 16, 1856 in Ontario, the daughter of Daniel Soules and Elizabeth (Smith) Soules.  The referenced date comes from her Find a Grave memorial, but no photograph accompanies the memorial to verify the date.  Emma's birth year was estimated to be 1858 on her marriage record.

Siblings who left inscriptions or autographs in Emma's album include brothers Jeremiah Squire Soules, David Soules and Daniel Soules, Jr.  The Hester Soules who inscribed a page may have been Emma's sister Margaret Hester Soules, who married inscriber William Walker Prosser.

On March 14, 1882 at West Gwillimbury, Ontario, Emma married Jesse Morton, son of Francis and Hannah (Mann) Morton.  The inside front cover and first end paper of the album contain information on Emma's marriage, including her change in membership from the Christian Church to the Keswick Church and the name of the minister who officiated at the ceremony, Rev. Daniel Prosser, and the couple's witnesses, Emma's brother Jeremiah Squire Morton and Jesse's sister Lavina Morton.



Emma and Jesse lived at York, Ontario, and raised a family of, I think, three children.  Perhaps the inscribers of the several entries from the 1930s were their grandchildren.

Jesse died in 1931 and Emma in 1936.  Emma is buried in the Queensville Cemetery at Queensville, York, Ontario.  I didn't find mention of Jesse as buried there, but he presumably was.

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

Inscribers in the Album
  • Eva; inscribed on January 25, 1886.  Emma's cousin
  • ? J M., possibly W. J. M.
  • Lillie; inscribed at Toronto, Ontario, on March 5, 1883.  Emma's cousin
  • W. Forrest and J. L.; inscribed on December 20, 1879
  • W. J. Andrews; inscribed at Painswick, Ontario, on June 19, 1879
  • Bertha Appleton; inscribed at Toronto, Ontario, on December 23, 1886
  • C. A. Appleton; inscribed at Toronto, Ontario, on August 17, 1885
  • ? Elliott; initials might be T. W. or T. H. or S. W. or S. H. or ? ?
  • J. E. Everingham; inscribed on July 29, 1883.  Possibly Rev. John E. Everingham, a native of Ontario
  • J. B. Fraser
  • David Graham; inscribed on March 19, 1884.  Inscribed to Mrs. Jesse Morton, Bayview
  • J. J. Graham; Emma's cousin
  • Jane Graham; inscribed on July 25, 1881.  Emma's aunt
  • Levi W. Haines or Levi W. Hainer
  • Addie E. Hall; inscribed at Oshawa, Ontario, on June 15, 1889
  • Dan Hall; not sure of given name; inscribed on October 10, 1879.  Presumably the person who shared a page with Emma's brothers Dave Soules and Daniel Soules, Jr., and with S. B. Purdy.
  • Rose F. Lewis of Toronto, Ontario; inscribed on 3-2-32
  • Liza Nelson Lewis; inscribed on February 4, 1932
  • ? Lloyd; not sure of given name, could be Herva; inscribed on January 2, 1881.  Faint inscription.
  • Emma Mainprize; inscribed in 1882
  • Louise Mann; inscribed at Belhaven, Ontario, on January 18, 1880
  • Susan McCarty of 222 Clemens Ave., Lansing, Michigan; inscribed on September 7, 1931
  • Elmer F. McCarty; not sure of surname; inscribed on September 6, 1931.   Emma's nephew
  • Mary Anna Moore; inscribed on January 27, 1880
  • R. Moore; inscribed on January 27, 1880
  • Lavinia Morton; witness at the 1882 marriage of her brother Jesse Morton and album owner Mary Emily Soules, "Emma".  Presumably the Vina Morton who inscribed an individual page.
  • Maude Morton; inscribed on January 24, 1886 at [?] Belhaven, Ontario.  Perhaps the cousin of Emma's husband Jesse Morton.
  • F. Morton; inscribed at Keswick, Ontario, on July 10, 1880
  • Vina Morton; inscribed at Keswick, Ontario, on July 8, 1880.  Presumably Lavina Susan Morton, sister of Emma's husband Jesse Morton; and a witness to Emma's marriage to Jesse
  • George Morton; inscribed on December 15, 1882 at Berrien Springs, Michigan.  Cousin of Emma's husband Jesse Morton.
  • Ella Morton; inscribed on December 15, 1882 at Berrien Springs, Michigan.  She called herself Emma's cousin.  She was presumably the Ella J. (Platt) Morton who was the wife of Emma's husband's cousin, George Morton.
  • George Morton; inscribed at Berrien Springs, Michigan, on December 15, 1882.  Cousin of Emma's husband Jesse Morton
  • Martha Morton; inscribed at Keswick, Ontario, on January 25, 1880.  Presumably Martha Ann Morton, sister of Emma's husband Jesse Morton.
  • C. R. Neelands of Brampton, Ontario; inscribed on March 3, 1881
  • Mrs. S. Phillips; inscribed on July 24, 1882.  I believe she was Nancy Elizabeth (Willson) Phillips, whose husband Sylvanus Phillips inscribed the right facing page.  She would die the next year.
  • Sylvanus Phillips; inscribed at High School at Elora, Ontario, on July 22, 1882.  His wife Nancy Elizabeth (Willson) Phillips inscribed the left facing page.
  • R. W. Phillips of Maple Dell, Ontario; inscribed at Newmarket, Ontario, on October 28, 1881
  • Rev. Daniel Prosser; officiated at the 1882 marriage of album owner Mary Emily Soules, "Emma", and Jesse Morton
  • Wayman Prosser of Keswick, Ontario; inscribed on July 10, 1880
  • Elisa J. Prosser; inscribed at Belhaven, Ontario, on August 3, 1879.
  • D. Prosser.  Presumably Rev. D. Prosser, who officiated at the marriage of Emma and Jesse Morton.
  • Gertie Prosser; inscribed at Oshawa, Ontario, on June 15, 1889
  • Janie Prosser; inscribed on November 27, 1881
  • Walker Prosser; inscribed at Belhaven, Ontario, on November 22, 1881.  Presumably William Walker Prosser, who married Emma's sister Margaret Hester Soules
  • Warren Prosser; perhaps the son of William Walker Prosser and Margaret Hester (Soules) Prosser, Emma's sister.
  • S. B. Purdy; inscribed on March 7, 1880.  Also contributed to a page shared with Emma's brothers Daniel Soules, Jr., and Dave Soules; and with ? Hall [possibly Dan Hall]
  • Jennie Rogers; inscribed at Lindsay, Ontario, on July 7, 1883
  • W. Smith; inscribed on December 22, 1881
  • Byron W. Snider of Nobleton, Ontario; inscribed on December 18, 1879
  • Mary Emily Soules, "Emma", of Queensville, Ontario; album owner, from before and after her marriage to Jesse Morton.  Inside cover and end paper have information on her marriage date, witnesses and minister, as well as changing her church affiliation to her new home at Keswick, Ontario
  • Jeremiah Squire Soules; brother of Mary Emily Soules, "Emma", and witness at her 1882 marriage to Jesse Morton.  Jeremiah inscribed an individual page in Emma's album.
  • Hester Soules; inscribed at Cherry Grove on June 12, 1879.  Whether Cherry Grove was the Cherry Grove in Ontario or Michigan, or other place, I don't know.  Perhaps Emma's sister Margaret Hester Soules, who married inscriber William Walker Prosser.  Or perhaps a Hester from an earlier generation.
  • J. S. Soules; inscribed at Union Street, no town named, on June 15, 1879.  He was Emma's brother Jeremiah Squire Soules.
  • Robert Soules; inscribed on April 23, 1879 at Yonge Street.  Perhaps Robert Charles Soules, Emma's youngest brother
  • David Soules; inscribed at Lockport, New York, on July 20, 1879.  Emma's older brother.  He also contributed to a page shared with his brother Daniel Soules, Jr., and S. B. Purdy and ? Hall [possibly Dan Hall].
  • Alice Soules; not sure of surname as she wrote her name in a font of fir tree characters.  If Alice Soules, she might have been the Alice (Doty) Soules, wife of Emma's brother, inscriber David Soules.
  • William Peter Soules, or Mrs. Peter Soules; inscribed on Yonge Street on August 23, 1879
  • Dan Soules, Jr.; Emma's brother.  Shared the page with their brother Dave Soules; and with S. B. Purdy and ? Hall [possibly Dan Hall]
  • Jennie Soules; inscribed on August 23, 1879
  • Alice; inscribed on July 9, 1879.  She called herself Emma's sister, but she was presumably the Alice who was Emma's sister-in-law, married to Emma's brother David Soules.  They married about 1877.
  • J Sowerby; inscribed on December 18, 1881
  • N. Tatton; inscribed at Queensville, Ontario, on June 7, 1879.  Emma's cousin
  • Hett [not sure of given name] Tatton; inscribed on June 7, 1879
  • Hattie Wood; inscribed at Lakeview Farm on August 26, 1882
  • Emma Woods; inscribed on August 25, 1882


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