Friday, April 10, 2015

1875 Autograph Album of Martha (Forbes) Tremayne, "Pattie", of Brooklyn, New York


Autograph album given to Martha (Forbes) Tremayne, "Pattie", of Brooklyn, New York, on her birthday, July 16, 1875, by her mother Elizabeth Anastasia (Carroll) Forbes.


Many pages of the album are enhanced by the later notes of one, or more, of the 9 children of Pattie's brother John Forbes and his wife Blanche Rose (Purcell) Forbes.  One of the notes describes an inscription written in 1890.  By that time, both of their daughters and one son had died.  Another son, William Tremayne Forbes, was described in a note as "My Brother".  That leaves:
  • Arthur Carroll Forbes
  • John Forbes
  • Philip Jones Forbes
  • Frederic DePeyster Forbes
  • Robert Skidmore Forbes
The album measures approximately 5-1/4" by 3-1/4" and contains the sentiments of 20 of Pattie's relatives and friends.  An alphabetical surname list and an alphabetical list of the inscribers, together with any personal information they left and the added notes, appear at the end of this post.

Much information about Pattie's relatives by blood and marriage, including lengthy descriptions of Pattie, her parents, siblings and husband, can be found in The Descendants of William Forbes, A Genealogical and Biographical History of that Branch of the Family of Forbeswritten by Arthur Carroll Forbes and published in 1955.  Search for specific names; you'll find them described in more than one section, including diary and personal recollections.


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

Martha Forbes, "Pattie" was born July 16, 1851 at Tompkinsville, New York, on Staten Island, the daughter of Philip Jones Forbes and Elizabeth Anastasia (Carroll) Forbes.  Philip Jones Forbes' diaries (1848-1876) 

Pattie had, I think, six siblings, four of whom inscribed pages in the album.  In page order:
  • Philip Jones Forbes; merchant, salesman; married Anna T. Shell.
  • John Forbes; Librarian; married Blanche Rose Purcell, described by her son Philip as "the dearest and most loving mother that ever trod the earth".
  • Elizabeth Forbes, "Bessie"; a teacher before her marriage to Charles H. Fancher.
  • Harold Alexander Forbes; he signed as Harold but the later note identified him as Pattie's brother.  Harold was a merchant and salesman; married Anne Ibbotson.
On June 26, 1873, at Brooklyn, New York, Martha Forbes, "Pattie", married accountant William Henry Tremayne; he was born on the island of Jamaica about 1829.  The book above describes each of them, in more than one section, and their unusual marriage of long periods apart, perhaps resulting from their age difference and financial reversals that William suffered in 1884.  He inscribed a page in Pattie's album in 1875.


Pattie and William had no children.  Presumably in William's honor, Pattie's brother John and wife Blanche named one of their sons William Tremayne Forbes, "Treet".  William Henry Tremayne died in 1896, and Pattie in 1929.  They're buried at Green-Wood Cemetery at Brooklyn, New York.

Surnames in the Album


? [2]FJPT
BForbes [6]J ?Post [2]Tremayne [2]
B ?FordJacobSW
DGMStearnsWickett
D ?GrahamMoody

Inscribers in the Album
  • C. C. C.; J. I. F; C. H. H., inscribed on February 9, 1876. "Three Blind Mice". Not sure of middle set of initials.
  • Maggie ?, inscribed on August 17, 1878
B
  • Leon L. Belanz or Beland or ?, inscribed on August 1, 1879 at Mountain House
D
  • E. R. D., inscribed on February 26, 1876
F
  • Philip Jones Forbes, inscribed on August 9, 1875. Later note by Pattie's niece: "Her brother"; brother of Martha Pattie (Forbes) Tremayne
  • John Forbes. Later note by Pattie's niece: "her brother, my father".
  • Bessie Forbes, inscribed on August 10, 1875. Later note left by Pattie's niece: "her sister Elizabeth Forbes Fancher"
  • Harold, inscribed on October 4, 1876. Later note by Pattie's niece: "Her brother". Harold Alexander Forbes
  • Blanche, inscribed at Brooklyn, New York, on August 12, 1875; "your loving sister". Later note by Pattie's niece: "mother". Blanche was Blanche Rose (Purcell) Forbes, wife of Pattie's brother John Forbes. They had one daughter who lived to maturity - Natalie Blanche Forbes.
  • Tremayne Forbes, inscribed on February 20, 1896. Later note by Pattie's niece: "My Brother".  Nicknamed "Treet".
  • Samuel I. Ford, or ? ?. Ford, inscribed on January 30, 1876
G
  • Peg, inscribed on January 14, 1890. Later note by Pattie's niece: "Miss Graham of Washington, D.C."
J
  • I. J., inscribed in August 1879
  • K. M. Jacob, inscribed at Winchelsea House on August 13, 1879. Later note: "Aunt Kathie"
M
  • Charles Moody
P
  • John C. Post, inscribed in August 1879 at Stony Clare [?]
  • Mary P. Post, inscribed at Mountain House on August 5, 1879
S
  • Sarah C. Stearns, inscribed at Winchelsea House in the Catskills on August 21, 1879. "74 yrs"
T
  • Pattie from Ma, July 16, 1875. A later note by Pattie's niece explains that Pattie, the album owner, was Martha (Forbes) Tremayne; her mother, who gave the album to Pattie, was Elizabeth A. (Carroll) Forbes.
  • William Henry Tremayne, inscribed at Brooklyn, on August 10, 1875. Later note by Pattie's niece: "Her husband"; husband of album owner Martha Pattie (Forbes) Tremayne.
W
  • Carrie D. Wickett, inscribed on February 26, 1876
Tompkinsville, on Staten Island; Brooklyn, New York and Palenville, New York, where Pattie apparently vacationed



2 comments:

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    1. Yes, it is. My email address is in the right column toward the top. Thanks for contacting me.

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