Thursday, February 21, 2013

1880s Autograph Album of Eda M. Cummings of Montague, Massachusetts


Note of August 2013: In response to a reader request, I've added another image, that of a page signed by Mary C. Stacy of Lowell, Massachusetts.

1880s autograph album given to Eda M. Cummings of Montague, Massachusetts as a Christmas present in 1882.  Her surname is also seen variantly as Comins, Cummins, etc.



The album is approximately 6" x 4" and contains 60 pages signed by Eda herself, her relatives and friends.  An alphabetical list of the signers appears at the end of this post.

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

Eda M. Cummings was born about 1871, I think at Leverett, Massachusetts, the daughter of Charles L. and Mary E. (Hemenway) Cummings.  Eda's marriage record shows her father as William.  

I believe Eda's paternal grandparents were Lyman and Eliza (Taylor) Cummings.  Her maternal grandparents were William and, possibly, Elsie, Hemenway.

About June 1891, Eda married Fred Erwin Cadwell, whose own autograph album was the subject of an earlier post.  Fred signed a page in Eda's album before they were married, on 12 July 1889.



One signer indicated she was Eda's sister, Rena Osgood of Northfield Farms, who signed a page on 27 July 1883.  She was Irena Roxanna Cummings, who was married to Warren S. Osgood.  Her husband and daughter also signed pages.







I believe Fred and Eda had at least one child, Helen, born 2 August 1892 at Montague, Massachusetts.

Mary C. Stacy of Lowell, Massachusetts, signed a page on 1 September 1883.



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.

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

  • No name, signed at Montague, Massachusetts
  • Alice C. Alvord, signed at Montague, Massachusetts, on 6 May 1883
  • Henry C. Alvord, signed at Montague, Massachusetts, on 6 May 1883
  • Blanche Ball of Montague, Massachusetts, signed 15 February 1884; Eda's schoolmate
  • F. Arria Ball of Montague, Massachusetts
  • Emma Barrett of Millers Falls, Massachusetts, signed on 10 November 1884
  • Carrie Benjamin of Montague, Massachusetts, signed in December 1884; Eda's schoolmate
  • Anna P. Brown of Mount Hope, Connecticut
  • Abbie J. Brown of Montague, Massachusetts, signed on 11 November 1884
  • Millie L. Burnham of Montague, Massachusetts, signed on 1 January 1885
  • Fred E. Cadwell of Montague, Massachusetts, signed on 12 July 1889.  Several years later, Fred Erwin Cadwell would become Eda's husband.
  • Elizabeth A. Chapin of Montague, Massachusetts, signed on 7 June 1886
  • Mary P. Chenery of Montague, Massachusetts
  • Sallie Chenery of Montague, Massachusetts
  • Helen Chenery
  • Mary P. Chenery of Montague, Massachusetts, signed on 2 January 1883
  • Fannie L. Chenery of Montague, Massachusetts
  • Lucia M. Clapp of Montague, Massachusetts, signed on 10 July 1885
  • Hattie L. Cowdrey of Millers Falls, Massachusetts, signed on 30 October 1884
  • Julia H. Cronen of Montague, Massachusetts, signed at Montague High School on 11 June 1885
  • Eda Cummings, album owner.  This was apparently a Christmas present from 1882.  Her surname is variously spelled Cummins, Comins, etc.
  • Emma J. Davis of Ashburnham, Massachusetts, signed on 11 December 1891
  • Ellen M. Davis of Newbury, Vermont, signed 13 November 1884
  • Grace E. Demond of Montague, Massachusetts, signed on 7 April 1885
  • Meverett A. Dudley of Montague, Massachusetts
  • Issie Foskett of Orange, Massachusetts, signed at Montague, Massachusetts, on 11 February 1883.  Possibly Isadora Foskett
  • Myra F. Franklin of Northfield, Massachusetts, signed on 16 August 1883
  • Della A. Gilbert of Millers Falls, Massachusetts, signed at Montague High School; Eda's schoolmate
  • Dollie A. Goodnow of Montague, Massachusetts, signed on 26 September 1887
  • Clara B. Harrington of Montague, Massachusetts, signed 3 August 1885
  • Grace H. Hayden, signed at Montague High School, at Montague, Massachusetts, in June 1885
  • Frank S. Hyde of Montague, Massachusetts, signed on 17 June 1885; "Class of '85" at Montague High School
  • Mary E. Johnson of Millers Falls, Massachusetts; signed on 10 November 1884; Eda's schoolmate at Montague High School at Montague, Massachusetts
  • Flora E. Kendall of Montague, Massachusetts
  • A. J. King of Millers Falls, Massachusetts, signed 9 January 1885
  • Emma J. Lewis of Montague, Massachusetts, signed on 19 September 1887
  • Orin G. Marden of Montague, Massachusetts, signed at Montague High School on 16 June 1885
  • Fannie L. Maynard of Montague, Massachusetts, signed at Montague High School on 6 November 1884
  • Arthur L. Maynard of Montague, Massachusetts, signed on 15 November 1883
  • Geneva L. Morse of Montague, Massachusetts, signed 5 November 1884
  • Gracie A. Newton of Montague, Massachusetts, signed on 6 September 1883
  • Rena Osgood, signed at Northfield Farms on 27 July 1883.  This was Eda's sister Irena Cummings/Comins, who married Warren S. Osgood.
  • Mary Rena Osgood of Northfield Farms, Massachusetts, signed on 19 August 1883
  • W. S. Osgood of Northfield Farms, Massachusetts, signed on 19 August 1883; husband of Eda's sister Irena
  • L. D. Perry, signed at Montague High School on 5 November 1884
  • F. Adelle Pierce of Montague, Massachusetts, signed on 8 January 1885
  • Lucy S. Pike, signed at Montague, Massachusetts, in June 1883
  • Cora M. Root of Montague, Massachusetts, signed on 2 January 1883
  • Annie Sewall of Montague, Massachusetts, signed on 25 August 1887
  • Phila Sheldon of Montague, Massachusetts, signed 20 January 1887
  • Mary C. Stacy of Lowell, Massachusetts, signed on 1 September 1883
  • Eva L. Tower of Montague, Massachusetts
  • H. S. Warfield of Montague, Massachusetts, signed on 15 January 1888
  • Rosabel L. Watson of North Leverett, Massachusetts, signed on 14 March 1883
  • Laura A. Watson of North Leverett, Massachusetts, signed on 14 March 1883
  • Carl J. Weissbrod of Montague, Massachusetts, signed on 14 November 1883
  • Willie H. Weissbrod of Montague, Massachusetts, signed on 14 February 1883
  • Lillian L. Wheaton of Montague, Massachusetts, signed at Montague High School on 5 November 1884
  • Hattie Whipple of Montague, Massachusetts, signed at Montague High School on 5 November 1884
  • Mamie L. Wildes of Montague, Massachusetts
Montague, Massachusetts


Thanks for stopping by!




4 comments:

  1. I believe I have some letters that I've collected with Cummings members, I'll check and let you know.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mary C. (Cordelia) Stacy of Lowell, Massachusetts, who signed on 1 September 1883, was my husband's great grandmother. We have quite a few relics of her life. She was born Feb 16 1872, so she would have been only 11 years old at the time. Is her signature that of a young girl? I would love to see the page.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I updated the blog post today, August 3, 2013, with Mary C. Stacy's page. Hope you get a kick out of it! The handwriting does seem to have been written by someone a bit older, but there were fewer distractions in those days and, even more, Mary might have been precocious. Thanks for commenting!

    ReplyDelete