Category Archives: Town Views

Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, Mass.

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“New Bedford, Mass. One of New Bedford Quaint Streets. Johney Cake Hill, Corner Union and Bethel Streets.”

This is the second of three cards in The Cunha Family Collection. The sender wrote:

“My Dear Friend, I drop this post card so to let you know that you might see a friend Sunday, that you havn’t seen for some time. Yours Truly. M.S.”

Sent to:   “Mrs. Mary Cunha, 115 Sumner St., Taunton, Mass.”

Behind the name

The definition of “bethel”  is a holy place or a chapel for seamen. The street name Bethel is present-day Johnny Cake Hill; the address of 15 Johnny Cake Hill being home to the Seaman’s Chapel whose facade bears a plaque with a quote from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. (See below for an interesting 1928 newspaper article from the Emporia, Kansas’ Emporia Gazette.) A Wiki article on New Bedford tells us that the city’s nickname is “The Whaling City” because it was one of the most important whaling ports during the 19th century; also that the area that includes New Bedford, Greater Providence and Fall River is home to the largest Portuguese-American community in the U.S.

The Bethelen Cafe

Always intrigued by the small shops and restaurants that appear in these town views, we looked for the Bethelen Cafe that shows on the corner there, but didn’t find any specific mention of it in city directories, Google books, or historical newspapers currently online. Perhaps it was replaced by The New Bedford Whaling Museum? No, the well-known museum is up the street a ways. But check out the following page from Roger Chartier’s WhalingCity.net  which shows a detailed history with several wonderful old photos of the corner of Union and Bethel, including one of the St. Helena restaurant. You’ll be able to take in the detail of the fountain in front of the restaurant – note that there is also a fountain in our postcard image but it’s a different one. Since our postcard was sent in 1909, an estimated time-frame for the card’s view would be that year or within several years prior. We might guess that the Bethelen was a brief successor to the St. Helena Restaurant, with the name Bethelen being a combination of Bethel and Helena.

1928 newspaper article re the Seaman’s Bethel (courtesy Newspapers.com).

Moby Dick Mast Article

Divided back, used postcard. Postmarked October 3, 1909 from New Bedford, Mass. Publisher:  The Metropolitan News & Publishing Co., Boston, Mass. and Germany. No. G 15 121. Made in Germany.

Note:  At the time of this posting, surprisingly, no other postcards of the same view are showing up online.

Price:  $15.00

Sources:  New Bedford, Massachusetts. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Bedford,_Massachusetts. (accessed October 25, 2015).

Chartier, Roger. “St. Helena Restaurant – Cafe…” WhalingCity.net. (Web accessed October 25, 2015.)

“Moby Dick” Mast In Tars’ Pulpit Must Be Torn Down. Emporia Gazette. 19 Jan 1928. Thur, p. 6. (Newspapers.com)

Main St. South From 12th St., KC MO

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To:   “Miss Nora Gillmore, Fernwood Okla. Beaver Co.”

“From your friend Hazel. Mrs. C. O. Shirley, 4145 Penn St. K.C. Mo.”

Fernwood, Oklahoma is one of those here today, gone tomorrow locations (of which there were a number of in the OK panhandle.) It shows up in the ghost town category on the Oklahoma GenWeb website, as being located in Texas County, though obviously the postcard sender stated Beaver County. Beaver County takes up the easternmost section of the Oklahoma panhandle and Texas County is the neighboring county to the west. Nora, the addressee of this card, is Nora Gillmore, daughter of Ephram Gillmore and Mary Hunt; born about 1870 in Missouri. She married William James Brooks, May 23, 1909. Their marriage license gave her residence at the time as Hooker, Texas County, OK, and his as Fort Bragg, Mendocino County, CA. Hooker is located about fifteen miles west of the dividing line between Texas and Beaver Counties. Per Ancestry.com family trees Nora was a schoolteacher who formerly resided in Kansas City, MO, which makes sense – the sender of this card was her friend, Hazel, showing a K.C., MO address.

When was Fernwood?

Very few other references regarding Fernwood show up online (as of the date of this post) but it seems to have been recognized as a town or community from at least 1905 – 1908.

Divided back, used postcard. Postmarked August 9, 1907 from Kansas City, Missouri and August 13, 1907 in Fernwood, Oklahoma. Publisher:  IPCN & Co. Series or number:  120-15.

Price:  $15.00

Sources:  “Oklahoma, County Marriages, 1890-1995,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVPX-DYBS : accessed 31 May 2015), William James Brooks and Nora Gillmore, 23 May 1909; citing Oklahoma, county courthouses, Oklahoma; FHL microfilm .

“Illinois Marriages, 1815-1935,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V2PH-W31 : accessed 31 May 2015), E. B. Gilmore and Mary E. Hunt, 24 Dec 1867; citing Pike,Illinois; FHL microfilm 1,315,801.

Year: 1900; Census Place: Kansas City Ward 4, Jackson, Missouri; Roll: 861; Page: 15A; Enumeration District: 0039; FHL microfilm: 1240861. (Ancestry.com)

Lee & Gillmore Family Tree. “Nora Rachel Gilmore.” Web accessed May 31, 2015. (Ancestry.com)

Beaver County, Oklahoma. n.d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver_County,_Oklahoma. (accessed May 31, 2015).

State of Oklahoma – Ghost Towns that Begin with the Letter “F”. USGenWeb. Web accessed May 31, 2015. [http://files.usgwarchives.net/ok/okstate/history/fghosttowns.txt]

Fernwood, Oklahoma mentioned in Appeal to Reason. October 28, 1905. p. 4. Web accessed May 31, 2015. (Newspapers.com)

Fernwood, Oklahoma mentioned in Cigarmakers Official Journal:  May 15, 1908, Vol. 32, p. 9. Web accessed May 31, 2015. (Google eBook)

View Of Cincinnati, Ohio in 1906

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Undivided back, used postcard. Postmarked June 20, 1906 from Cincinnati, Ohio. Publisher:  The Cincinnati News Company, Cincinnati, Ohio. Printed in Berlin, Germany by Leipzig. No. 3216.

Availability Status:  SOLD

A view of Cincinnati, Ohio, looking south from Mount Adams, circa 1906:  This is the fifth postcard we’ve found for the Dr. Oswald Henning Collection. (See prior posts for more information.) They were all in the same dealer’s collection for sale at an antique and vintage paper fair in California. However, they were not all together, and at the time they were purchased, the relationship between Oswald Henning and Helen Muirhead was unknown. So, it’s really unusual and interesting that they were chosen that day out of thousands in the dealer’s collection. Helen and Oswald were married on June 30, 1906, in Chicago. See the first in this series, entitled The Lake, Belle Isle Park, Detroit, Michigan for more information. As you can see, this card was postmarked only ten days before the couple got married! The card was addressed to:  “Miss Helen Muirhead, 901 Hamilton Court, Chicago.”  Oswald dated the card on the top right and he wrote:

“Dear Helen – Homeward Bound – Can hardly wait am so anxious to see you all again. Oswald”  and at top left he added,  “Am obliged to lay over here for four long hours.”

The bridge on our left appears to be the L&N (Louisville & Nashville) Railroad Bridge, which was first opened under the name of the Newport & Cincinnati Bridge, on April 1, 1872. The name changed to the L&N in 1904. The bridge was rehabilitated (and painted purple) and in 2003 re-opened for pedestrians only under the name of the Newport Southbank Bridge but is commonly called “The Purple People Bridge.”

The bridge on our right appears to be the Central Bridge (Cincinnati Newport Bridge) which opened in 1890 and was demolished in 1992. In it’s place today is the Taylor Southgate Bridge. Don’t let the church steeples in the photo fool you when you look at the Central:  They almost line up with the bridge’s two highest points.

Sources:  Crowley, Patrick. “Meet the Purple People Bridge.” The Purple People Bridge. Web accessed November 16, 2014. [http://www.purplepeoplebridge.com/History/tabid/536/Default.aspx]

Mecklenborg, Jake. “Central Bridge.”  Cincinnati-transit.net. Web accessed November 16, 2014. [http://www.cincinnati-transit.net/central.html]

Street Scene With Zacatecas Cathedral

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Divided back, unused, Real Photo Postcard. Publisher:  Kodak Mexicana, Ltd. Circa 1930s.

Price:  $15.00

In Spanish the cathedral is Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Zacatecas.

Street scene circa 1930s in Zacatecas, capital city of Zacatecas, Mexico. The Zacatecas Cathedral shows in the background. This cathedral is considered to be one of the greatest examples of the Churrigueresque (Spanish Baroque) style of architecture. The facade of the cathedral best shows the baroque style and obviously cannot be seen in this postcard but is absolutely incredible. The cathedral was built between around 1729 and 1753 (dates vary somewhat), and dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption.

The old automobile in the foreground is so cool, but to find the make, model and year requires more research. It looks like that might be the nomenclature appearing in the area between the headlights but it’s hard to read. Other cars seen in the background look like they might be somewhat newer…..

Mystery solved!

Thanks to the expertise on the members’ Forum at the Antique Automobile Club of America, the car has been identified as a 1930 American Austin. There was some question as to whether specifically it might be an Austin Bantam, and in researching the Bantam I had found this informative article on the Austin in general (and Bantam):  The Austin Comes to America – Part 1 of the American Austin Bantam Story. However, I’ve been assured by a couple of Forum members that it is not a Bantam.

A Photo Shop

We can also see that the name on the sign in the photo is Foto Santibañez. I’m not sure if there is a word in the middle, but anyway, it seems like this was a photo shop owned by someone by the last name of Santibañez. On the 1930 Mexican National Census taken in Zacatecas, there is an entry transcribed as:   MA de Jesus Santibañez. I believe the “MA” is a common abbreviation for Maria. She is listed as married, age 40, and occupation appears to be Fotógrafa (photographer) so it’s a very good bet that Maria de Jesus Santibañez was the owner of the shop that appears in this photo. I like how the camera caught someone just as they were leaving.

Sources:  Zacatecas, Zacatecas. n.d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zacatecas,_Zacatecas (accessed October 25, 2013).

Zacatecas Cathedral. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zacatecas_Cathedral (accessed January 14, 2018).

AACA General Discussion. January 2018. Antique Automobile Club of America. http://forums.aaca.org/topic/304102-what-model-car-is-this-taken-circa-1930s-zacatecas-mexico/

Cunningham, Robert D. “The Austin Comes to America – Part 1 of the American Austin Bantam Story.” The Old Motor, May 23, 2013. (Web accessed January 14, 2018.)

Year: 1930; Census Place: Zacatecas, Zacatecas, Zacatecas; FHL Number: 1520555; Page: 1. FamilySearch, comp. 1930 Mexico National Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Index and images provided by FamilySearch. Original data: FamilySearch, compiler. Mexico Census 1930. Salt Lake City, UT: FamilySearch, 2009. México. Dirección General de Estadística. “Censo de población,1930.” FHL microfilm. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

London S. W. – The Houses of Parliament

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Wonderful London street scene showing the Houses of Parliament. The tower on the left is Elizabeth Tower, but commonly known as the tower of Big Ben. Big Ben is the nickname for the tower’s bell. The horse-drawn wagons here are so interesting, particularly the bigger one with the guy hanging out on the back, looking toward the camera. Too bad we can’t make out more details on the wagons. This is the second card posted on this site with the surname of Bentzen in San Francisco. It’s likely that Charles Bentzen on the “Japanese Ladies” postcard is the older brother of Eleanor, as the address on Shrader Street is the same (per the 1920 census.)

Addressed to:  Mrs. A. Bentzen, 1 Vicksburg St. San Francisco, Californian

As far as I can tell, the card was written in Danish, but I am having trouble translating it. It looks something like:

“Kære Gusta, Kuns disse kort for at forbere de dig at jeg vil sende dig et Brev jeg troer ikke sky[?] edin[?] er min du du sagve[?] i det sidste[?] Brev du fly[?] første[?]. Din Onkel, K..?..”

The second part of the message is harder to read but the first part I think would be translated as something like:

“Dear Gusta. Only sending these cards to let you know that I will send you a letter. I do not believe …?………Your Uncle [starts with a K?]”

Gusta Bentzen was Augusta Bentzen, wife of Hjalmar Bentzen, according to the 1920 Federal Census taken in San Francisco. This census shows Hjalmar Bentzen, born Denmark about 1873, manager of a bakery; his wife Augusta, born Denmark about 1879; their daughter Eleanor, born Denmark about 1904. The family emigrated to the U.S. in about 1905 or 1906. Their address in 1920 was 1445 Shrader St. Daughter Eleanor’s name, written in pencil under the address, is the key to finding the family on this census.

Divided back, used postcard. Postmarked Oct. 5, 1907. Stamp box shows made in France. Front shows “4 London S. W. – The houses of Parliament, – L. L.”

Price:  $15.00

Sources:  Big Ben. n.d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Ben (accessed October 14, 2013).

Year: 1920; Census Place: San Francisco Assembly District 27, San Francisco, California; Roll: T625_142; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 340; Image: 701. (Ancestry.com.)