Saturday, November 30, 2013

1880s Autograph Album of Sadie A. Triggs of Hermon, Maine


1880s autograph album of Sadie A. Triggs of Hermon, Maine.  



The album is approximately 7" x 4-1/4" and contains the sentiments of over 50 of Sadie's 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!]

Sarah A. Triggs, "Sadie", was born about August 1855, the daughter of Augustus D. and Maria J. (Gray) Triggs.  Augustus D. Triggs was born in New Hampshire.  Online sources for Maria J. (Gray) Triggs have her born in either Maine or New Brunswick.

It was presumably Sadie's mother Maria J. (Gray) Triggs who signed a page as M. J. Triggs at Hermon, Maine, on October 11, 1880.



The name of Sadie's older sister Ada P. Triggs appears on a page in the album.  Ada died 1 October 1880.  I wonder whether Ada signed the page herself or someone else wrote her name in the album as a memorial, as most of the autographs were from a year or more later.



Sadie had a brother, Henry S. Triggs, who might have inscribed a page at Hermon, Maine.  The handwriting is childlike, so it's possible that the signer Henry was a different person, unless he signed the album earlier than most of the other signers.  



The combination of Henry's handwriting and Ada's name in the album make me wonder if the album was started in an earlier era and then brought out again in the 1880s, and then brought out again in 1905 as you will see.

Sadie's sister-in-law, Ella B. (Strout) Triggs, wife of Sadie's brother Alberton Augustus Triggs, signed a page on March 31, in the 1880s.  I can't be sure of the last digit of the year.  She included a Victorian scrap.



On 1 January 1889 at Bristol, Maine, Sadie A. Triggs married Augustus P. Richards, son of Asa and Martha B. (Merithew) Richards.  Augustus was born 19 June 1857 at Camden, Maine.  I believe Sadie and Augustus had three sons, two of whom lived to adulthood.  

Apparently the album came to light a third time as both sons signed pages in 1905.  Son Oscar Milvern Richards signed a page as Oscar M. Richards of Walpole, Maine, on April 5, 1905.



Son Ernest Elroy Richards signed a page as Ernest E. Richards of Walpole, Maine, also on April 5, 1905.



I'm always interested in knowing how people like Sadie and Augustus met.  There were signers with the surname Richards who lived in the Hermon, Maine, area.  Or perhaps Sadie pursued an employment opportunity in the midcoast area.

Other relatives and in-laws signed pages in the album; refer to the list of signers below.

Augustus P. Richards died in 1915, and Sarah A. (Triggs) Richards died in 1937.  They're buried at the West Bristol Cemetery, in Bristol, Maine.

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.]

  • O. W.
  • Eunie L. Bean of Bangor, Maine, signed on August 8, 1886; presumably Eunice L. Bean
  • J. M. R. Blackwell of Hermon, Maine
  • Annie M. Blackwell of Hermon Center, Maine, signed in the Fall of 1880
  • Lillie J. Blackwell of Hermon Center, Maine, signed October 13, 1880
  • Charles L. Eastman of East Corinth, Maine, signed at Bangor, Maine, on August 28, 1886
  • George F. Emerson, signed at Bangor, Maine, on April 11, 1886
  • Alwilda M. Emerson
  • Annie M. Emerson
  • W. W. Emerson of Hampden, Maine, signed on January 22, 1882 [not sure of the last digit].  The signer's sentiment is written upside down.
  • Mrs. Fannie Emerson of Bangor, Maine, signed on April 8, 1886
  • Albert Files, signed at Bangor, Maine, on March 1, 1886; his wife Sarah (Hill) Files signed the facing page
  • Mrs. S. H. Files, signed at Bangor, Maine, on March 1, 1886.  She was Sarah (Hill) Files; her husband Albert Files signed the facing page.
  • A. H. Harding of Hermon, Maine; signed on January 31, 1882
  • Eliza B. Harding
  • W. F. Harding, signed at Hermon, Maine, on March 1, 1882
  • Ellen Hodgman
  • Millie Hodgman
  • Susie G. Hunt of Hermon Centre, Maine, signed on January 14 [no year written]; her husband Thurston Hunt signed the facing page on January 14, 1883.
  • Thurston Hunt, signed at Hermon Centre on January 14, 1883; his wife Susie G. Hunt signed the facing page.
  • H. B. Mower of East Bangor, Maine, signed on August 22, 1886
  • Mary A. Reed, signed at Hermon, Maine, on March 25, 1882
  • Oscar M. Richards of Walpole, Maine, signed on April 5, 1905; Sadie A. (Triggs) Richard's son Oscar Milvern Richards, born 2 September 1891; there's also a page noting the birth on September 2, 1891, presumably by his mother Sadie.
  • Ernest E. Richards of Walpole, Maine, signed on April 5, 1905; son of album owner Sadie A. (Triggs) Richards
  • G. S. Richards; presumably George S. Richards of Bangor, Maine, whose wife Mrs. Ella A. (Triggs) Richards signed the facing page on October 29, 1882
  • Mrs. Flora T. Roberts, signed on December 9, 1880
  • Mrs. Emily Roberts of Hampden, Maine, signed on December 9, 1880
  • Charley Roberts, signed on December 8, 1880
  • Tempy Robinson [not sure of given name]
  • Flora Robinson of Hermon, Maine
  • Miss Rufena Robinson
  • Mrs. Diana Robinson of Hermon, Maine
  • Rufus Robinson
  • Lula B. Robinson of Hermon, Maine, signed on March 18, 1885; "your little friend"
  • M. Estelle Robinson of Hermon, Maine, signed on March 16, 1885
  • J. C. Temple
  • Ella E. Temple, signed at Hampden, Maine, on February 3, 1885
  • Rose B. Tibbetts of Hampden, Maine
  • Mrs. Abbie Tibbetts of Hampden, Maine, signed on January 22, 1882
  • Sadie A. Triggs of Hermon, Maine; album owner
  • Henry S. Triggs of Hermon, Maine; Sadie's brother or perhaps nephew
  • Ella A. Triggs; she was presumably the Mrs. Ella A. Richards, who signed the following page.  Ella married George S. Richards on 11 May 1881; he signed the facing page.
  • M. J. Triggs, signed at Hermon, Maine, on October 11, 1880.  Presumably Maria J. (Gray) Triggs, mother of album owner Sadie A. (Triggs) Richards
  • Ella B. Triggs, signed March 31, 188x [can't decipher last digit].  She was Ella B. (Strout) Triggs, wife of Alberton A. Triggs, Sadie's brother
  • Ada P. Triggs of Hermon, Maine.  She was Sadie's older sister.  She died 1 October 1880.  Perhaps someone else wrote her name on the page.
  • Albert S. Ware of Hampden, Maine, signed at Hermon, Maine, on February 6, 1882
  • Olive C. Wiley of Bangor, Maine, signed on August 27, 1882
  • Ada P. Wiley of Bangor, Maine, signed on August 27, 1882 [not positive of middle initial]
  • A. F. Wiley of Bangor, Maine, signed on August 30, 1882; presumably Asher F. Wiley, brother of Delia E. Wiley who signed the following page.
  • Delia E. Wiley of Bangor, Maine, signed on August 27, 1882
  • Lester Wiley of Bangor, Maine, signed on August 28, 1882
Hermon, Maine [A] and Walpole, Maine, a village at South Bristol [B]


Thanks for stopping by!




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