1850s Calling Cards of Mary Jane (Coombs) Hobbs (1801-1884) & daughter Mary Harrod Hobbs (1829-1880) of Bangor, Maine; & Mary Harrod's Husband Elisha Hunt Allen (1804-1883) of Hawaii

Calling card of Elisha Hunt Allen (1804-1883) & 2d wife Mary Harrod (Hobbs) Allen (1829-1880)

Three calling cards in an envelope left in the 1850/s1860s era at the residence of the Thomas C. Farris family on First Street in Bangor, Maine:

• Mrs. Frederick Hobbs - Mary Jane (Coombs) Hobbs (1801-1884) of Bangor, Maine, wife or widow, depending on when she left the calling card, of attorney and Maine legislator Frederick Hobbs (1797-1854).  
• Miss Mary H. Hobbs - Mary Harrod Hobbs (1829-1880), adopted daughter of Mary Jane (Coombs) Hobbs (1801-1884) and Frederick Hobbs (1797-1854). The information about her adoption is contained in a publication of the New England Historic Genealogical Society: Memorial biographies of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. Vol. 2, p. 280-287
• Mr. and Mrs. Elisha H. Allen, Hawaiian Islands - they were Elisha Hunt Allen (1804-1883) and his second wife Mary Harrod (Hobbs) Allen (1829-1880)

This envelope containing three calling cards is part of a larger collection of 9 other envelopes and a great quantity of individual cards left at the Farris residence, mostly from eastern Maine merchants, lumbermen, attorneys and their wives, or widows, and children.

Elisha Hunt Allen (1804-1883), a Massachusetts native, was a US congressman from, first, Maine, and, later, Massachusetts; a United States consul to the Hawaii Islands; and, after he set up his residence in Hawaii, a Hawaiian consul to the United States. His first wife, Sarah Elizabeth (Fessenden) Allen, died in 1845. On a trip back East, he married Mary Harrod Hobbs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1857.

Once in Hawaii, Mary kept up a frequent correspondence with her adopted mother, Mary Jane (Coombs) Hobbs back in Bangor, Maine. Among many events, she described the tragic death in 1862 of King Kamehameha IV's young son, who was the same age as Mary's son Frederick Hobbs Allen (1859-1937). Mary was especially close to Queen Emma.

Calling card of Mary Harrod Hobbs (1829-1880) before her 1857 marriage to Elisha Hunt Allen (1804-1883)

See an article written by Rhoda E. A. Hackler in Volue 26 (1992) of The Hawaiian Journal of History; it contains information on the Allens, many examples of Mary's correspondence to her mother and a few photographs.

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

Calling card of Mary Jane (Coombs) Hobbs (1801-1884) of Bangor, Maine; then wife or widow of Frederick Hobbs (1797-1854

1900 and 1901 documents certifying that Grace McKeen was eligible to advance to the next grade; Woburn, Massachusetts; teacher Jennie Pauline Chapman

 

Two documents from the Woburn, Massachusetts School Committee, one dated June 27, 1900 and the other June 28, 1901, certifying that Grace McKeen was eligible to advance to the next grade.  Both documents are signed by Grace's teacher Jennie Pauline Chapman.

Each document measures approximately 5-3/4" by 3-1/3"; nothing on reverse.

Grace McKeen was presumably Grace Mae McKean, born 21 May 1887 in Swanville, Maine, daughter of Isaac Edwin McKeen and Flora Emma (Morrill) McKeen. After Flora's death in 1899, Isaac took his three children to Woburn, Massachusetts, where they were enumerated in 1900.

On 5 February 1913 at Swanville, Maine, Grace married Rufus J. Mayo, son of Eldorus Mayo and Cora (Hassell) Mayo.  Grace and Rufus had at least one child, daughter Frances Elizabeth Mayo.  Rufus died in 1939 and Grace in 1977. They're buried in the Grove Cemetery at Belfast, Maine.

Jennie Pauline Chapman (1875-1957) was the daughter of Jonathan B. Chapman and Pauline S. (Eastman) Chapman of Laconia, New Hampshire.  She apparently never married.

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

1906 Photograph of Walter C. Wiggin at 18 months; presumably Walter Clark Wiggin (1905-1992) of New Hampshire and Massachusetts

1906 photograph of Walter C. Wiggin at the age of 18 months. No studio imprint to give an idea of locale.

 He may have been Walter Clark Wiggin, born 25 March 1905 in New Hampshire, possibly in or near Tuftonboro, the son of Lewis C. Wiggin and Ella (Clark) Wiggin.  His death record gives both his birth date and his death date, which was 25 March 1992 at Quincy, Massachusetts.

Walter, an accountant, married Alice May Stephen at Quincy, Massachusetts, on 17 June 1931.

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

1900 Photograph of Edward Kilburn Robinson (1883-1971), M.H.S. 1900; at Graduation from, presumably, Melrose High School, Melrose, Massachusetts

 

c1900 photograph of a young man identified on the reverse as "Ned K. Robinson, M.H.S., '00".  The photograph was taken at one of the Notman studios, which included Boston, Massachusetts; Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Poland, Maine at the Poland Spring House.

The young man was presumably Edward Kilburn Robinson (1883-1971), who was living at Melrose, Massachusetts, at the time the 1900 Census was enumerated, with his widowed mother and younger brother in the household of Walter C. Stevens.  "M.H.S.' may have stood for Melrose High School.

Edward was born 16 April 1883 at Littleton, New Hampshire, son of Benjamin F. Robinson, a druggist and printer, and Emily Adeline (Kilburn) Robinson, "Addie". Read more about Addie's family here; it mentions that she was a photographer and painter.

Edward graduated in the Class of 1904 at Dartmouth College and became a writer and editor at Ginn & Company. He and wife Hope (Dunlap) Robinson, a Kansas native, had at least one child, a daughter born in Belmont, Massachusetts, in 1913. All three are buried in the South Dartmouth Cemetery at Dartmouth, Massachusetts.

                                   

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

c1896 Photograph of Raymon W. Rogers, possibly Raymond Weston Rogers (1880-1904); by the Cahoon studio of Harwich, Massachusetts

 c1896 cabinet photograph of a young man identified on the reverse as "Raymon W. Rogers, age 16 years".  The photograph was taken at the Cahoon studio of Harwich, Massachusetts.

His given name may have been Raymond, rather than Raymond.

He may have been the Raymond Weston Rogers born 16 July 1880 at Harwich, Massachusetts, the son of mariner Freeman H. Rogers and his wife Bethiah A. (Bearse) Rogers, both natives of Orleans, Massachusetts.  

Raymond went to Cuba to teach and died there in 1904, while principal of the high school at Mayaguez, according to his obituary, which appears on his FindaGrave memorial [which contains an incorrect birth year]. His body was returned to East Harwich, Massachusetts, for burial with family members there.

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

1897 Photograph of Graduate Nettie J. Spofford of either M.N.S. or M.H.S.; by a Merrimac, Massachusetts studio

1897 graduation photograph of Nettie J. Spofford, with an imprint of Class of 1897 of either Merrimac Normal School or Merrimac High School. The photograph was taken by the Oak studio of Merrimac, Massachusetts.

Nettie Johnson Spofford was born in Merrimac, Massachusetts, on 8 May 1879, daughter of Nathan J. Spofford and Mary E. (Shorey) Spofford, who were born in Andover, Massachusetts, and Winslow, Maine, respectively. Another record shows Mary's maiden name as Mary E. Bryant.

Nettie did become a teacher, so that, along with the date of her birth, would suggest Merrimac Normal School in the imprint.  She was teaching in Athol, Massachusetts in the early 1900s.

I don't believe Nettie ever married. It appears that she spent years in hospital, at Danvers State Hospital at the time of the 1930 Census and at the Metropolitan General Hospital in Lexington, Massachusetts at the time of the 1940 Census.

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

1906 Photograph of a Boy, Presumably Robert Harold Young (1896-1942) of Dover, New Hampshire; by a Boston, Massachusetts studio

1906 photograph of a boy identified on the reverse as "My Brother (Robert) Harold Young Born Dec. 27 1896, age about 10 yrs old - 1906".  The photograph was taken at the Hollis Studio on Washington Street in Boston, Massachusetts.

 

(Robert) Harold Young was presumably the Robert Harold Young born on 27 December 1896 at Dover, New Hampshire, son of Robert Andrew Young and Mary A. (Bowser) Young, who were born in England and Nova Scotia respectively.  The couple's younger son, James H. Young, may have written the identification on the reverse of the photograph.

Robert Harold Young died 31 August 1942 and is buried in the Pine Hill Cemetery at Dover, New Hampshire.

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

                             

June 1894 Cabinet Photograph of Linwood Orville Towne; by the Alfred W. Anderson studio of Haverhill, Massachusetts

Cabinet photograph of a man identified on the reverse as Linwood O. Towne. The photograph was taken at the studio of Alfred W. Anderson of 60 Merrimack Street, Haverhill, Massachusetts.

According to his Massachusetts Death Record, Linwood Orville Towne was born 10 July 1855 at Newtonville, Massachusetts, the son of William Towne and Charlotte M. (Abbott) Towne. He was Secretary of the Class of 1878 at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

At the time of his death, Linwood was a school sub-master.  He died on 19 October 1910 at Haverhill, Massachusetts.  Notice that "overwork" was listed as a contributing cause of death.  He's buried in the Mount Auburn Cemetery at Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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

Cabinet Photograph of George C. Richards, Noble Grand of Mizpah Lodge 151, I.O.O.F., Haverhill, Massachusetts

Cabinet photograph of George C. Richards, Noble Grand of Mizpah Lodge 151, I.O.O.F., Haverhill, Massachusetts.  The photograph was taken at the Anderson studio in Haverhill.

Below, a pin from Mizpah Lodge No. 151, Haverhill, Massachusetts:

If you have information on the George C. Richards, presumably of the Haverhill, Massachusetts, area, who was Grand Noble of Mizpah Lodge 151 of the International Order of Odd Fellows, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

Cabinet Photograph of Menetta Abigail (Given) Purinton, first Wife of Holman Greene Purinton of Maine, New Hampshire and Chicago, Illinois

Cabinet photograph of Minnetta Abigail (Given) Purinton, first wife of Civil War veteran Major Holman Greene Purinton, a native of Bowdoin, Maine. The photograph was taken at the Stevens studio in Chicago, Illinois, where the couple lived.

The reverse contains the identification: "Mrs. Holman Purinton (The first), Minetta Given married Holman 1868".

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

Mennetta Abigail (Given) Purinton (about 1850-1898) was born in either Vermont or New Hampshire, the daughter of school teacher Humphrey Given and Jane S. (Kincaid) Purinton, both natives of Brunswick, Maine.  The 1860 Census shows the Given family at Lewiston, Maine, with "Abbie M.", age 9; Humphrey was working as a factory operative.

Menetta and Holman Greene Purinton, a native of Bowdoin, Maine, and a Civil War veteran, made known their Intention to Marry at Lewiston, Maine, on 11 February 1868 and married shortly thereafter.

By 1870, Menetta and Holman were living in Dover, New Hampshire. At some point, they moved to Chicago, Illinois. Menetta died in 1898 and is buried in the Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois.

Holman wrote about the Knights Templar in 1887 - Knights Templars tactics, double and single rank: Including tactics for asylum and council chamber.

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

Cabinet Photograph of Young Woman IDed as Carrie Palmer, Missionary to India; Carrie Jane (Palmer) Bruere (1860-1952)

Cabinet photograph of a young woman identified on the reverse as "Carrie Palmer, my father's cousin, missionary to India".  The photograph was taken at the Elmer Chickering studio at 21 West Street, Boston, Massachusetts.

She was Carrie Jane (Palmer) Bruere (1860-1952), daughter of Boston printer Mayhew Washington Palmer and Mary Jane (Lewis ?) Palmer and wife of Rev. William Wynn Bruere (1857-1927), also a missionary to India.

Carrie's parents died while she was young, Mayhew in 1861 and Mary Jane in 1874.  Perhaps Carrie lived with at one time with the "cousin" referenced in the identification.

In 1886 in India, Carrie Jane Palmer married Rev. William Wynn Bruere (1857-1927), a New Jersey native. The couple had several children born in India. Rev. Bruere died in India in 1927 and is buried there.  Carrie returned to the United States and died in 1952; she's buried in the First Presbyterian Church of Ewing Cemetery at Ewing, New Jersey.

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