Friday, November 30, 2018

1874-1883 Autograph Album of Louise M. Williams; presumably Louise Miller Williams of Bristol, Rhode Island


Autograph album of Louise M. Williams, dated December 25, 1874, presumably a Christmas present. I believe she was Louise Miller Williams (1865-1901), then of Bristol, Rhode Island.


The album is a petite one, measuring a bit less than 3-1/2 by 2-1/2, and contains the sentiments of ten people, at least three of whom appear to relatives.  A surname list appears below and an alphabetical list of the inscribers and any personal information they offered, appears at the end of this post.

Surnames
Armstrong
Bowen
Hawks
Howell
Miller
Morse
North
Smith
Waldron
Williams - 2

From brief online research, hopefully correct - your corrections and additions requested:

I believe the album owner was Louise Miller Williams, daughter of Fielding Lewis Williams and Abbie Louisa (Miller) Williams of Bristol, Rhode Island.  Louise was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 8, 1865.  I believe the A. L. Williams who inscribed a page was Louise mother, Abbie Louisa (Miller) Williams.


Abbie Louisa (Miller) Williams was the daughter of Augustus Nelson Miller and Harriet Jones (Waldron) Miller.  It's possible that the H. L. Williams who inscribed a page was Harriet Jones (Waldron) Miller, mother of Abbie Louisa (Miller) Williams and maternal grandmother of album owner Louise.


The next inscription was that of A. P. Waldron, who may have been Annie P. Waldron, presumably related to Harriet Jones (Waldron) Miller.


Louise Miller Williams married John Taylor Lewis in 1898; sadly she died in 1901, after having had one child, son John Taylor Lewis in 1900.  She's buried in the Juniper Hill Cemetery at Bristol, Rhode Island.

If you have corrections and/or additions to the information above, and if you can decode any of the initials of the inscribers, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

Perhaps a reader can decode the place in the inscription written partially by James Armstrong and partially by, I presume, one of his parents.  Patapsco ? - short for Institute?  There was a Patapsco Female Institute, and perhaps James was the son of one of the instructors.


Inscribers in the Album
  • James Armstrong; inscribed on November 23, 1880 at Patapsco ?, Baltimore, Maryland
  • G. W. Bowen of Brooklyn, New York; inscribed on July 12, 1875
  • Archie McL. Hawks of Bristol, Rhode Island; inscribed on August 13, 1880; possibly Archie McLean Hawks (1865-1963)
  • W. H. Howell; inscribed on July 12, 1875
  • H. J. Miller; inscribed on May 6, 1878; possibly Louise's maternal grandmother, Harriet Jones (Waldron) Miller, wife of Augustus Nelson Miller
  • Fanny W. Morse of Bristol, Rhode Island; presumably the Fannie W. Morse who gave her occupation as teacher in the 1880 Census of Bristol, Rhode Island
  • Nettie R. North of Bristol, Rhode Island; inscribed on September 6, 1883 - "Royal Frock". Presumably Antoinette Richards North (1863-1921) who would marry William Russell Bogert
  • Ricardo H. Smith of Bristol, Rhode Island; inscribed on August 15, 1880. Presumably Ricardo deBelleville Smith (1864-1924)
  • A. P. Waldron; inscribed on July 14, 1875; perhaps Annie P. Waldron; presumably related to Louise through family of Louise's maternal grandmother Harriet Jones (Waldron) Miller.
  • Louise M. Williams, album owner; presumably given the album as a Christmas present in 1874; presumably Louise Miller Williams (1865-1901), daughter of Fielding Lewis Williams and Abbie Louisa (Miller) Williams of Bristol, Rhode Island and future wife of John T. Lewis
  • A. L. Williams; inscribed at Bristol, Rhode Island, on July 14, 1875; possibly Abbie Louisa (Miller) Williams, mother of Louise Miller Williams

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Letter dated 1852 from Joann Mayo Hersey & Mother Constance (Mayo) Hersey at Pembroke, Maine, to Constance's Sister Joann H. (Mayo) Lurvey at Tremont, Maine


Letter dated May 23, 1852 and postmarked May 24, from Joann Mayo Hersey and her mother Constance (Mayo) Hersey at Pembroke, Maine, to Constance's sister Joann H. (Mayo) Lurvey at Tremont, Southwest Harbor, Maine.

The letter consists of two pages of interest to family historians of the Hersey, Mayo, Lurvey and Lurchin families of Maine's Washington County and Hancock County.

Also of interest, in this new era of DNA testing of artifacts, is the postage stamp - possibly a brick wall buster!


A transcription of the letter appears at the end of this post.  If you notice errors or can fill in any blanks, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

People mentioned in the letter, in alphabetical order.
  • Aunt Eliza; possibly the sister of John Henry Hersey
  • Livona Ann
  • Adelaide Veola Hersey; daughter of Zadoc Lewis Hersey and Catherine (Stoddard) Hersey; Adelaide was born in February 1852 and would marry Alden Bradford Kendrick in 1878.
  • Catherine (Stoddard) Hersey (1820-1900); wife of Zadoc Lewis Hersey; they married April 21, 1844
  • Constance Young (Mayo) Hersey (1806-1856); letter writer; mother of fellow letter writer Joann Mayo Hersey
  • Grandma; has been well this winter but fell on the ice and hurt her arm; possibly Mercy (Dunbar) Hersey, wife of the older Zadoc, though online trees have her death as 1850
  • Henry H. Hersey (1848-1902); son of Zadoc Lewis Hersey and Catherine (Stoddard) Hersey; age 5, behind in vocabulary and/or pronunciation
  • Joann Mayo Hersey (1835-1912), letter writer and daughter of fellow letter writer Constance (Mayo) Hersey; future wife of Leonard Shaw Lurchin, whom she married in 1854.
  • John Edwin Hersey (1850-1921), "Edwin", son of John Henry Hersey and letter writer Constance (Mayo) Hersey and brother of letter writer Joann Mayo Hersey; Edwin would marry Jennie E. Lurvey (1862-1913), daughter of Levi Lurvey and Lydia (Marshall) Lurvey
  • John Henry Hersey (1810-1885), husband of letter writer Constance (Mayo) Hersey and father of letter writer Joann Mayo Hersey
  • Reuben F. Hersey, son of Zadoc L. Hersey and brother of Zadoc Lewis Hersey; married Mary L. Crane; was living with his family and father at Galesburg, Illinois at time of 1850 Census.
  • Salome Hersey; either the mother Salome (Hersey) Hersey or her daughter of that name; has had a lame leg since a fever the previous fall. The link is for the FindaGrave memorial for the mother, Salome (Hersey) Hersey (1808-1885)
  • Zadoc L. Hersey (1779-abt 1854); he was unwell, according to a letter from his son Reuben, with whose family he was living in Galesburg, Illinois but Reuben indicated Zadoc wanted to return home.
  • Zadoc Lewis Hersey (1815-1888); clerk at Foster's store, son of Zadoc Hersey and Mercy (Dunbar) Hersey
  • "Mother Lurvey"; Abigail (Gilley) Lurvey (1789-1866), mother of Samuel Lurvey
  • Jacob; possibly Jacob William Lurvey, brother of Samuel Lurvey, husband of Joanna H. (Mayo) Lurvey, or Jacob Shoppy Mayo, brother of Constance (Mayo) Hersey
  • Joann H. (Mayo) Lurvey (1815-1907), letter recipient; sister of Constance (Mayo) Hersey
  • Samuel Lurvey (1817-1893), husband of letter recipient Joann H. (Mayo) Lurvey
  • Henry E. Mayo (1825-1905); brother of letter writer Constance (Mayo) Hersey and husband of Nancy F. (Smith) Atherton Mayo, whom he married in 1850
  • Isaac Pepper Mayo (1773-1866); father of letter writer Constance (Mayo) Hersey
  • Jacob; possibly Jacob Shoppy Mayo, brother of letter writer Constance (Mayo) Hersey - or Jacob William Lurvey, brother of Samuel Lurvey, husband of letter recipient Joanna H. (Mayo) Lurvey
  • Nancy F. (Smith) Atherton Mayo (1830-1899), wife of Henry Mayo, brother of letter writer Constance (Mayo) Hersey; Constance wants to know what Father and Mother think of her
  • Rosanna (Young) Mayo (1782-1865); mother of letter writer Constance (Mayo) Hersey
  • Aunt Rebeckah; possibly Rebecca Pepper (Mayo) Robinson (1812-1892), sister of letter writer Constance (Mayo) Hersey and wife of Ezra D. Robinson

If you have information on any of the people mentioned above, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

Loose Transcription

Pembroke, May the 23 1852
Dear Aunt
I now sit down to write a few lines to you to let you know that we are all well at present and hope you are the same. I received a letter from you in January and wrote back to you again but we have got no answer and I thought I would write again. I have no particular news to tell you. Pa [John Henry Hersey] is to work on the vessel now and when he is down there he is going to work on the ship for six months. Zedok [presumably Zadoc Lewis Hersey] is clerk in Foster's store. Catherine [Catherine (Stoddard) Hersey, wife of Zadoc Lewis Hersey] has got a baby born in February. She calls it Aderlade [Adelaide Veola Hersey]. She has three children now. Henry [Henry H. Hersey], is five years old and he can't talk so well as Edwin [John Edwin Hersey, "Edwin", son of letter writer Constance (Mayo) Hersey and brother of letter writer Joann Mayo Hersey]. He can say but a few words plain. Mr. Hersey [Zadoc L. Hersey (1779-abt 1854, the aforementioned Zadoc's father] has been very sick. They did not expect he would live for some time but he was better the last time Reuben [Reuben F. Hersey, son of the elder Zadoc, then at Galesburg, Illinois] wrote. He [presumably the father Zadoc] wants to see Zedok very much and he talks of moving there this fall.
Grandma [possibly Mercy (Dunbar) Hersey, wife of the older Zadoc, though online trees have her death as 1850] is well and has been well this winter. She fell down on the ice and hurt her arm and this winter Salome Hersey [presumably mother Salome (Hersey) Hersey (1808-1885) or her daughter of that name] has had a lame leg since a fever the previous fall. Aunt Eliza [possibly sister of John Henry Hersey] is not very well this summer. Mother has not weaned Edwin yet. I want you to write as soon as you conveniently can and tell us the news and if you have not any I want you to write. We had a letter from Aunt Rebeckah  [presumably Rebeckah Pepper (Mayo) Robinson] in January and the folks was all well there then. When you write, tell me if Livona Ann is married and where she is. I have no more to write now I believe. This is from your niece. Joann M. [Joann Mayo Hersey]

Dear sister [Joann H. (Mayo) Lurvey]

It is some time since I heard from you and we want to know how do so we write you again, hoping you will answer this soon. Through the Blessing of God we are all in good health and you are the same.  I do wish you could come and see me. I want you to Come and all the ___ rest. Tell Jacob [possibly either Jacob Shoppy Mayo or Jacob Lurvey] if he Comes to Calis [Calais] or Eastport to Call and see us, Three minutes if no more. Tell all the folks to write to us and we will answer them. Give my love to father and Mother [Isaac Pepper Mayo and Rosanna (Young) Mayo]. Tell them I want to see them and hope I shall once more. Our Children send their love to you and Granpa, Granma and all their uncles and Aunts. I want you to tell me how father and Mother likes Henry's wife [Henry Mayo and Nancy F. (Smith) Atherton Mayo] and how Henry's health is now and how all the folks do and what they will do this summer. Joann, don't forget me and not answer my questions. If you can't, tell your husband [Samuel Lurvey] to write. If he won't get some of the rest to. I do not know how to hear from you if you will not answer my letter. Tell me about Rebeckah [presumably Rebecca Pepper (Mayo) Robinson]and her family and all you can think of. Give my love to all enquiring friends & Your Mother Lurvey [Abigail (Gilley) Lurvey]. I want to see her so. I remain your affectionate Sister Constance Hersey [Constance Young (Mayo) Hersey]. Do write to me soon and not fail.
Again, if you have information to share, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

1899 Souvenir of the Ridge School at Eastbrook, Maine; Josie B. Bunker, Teacher; Names of Students and School Superintendent J. D. Crimmin


Souvenir of the 1899 Fall Term of the Ridge School at Eastbrook, Maine.

The souvenir contains the names of teacher Josie B. Bunker; Superintendent of Schools, J. D. Crimmin; and the names of all the students.  The pieces shown were attached with ribbon at some point, judging from the holes, and there might be a panel or two missing.

From brief online research, hopefully correct - corrections and additions requested:

Josephine B. Bunker, "Josie", was born about May 1877 in Maine, the daughter of Sidney Smith Bunker and Medora Albert (Martin) Bunker.  Josie died in 1918 and is buried in the York Hill Cemetery at Sullivan, Maine, with her parents and other relatives.

J. D. Crimmin was presumably John D. Crimmin (1835-1906), who is buried in the Crimmons Cemetery at Eastbrook, Maine.  He had a son of the same name, but the son, I believe, had moved to Massachusetts by 1899.


Names of Pupils - not in alphabetical order
Frank Hardison
Grace Dinsmore
Mary Hardison
Marcia Dinsmore
Fred DeMeyer
Chester Bunker
Delia Wilbur
Blanche Bragdon
Lyman Wilbur
Earl Giles
Leslie Wilbur
Melvin Bragdon
Clara Wilbur
Raymond Hardison
Ralph Dinsmore
Libbie Wilbur
Elwood DeMeyer
Alvin Wilbur
Irving Dinsmore
Pearly Wilbur
Hattie Whittaker

Sources
U.S. Federal Censuses
FamilySearch.org
Ancestry.com
FindaGrave.com

If you have information to share on any of the people named above, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

1908 Memento of Skowhegan High School and Bloomfield Academy at Skowhegan, Maine; Class of 1909 Exhibition


Junior Exhibition, Class of 1909 Skowhegan High School and Bloomfield Academy; held at the Grange Hall on Monday Evening, June 15, 1908 at eight o'clock. 

Consists of one piece folded so there is an outer panel, an intermediate fold and the inner fold consisting of two panels.



Names of those participating:
Enoch Markham [an asterisk indicates he was excused]
Mabelle Ross
Sadie Pennell
Edith Cayford
Anna Berry
James Reed
Ethel Merriam
Elva Cunliff
Myra French
Hazel Holden
Lula Chapman
Isabel Thomas
Lois Cool -
Walter Ennis
Ethel Brainerd
Cleba Taylor

If you have information to share on any of the people mentioned above, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

Sunday, November 25, 2018

Photograph of Caroline Sarah (Abbott) White Avery Morrill (1827-1900) of Grafton County, New Hampshire


CDV size photograph of Caroline Sarah (Abbott) White Avery Morrill of Rumney, New Hampshire.

The reverse gives details of her name, dates of birth and death and the names of her three husbands.  Note: her first name is written as Carlin and her third husband's surname is written as Morrell, rather than Morrill.

Carlin Sarah Abbott
Born June 19 - 1827
Died Oct 18 - 1900
The Wife of
Paul White
Ira Avery
George Morrell


From brief online research, hopefully correct - corrections and additions requested:

Caroline Sarah Abbott was born June 19, 1827 at Haverhill, New Hampshire, the daughter of Moses C. Abbott and Sarah (Bliss) Abbott.

Note: the names of Caroline's parents come from her death certificate, where the information was  provided by her physician and undertaker, who may been in error, though hopefully not.  Caroline married 1) Paul White; 2) Ira Avery; 3) George Morrill.

Caroline died on October 18, 1900 and is buried in the Highland Cemetery at Rumney, New Hampshire.

Sources
U.S. Federal Censuses
New Hampshire, Marriage Records Index, 1637-1947 - marriages to Ira Avery and George Morrill
New Hampshire, Death and Disinterment Records, 1754-1947
New Hampshire, Death and Burial Records Index, 1654-1949

If you have corrections and/or additions to the information above, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

Saturday, November 24, 2018

1921 Photograph of Two Maine Central Institite, Pittsfield, Maine, Baseball Players: Clifford Vining Chisholm and Clyde Wentworth Emery


1921 photograph of two baseball players at Maine Central Institute at Pittsfield, Maine. They were Clifford Vining Chisholm (1903-1993) and Clyde Wentworth Emery (1902-1982).

Thanks to a reader - see comment below - we now know that Clifford is the man at left and Clyde at right. 

Clifford, a native of Somerville, Massachusetts who later moved to Saint Albans, Maine, with his family, went on to Bates College and a career in sales. He married twice: 1) Lavonne Coombs and 2) Marjorie E. (Green) Martin.  He died at Saint Albans, Maine, in 1993 and is buried there, in the Saint Albans Village Cemetery, with both of his wives.

Clyde Wentworth Emery, a native of Hartland, Maine, became a weaver in one of the area woolen mills. He married Vera Lillian Thomas, a Rhode Island native, in 1922 at Island Falls, Maine. Clyde died in California in 1982; he and Vera, who died in 1995, are buried in the Rose Hills Memorial Park at Whittier, California.


If you have information on either of these men, please leave a comment or contact me directly.  Please obtain permission before providing information on living people.

Sources
FamilySearch.org
Ancestry.com
FindaGrave.com