Monday, October 13, 2014

1838-1899 Autograph Album of Dolly Edgecomb Merrill of Saccarappa in Westbrook, Maine, & Brownfield, Maine


1838-1899 autograph album of Dolly Edgecomb Merrill of Saccarappa, in what is now Westbrook, Maine, and of Brownfield, Maine.


 The album contains pages from the earlier era signed by people from the Westbrook, Maine area, including the village of Saccarappa; Brownfield, Maine; and Gorham Seminary, which Dolly apparently attended.  Pages from the later years were signed by Dolly's children and grandchildren.

Engravings of the statue of Guy, Earl of Warwick, and of the London Stone on Cannon Street appear at the beginning of the album.


The album is folio-shaped, measuring about 7-3/4" x 5" and contains the sentiments of over 50 of Dolly's relatives and friends.  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.

It appears that the album was presented to Dolly by Newton Capron.


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

Dolly Edgecomb Merrill was born September 28, 1816 in Maine, the daughter of James Walker Merrill and Dolly (Ulmer) Merrill.  The J. W. M. who inscribed a page "to My Daughter D. E. Merrill" at Westbrook, Maine, on May 10, 1838 was Dolly's father James Walker Merrill.


Dolly's mother Dolly (Ulmer) Merrill of Westbrook, Maine, inscribed a page "To my Daughter" in May 1838.


About 1840, Dolly Edgecomb Merrill married William F. Bickford, son of William and Harriet (Farnham) Bickford.  I believe Dolly and William had six children:
  1. Elizabeth E. Bickford, born about 1842; married Simon P. Meserve.
  2. Augusta E. Bickford, born about 1843; married Jonathan Littlefield
  3. Sarah W. Bickford, born about 1845
  4. Charles William Bickford, born about 1848; married Mary Estella
  5. Philip Merrill Bickford, born about 1852; married Fannie M. Stevens
  6. Jesse H. Bickford, born about 1864; married Mrs. Laverna E. Hubbard
William and Dolly lived at Brownfield, Maine, for years, before moving by the time of the 1900 Census to Lynn, Massachusetts.  William died there in 1901, and Dolly in 1902.

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.

Relatives who inscribed pages in the album and indicated a family relationship - and there were no doubt more, as someone familiar with the family might determine from the list of signers at the end of this post:
  • Judith; cousin
  • Enoch; cousin
  • Philip M. Bickford of Auburn, Maine; son
  • Jessie or Jesse H. Bickford; son
  • Herman Bickford of Auburn, Maine; grandson
  • Wallace W. Bickford of Auburn, Maine; grandson
  • Ellen Sarah (Bickford) Cash, her husband Nathaniel and their son of Emporia, Kansas; niece
  • Sarah Bradley Merrill; sister
  • Susan Ulmer Merrill; sister
  • G. W. Merrill; presumably Dolly's brother George William Merrill
  • J. M. Merrill; presumably John Milton Merrill; brother
  • J. Martin Merrill; brother James Martin Merrill
  • C. H. M.; presumably Charles Haynes Merrill; brother
Also included in the album are two rewards of merit.  One was presented to Jessie H. Merrill, who might have been Dolly's son Jesse or a granddaughter Jessie; it was signed by teacher Carrie D. Osgood.  The other reward of merit was presented to Hattie ?, whose surname is smudged, but might be Meserve, as Dolly's daughter Elizabeth E. (Bickford) Meserve had a daughter Hattie with husband Simon P. Merserve.   The teacher who signed Hattie's reward was Olive Perry.


Surnames in the album

?EO
? [14]EastmanOsgood
AEatonP
AtkinsonEdesPerkins [2]
BFPerry
BarrettFarringtonS
Bickford [4]FloydSargent
CGStacpole
Capron [2]GetchellT
Cash [3]GoodwinTwisden [2]
ChipmanGouldW
ChurchHWaterman
ClarkHeald
DM
Dutch [2]Merrill [10]

Signers in the album         [Note: Given names within a specific surname may not be in alphabetical order.]
  • S. W.
  • Reward of merit awarded to Hattie ? by teacher Olive Perry, tucked in the album.
  • M. R. M., signed at Gorham, Maine, in May 1838
  • A friend, with initials too faint to read, signed at Gorham Seminary. Initials possibly M. H.
  • Charles, signed at Conway, New Hampshire, on May 19, 1850
  • Inscribed to Mrs. D. E. Bickford, by A. D. T. or A. D. Y, or ?, on July 13, 1866
  • Mary W. M., signed at Portland, Maine, on May 20, 1838
  • Judith; Dolly's cousin
  • Unnamed "Votre Amie", signed at Brownfield, Maine, on April 30 [no year written, but inscribed to D. E. Merrill, so before Dolly's marriage to William F. Bickford.]
  • Facing pages inscribed by R. H., who signed each page individually. It's possible they were husband and wife who just happened to share a first initial.
  • Enoch; Dolly's cousin. Undated, but it was inscribed to Miss D. E. Merrill, so it was before Dolly's marriage to William F. Bickford.
  • Lydia, signed at Portland, Maine, on May 14, 1838
  • L. D., signed on March 8, 1840; not sure of first initial - could be V or ?
  • D, signed at Saccarappa, Maine, on June 4, 1838
  • Nancy M. Atkinson, signed on June 3, 1838
  • L. I. Barrett, signed at Gorham Seminary; not sure of initials.
  • Philip M. Bickford, signed at Auburn, Maine, on December 23, 1890; Dolly's son.
  • Jessie H. Bickford - reward of merit awared to Jessie/Jesse by teacher Carrie D. Osgood was tucked in the album.  Dolly's son, who also inscribed a page in the album.
  • Your Grandson, Herman Bickford of Auburn, Maine, signed on December 23, 1890.  Shared the page with his brother Wallace W. Bickford.
  • Your Grandson, Wallace W. Bickford of Auburn, Maine, signed on December 23, 1890.  Shared the page with his brother Herman Bickford.
  • Newton Capron; he presented the album to Dolly at Saccarappa, Maine, on April 1, 1838.
  • Sarah W. Capron, signed at Saccarappa, Maine, on April 1, 1838
  • "Your Niece and Husband", Nathaniel Cash and Ellen S. Cash of Emporia, Kansas, signed at Lynn, Masschusetts, on August 18, 1899. Ellen Sarah (Bickford) Cash was the daughter of Joseph Bickford and Ann Walker (Merrill) Bickford. The page is also signed by Ellen and Nathaniel's son, Charles Chester Chandler Casper Cash.
  • Nathaniel Cash of Emporia, Kansas; shared the page with his wife Ellen S. (Bickford) Cash and son Charles Chester Chandler Casper Cash.
  • Charles Chester Chandler Casper Cash; shared the page with his parents Nathanial and Ellen S. (Bickford) Cash.
  • Susie A. Chipman of Lynn, Massachusetts, signed on May 18, 1892. Susan Adelaide (Twisden) Chipman, daughter of Mary Adelaide (Breed) Twisden and wife of Seymour Leslie Chipman.  Shared the page with her mother Mary Adelaide (Breed) Twisden and her sister Emma M. Twisden.
  • S. B. Church of Bath, Maine, signed at Gorham Seminary on May 1, 1838
  • J. S. Clark, signed at Conway, New Hampshire, on March 5, 1850 - inscribed to Miss D. E. Merrill, but this would have been after her marriage to William F. Bickford. Not sure of first initial - could be F or ?
  • D. P. Dutch, signed at Brownfield, on March 29, 1840. Presumably Darius Page Dutch, who married Lydia S. Storer on January 15, 1842 at Brownfield, Maine.
  • Mary A. P. Dutch, signed at Brownfield, Maine, on Marh 18 [no year written but inscribed to Miss Merrill so before Dolly's marriage to William F. Bickford.] Possibly the Mary A. Dutch who married signer Albert E. Farrington.
  • 2-page sentiment of Flora M. Eastman, inscribed at Conway, New Hampshire, on May 7, 1838 [or August 7, 1838].
  • W. P. Eaton, inscribed at Brownfield, Maine, on July 2, 1838
  • Lydia Edes, signed at Conway, New Hampshire, on February 22, 1840
  • A. E. Farrington, signed at Brownfield, Maine, on March 29, 1840. Perhaps Albert E. Farrington, who married Mary Ann Dutch on March 16, 1841 at Brownfield, Maine.
  • G. H. Floyd of Memphis, Tennessee, signed on July 14, 1866. Poem, "The Soldiers Grave", which I believe was his own composition.
  • H. S. Getchell, signed at Brownfield, Maine, on July 20, 1840
  • Daniel Goodwin, Jr., signed at Brownfield, Maine, on July 19, 1840
  • William Gould, signed at Conway, New Hampshire, on May 18, 1850
  • N. W. Heald, signed at Gorham Seminary
  • Miss D. E. Merrill, album owner. Dolly Edgecomb Merrill
  • D. M., signed at Westbrook, Maine, in May 1838; inscribed "To my Daughter", by Dolly's mother, Dolly (Ulmer) Merrill.
  • Signed by S. U. Merrill at Chelsea, no state written, in August 1838. Inscribed to "My Sister", by Susan Ulmer Merrill.
  • Sarah B. Merrill, inscribed "To my Sister D. E. Merrill. She was Dolly's sister Sarah Bradley Merrill, who would marry Leonard H. Drinkwater.
  • G. W. Merrill, signed in 1838. Presumably Dolly's brother George William Merrill
  • J. W. M., signed at Westbrook, Maine, on May 10, 1838. Inscribed "To my Daughter D. E. Merrill", by Dolly's father James Walker Merrill.
  • J. M. Merrill; presumably Dolly's brother John Milton Merrill; shared the page with his brother James Martin Merrill.
  • J. Martin Merrill; presumably Dolly's brother James Martin Merrill; shared the page with his brother John Milton Merrill.
  • 2-page sentiment by M. Merrill, inscribed on May 24, 1838
  • C. H. M. I believe the last initial stands for Merrill, as there are a few dots after the M, ending in l. If so, the signer was possibly Dolly's brother Charles Haynes Merrill
  • Carrie D. Osgood - she was the teacher who presented a Reward of Merit to Jessie/Jesse H. Bickford, found tucked in the album
  • ? E. Perkins, signed on February 17, 1840. J. E. Perkins
  • Mehetabel C. W. Perkins
  • Olive Perry - she was the teacher who presented a Reward of Merit to Hattie ?, found tucked in the album.
  • Lillian L. Sargent of Brownfield, Maine, signed on July 30, 1878
  • S. A. Stacpole, signed at Brownfield, Maine, on January 7, 1840
  • M. Addie Twisden of Lynn, Massachusetts, signed on May 18, 1892. Presumably Mary Adelaide (Breed) Twisden; shared the page with her daughters Susan Adelaide (Twisden) Chipman and Emma M. Twisden
  • Emma M. Twisden of Lynn, Massachusetts, signed on May 26, 1892; daughter of Mary Adelaide (Breed) Twisden.  Shared the page with her mother Mary Adelaide (Breed) Twisden and her sister Susan Adelaide (Twisden) Chipman.
  • Catharine H. Waterman; P. L. Sprout
Saccarappa, in Westbrook, Maine, and Brownfield, Maine



Thanks for stopping by!

6 comments:

  1. RE: Olive Perry - she was the teacher who presented a Reward of Merit to Hattie ?, found tucked in the album

    Is it possible "Hattie" could be a Twisden?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's an intriguing possibility! Thanks, Virginia - sorry, I didn't notice your comment until now

      Delete
  2. Charles W. Bickford was my great-great grandfather. He moved to California and married Mae Estella Worth (perhaps she was born as Mary but preferred to go by Mae?). In any case, I was so thrilled to see your blog. I'd set aside my genealogy files for a long while due to other life stuff, but now I want to get it all back out again. You've re-sparked my interest!

    ReplyDelete
  3. If anyone still looks at this. I do believe the parents of William F. Bickford were John and Hannah Farnham. From looking at the signatures I notice a child of Joseph Bickford and Anne Walker Merrill. If you look at the 1850 census with them in Oxford Maine Josephs mother Hannah is living with them.

    ReplyDelete
  4. If anyone still looks at this. I do believe the parents of William F. Bickford were John and Hannah Farnham. From looking at the signatures I notice a child of Joseph Bickford and Anne Walker Merrill. If you look at the 1850 census with them in Oxford Maine Josephs mother Hannah is living with them.

    ReplyDelete