Tuesday, November 12, 2013

1870s/1890s Autograph Album of Mabel Alice Hersom of South Berwick, Maine; m. Charles B. Perkins


Autograph album with autographs collected from the 1870s by Mabel Alice Hersom of South Berwick, Maine, with later pages signed in the 1890s by her husband, Charles B. Perkins, and children, Jesse W. Perkins and Mary F. Perkins.


The autograph album is approximately 7" x 4" and contains 31 pages signed by Mabel's relatives and friends and possibly a page signed by Mabel herself, below.  It's the first page after the title page.


An alphabetical list of the signers appears at the end of this post.

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

Mabel Alice Hersom was born 7 September 1861 at Springvale, Maine, daughter of Jesse R. and Mary Elvira (Smith) Hersom.  

Information on Jesse R. Hersom was sparse, but according to the Wentworth Genealogy, he hailed from nearby Lebanon, Maine.

Mary Elvira Smith, or Mary Alvira Smith, was the daughter of Israel and Tamsen (Wentworth) Smith.  She was born, I believe, 1 July 1821.

On 3 March 1886 at Somersworth, New Hampshire, Mabel married Charles B. Perkins, son of Edward Warren Perkins and Caroline E. (Dore) Perkins.

Mabel and Charles lived at South Berwick, Maine, and raised at least two children:

  1. Jesse W. Perkins, born 26 September 1887, at South Berwick, Maine; married Florence M. Quint
  2. Mary Ferguson Perkins, born 4 October 1889 at South Berwick, Maine;  married Frank B. Clark, Jr.
Charles B. Perkins signed a page at South Berwick Junction, Maine, on January 20, 1895.


Jesse W. Perkins signed a page at Knight's Pond, Maine, on January 20, 1895.


Mary F. Perkins signed a page at South Berwick, Maine, on January 20, 1895.


Mabel A. (Hersom) Perkins died on July 17, 1914 at Berwick, Maine.  Charles subsequently moved to Dover, New Hampshire, where he's listed in the 1917 directory as a carpenter.  He may have moved back to Berwick, Maine, by the time of the 1920 Census, in which there's a listing for a Charles Perkins of about the right age, a widower working as a carpenter.

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.  Thanks!

List of signers: [Note: given names within a specific surname may not be in alphabetical order.]

  • M. H. W., signed on January 1, 1883
  • Fanny S. Austin of South Berwick, Maine, signed on June 2, 1877
  • Emilie C. Bartlett of Eliot, Maine, signed on "3-11-1880"
  • Charles H. Coates, signed at South Berwick, Maine, on May 28, 1877
  • Delia P. Davis, signed on May 28, 1877
  • Josie F. Drew, signed on March 11, 1880
  • Mary S. Durgin of South Berwick, Maine, signed on February 15, 1880
  • Nettie Durgin of South Berwick, Maine, signed on February 11, 1880; middle initial could be I. She may have been Nettie Ingalls (Durgin) Wentworth
  • Carrie E. Durgin of South Berwick, Maine, signed on February 11, 1880
  • Martha O. Ferguson of South Berwick, Maine. Her husband, Charles T. Ferguson, signed the right facing page.
  • Charles T. Ferguson of South Berwick, Maine, signed on February 11, 1878; his wife Martha O. Ferguson signed the left facing page.
  • Mabel Alice Hersom, album owner
  • Susie E. Horne of Rollinsford, New Hampshire, signed at Cummingsville, on March 23, 1880; not sure of middle initial
  • Etta S. Knight of South Berwick, Maine, signed on May 27, 1877
  • Alma A. Knight of South Berwick, Maine
  • Mr. and Mrs. Asa Low of South Berwick, Maine, signed on August 25, 1881
  • Fred F. McDuffee of South Berwick, Maine, signed on April 19, 1882
  • Mattie C. Mears of Reading, Massachusetts, signed on February 25, 1880
  • Charles B. Perkins of South Berwick Junction, Maine, signed on January 20, 1895; husband of album owner Mabel (Hersom) Perkins
  • Louis N. Perkins of Sanford, Maine
  • Jesse W. Perkins of Knight's Pond, Maine, signed on January 20, 1895; Mabel's son
  • Mary F. Perkins of South Berwick, Maine, signed on January 20, 1895; Mabel's daughter
  • Fannie E. Philpot of South Berwick, Maine, signed on January 20, 1895
  • Georgie E. Ricker of South Berwick, Maine, signed on May 3, 1880
  • Hattie E. Sherman, signed on October 9, 1879
  • Mary E. Slattery of South Berwick, Maine
  • B. T. Slattery of South Berwick, Maine, signed on June 2, 1877
  • Mrs. Charles H. Tripp of South Berwick, Maine, signed on May 5, 1879
  • Edwin Tripp of South Berwick, Maine, signed on May 11, 1879
  • Charlie Tripp of South Berwick, Maine, signed on May 1, 1879; middle initial could be H.
  • L. E. Whitehouse, signed on May 24, 1879
South Berwick, Maine


Thanks for stopping by!


No comments:

Post a Comment