Category Archives: Postcards Used

Scene On The Creek, Columbia MO

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1906 postcard addressed to:  “Miss Allie Bryant, Brunswick Mo.”

The sender wrote,  “Be sure to make it a point to come see me some time. If there is an excursion come[?]. Give the girls at the store my love and tell Edith I’m awfully sorry I didn’t get to see her before I left. Write me some more letters please.  [?] C. Margaret F.[?]   314 Hitt St. Columbia Mo.”

The U. S. City Directories for Columbia in 1909 show a Miss Margaret Faller rooming at 314 Hitt St; a student at the University of Missouri. She is also listed in the U of M school yearbook Savitar in 1909, as of member of the Home Economics Club, estimated born 1889. (No photo, darn!) Impossible to say for sure, but it would be a good bet that this Margaret would be the same person that wrote this postcard to her friend, Allie. Allie Bryant was found in the Federal Census records for 1900 and 1910; two census records for 1910 actually, which is somewhat unusual, but not unheard of.

One of the 1910s shows Allie and her family living in Brunswick, Chariton County, Missouri:  parents Daniel A. (occupation farmer) and Bettie W. Bryant; children Allie B., (born Missouri about 1885, saleswoman for a general merchandise store), Edna A., Louis M., Harry C., and Earle F. The other 1910 census, taken in Triplett, Chariton County, shows Allie is boarding with head of household Nora B. Allega[?] and others, and working as a sales lady in a general store. Both census records were taken in April, about a week apart, so Allie may have just been visiting her family when she was listed on that census. But, her occupation coincides with friend Margaret’s request to be remembered to the girls at the store.

The creek in the photo is another matter entirely. Which local tributary was called “the creek”? Nothing was found to shed any light on this subject as of the date of this posting.

Non-divided back postcard, postmarked September 28, 1906, from Columbia, Missouri.

Price:  $10.00

Sources:  Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line].

Ancestry.com. U.S. School Yearbooks [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Various school yearbooks from across the United States.

Year: 1900; Census Place: Brunswick, Chariton, Missouri; Roll: 847; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 0029; FHL microfilm: 1240847. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1910; Census Place: Brunswick Ward 1, Chariton, Missouri; Roll: T624_776; Page: 13B; Enumeration District: 0030; FHL microfilm: 1374789. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1910; Census Place: Triplett, Chariton, Missouri; Roll: T624_776; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 0045; FHL microfilm: 1374789.  (Ancestry.com)

 

 

Greetings From Hamilton, Ontario

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Divided back, linen, used postcard. Postmarked August 22, 1954 from Hamilton, Ontario. Published by Royalty Specialty Sales, 118 Queen E., Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A Colourpicture Publication. Made in Canada.

Price:  $5.00

“Greetings From Hamilton, Ontario, Canada”

Beautiful Linen, Large Letter postcard from our Alice Ellison Collection, addressed to:  “Mr. & Mrs. G. Hume, 2100 Virginia St., Berkeley, Calif. USA” 

The sender wrote:  “Dear Mr. & Mrs. Hume. Here I am in Hamilton after a lovely trip. I hope you are both in the best of health. Will write you when I get settled   Love, Jean Leslie”

Greetings From Los Angeles, Cal.

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Divided back, embossed, used postcard. Printed in Germany. Postmarked 1910 from Los Angeles, California. Series 506. Publisher unknown.

Price:  $5.00

Addressed to:  “Mrs. J. M. Ellison, 26th St. & Cheyenne Ave, Pueblo Colo.”

The sender wrote:  “I sent the eye medicine today by Wells Fargo express. I paid the full charges on it so don’t you pay any more.  Dossie”

Lovely German-printed postcard from 1910 from which the stamp had been removed. I’m thinking that the flowers are probably asters. The Wells Fargo reference is interesting. In 1910 the Wells Fargo Wagon (like in the song from The Music Man) would have been delivering goods all over the country. Their website states that in 1910 “the company’s network linked 6,000 locations.” And the Wells Fargo blog listed below indicates that in 1910 motorized trucks started being used in Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Orange, New Jersey, so the delivery referenced on this postcard must of been of the horse-drawn wagon variety.

Sources:  https://www.wellsfargo.com/about/history/adventure/since_1852

Riggs, C. (2014, March 28). The Road Ahead: Wells Fargo and Trucking. [Blog] Guided by History. Retrieved from: https://blogs.wellsfargo.com/guidedbyhistory/2014/03/trucking/ [Accessed 11 May. 2014]

Mary’s Little Lamb

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“It followed her to school one day, Which was against the rule;”

Cute postcard showing the above caption from the children’s nursery rhyme,  “Mary Had A Little Lamb.”  Funny on our end here to look at the writing on the sign above the schoolhouse door – to wonder if there was an actual school name there, or something discernible (as in I wonder what the artist was thinking…)  Anyway, this card appears to be addressed to:  “Mrs. N. Oldham, Santa Clara, Cal.”  The sender wrote,

“Dear Nellie, your sweet letter came. I am glad your [?] is well  Arline.”  The sender Arline, had an unusual way of writing the cursive small “s.” You can see that the “s” in sweet is the same as the “s” in the word that looks like “siz” and appears to be the same for the “s” in the word that appears to be “Mrs.” in the address line. Maybe it’s “siz” as is sister. There is also writing on the front in the border, but it’s very difficult to make out. The part that is legible is  “…I will write you a letter as soon as I…”  The unusual thing about this postcard is that it was stamped in three different cities. It must of went from Piedmont to Oakland to Santa Clara.

There is a Nellie Oldham in Santa Clara on the Federal Census in 1900, age 4, living with her father, William Riley Oldham and older brother William. The family is staying with Nellie’s grandparents, George and Isobel Oldham. In 1888, George and Isobel’s son, William Riley Oldham, married Nellie Grant Hite. William R. is listed as married on the 1900 census but his wife is not listed. This could have been incorrectly recorded, as the census taker mistakenly recorded the grandchildren as children. There are Ancestry family trees that show a death date for Nellie Grant (Hite) Oldham (Nellie’s mother) as 1897, so prior to the census, and in Santa Clara, but no sources are listed. William Riley Oldham is found on the 1920 census and listed there as widowed. If the Nellie on the 1900 census was the receiver of this card, she would have been about twelve in 1908, but it’s just speculation that this postcard has any connection to her. The difficulty is that the card seems to have been addressed to Mrs. N. Oldham, (Nellie’s mother.) ….The son William Oldham is William Riley Oldham, Jr. and his passport photo can be found online.

Divided back postcard. Three postmarks:  Sender’s location of Piedmont, California on January 20, 1908; stamped the same day in Oakland, California; and at the receiver’s location of Santa Clara, California on January 21, 1908. American Post Cards “Mary And Her Lamb” Series No. 67, No. 1761. Publisher:  The Ullman Manufacturing Co., New York.

Source:  Year: 1900; Census Place: Santa Clara, Santa Clara, California; Roll: 111; Page: 11A; Enumeration District: 0078; FHL microfilm: 1240111. (Ancestry.com)

Norman Cutler, Five Years Old

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Divided back, Real Photo Postcard. Postmarked July 12, 1909 from Belleville, Michigan.

Price:  $15.00

“Here is one of my birthday Postals – Five Years old the 9th of July, Norman.”

Real Photo Postcard addressed to  “Mrs. Rose Heistand, City”
from Belleville, Michigan on July 12, 1909. Cute, though blurry, photo of five-year old Norman in his sailor suit and showing a casual pose.

The city is not specified for the addressee but perhaps it was assumed by all to be Detroit. Belleville, established in 1905, is a small town about 29 miles southwest of Detroit. Though Norman’s last name is not given on the postcard, I believe it is Cutler. Norman Cutler, age 5, appears on the 1910 Federal Census for Van Buren Township, Wayne County, Michigan. The village of Belleville was included as part of Van Buren Township on this census. This is the only Norman on this census, and the age fits, and the SSDI online record shows Norman Cutler with the same date of birth given on the postcard of July 9, 1904. The 1910 census was enumerated on May 4, 1910, so age 5 at last birthday, fits exactly:  since he was born in 1904, he would have been turning 6 in 1910. From the census, his parents are Charles and Dora Cutler, both born in Michigan. Charles’ occupation is farmer, and living with them is housekeeper, Pearl Thompson. By 1920 the Cutler family has moved to Detroit; Charles’ occupation appears to be paperhanger at a store; living with them are several boarders; and most importantly, they have added another member:  daughter, Selma, (and of course younger sister to Norman.)

As for Rose Heistand, it turns out she would be harder to try to locate; she is not showing up in some quick searches for Detroit and environs and there are too many possibilities under this name in various states.

Sources:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belleville,_Michigan

Year: 1910; Census Place: Van Buren, Wayne, Michigan; Roll: T624_679; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 0308; FHL microfilm: 1374692. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1920; Census Place: Detroit Ward 21, Wayne, Michigan; Roll: T625_818; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 626; Image: 833. (Ancestry.com)

Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-Current [database on-line].

Pansies

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Divided back, artist-signed postcard. Postmarked from Nebraska (probably Holbrook) September 7, 1910. Publisher:  Arthur Capper. Copyright 1909. Artist:  B. Bieletto.

Price:  $12.00

“If I dared to think you cared,

The thought would be divine;

And so I pray that you will say:

‘You will be mine!'”

A beautiful postcard with the nice verse above, on a country scene, showing pansies in the foreground, a river on the left, and a field with mountains in the background. The border and sky are done in gold-tone, and the artist’s signature appears at the bottom right. The artist’s last name is Bieletto. There is an Italian artist, Benedetto Busetto Bieletto, in Chicago. This is possibly the artist for this postcard. This possibility will be explored and put up in a near future post. The card is addressed to:  “Miss Lena Davis. Pomona Kanasa [Kansas]”  and J. W. has written,

“Sept 7 1910 Dear cousin. I rced your card sever day ago was kind surprise to here you had sold out what was the mater   did your folks like it there we are thursh [threshing] this week here i am up home this week i am well and hope yous get throw [through?] all right  J.W.C.”

One of ten (unless we come across more) postcards from J. W. Carter of Holbrook, Nebraska, that he sent to his cousin, Lena Davis. (There will be another category put up under Lena Davis later.) As we can see by the spelling, J. W., like many of his day, must not have had a terribly long formal education. It seems that he must have made his living as a farmer or stock hand. This is the first of a great set from J. W. In reading all ten postcards to cousin Lena, you get a sense that J. W. was a caring person. I like how he fills up the cards, and how their content shows a small slice of rural Nebraska life in the early 1900s.

This card was likely postmarked from Holbrook, Nebraska. Holbrook today is a small town in the southern area of the state; their website indicating the population at about 225. The town is about 250 miles west of Omaha, and about 300 miles east of Denver, Colorado. Holbrook was first known as “Burton’s Bend,” after Isaac Burton who opened up a log cabin trading post there in 1870. A post office was established in August of 1872, and the railroad came through in the late 1870s. The town’s name was changed in 1881, in honor of an official for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. These postcard dates range from 1910 -1914, and it is interesting to think that when J. W. Carter was writing these cards, the settlement was only just over 40 years old.

There is a James W. Carter listed in the 1910 Federal Census for Burton Bend, NE. This person was born in Illinois, about 1875; both parents were born in England; his marital status is divorced; his occupation is “Stock, Farm” and he is boarding with John A. Hudson and John’s wife Loeye[?] Also boarding with the Hudsons is a young woman, age about 16, Urlia[?] Fanholc[?] It’s interesting to note that we can see from this census, that although the name of the town may have been officially changed, it was still referred to by some as Burton’s Bend. It’s likely that this James W. Carter is the same person who has written these postcards.

Sources:  http://www.holbrook-ne.com/

Year: 1910; Census Place: Burton Bend, Furnas, Nebraska; Roll: T624_846; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 0078; FHL microfilm: 1374859. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006

I’ll Stick To You

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Divided back, used postcard. Publisher:  S. Bergman, New York. Copyrighted 1913. No. 6508. Postmarked May 18, 1914 from Pueblo, Colorado.

Price:  $5.00

“I’ll stick to you thru thick and thin.”

Cute image of a little boy and girl on an early motorcycle, or perhaps a motorized bicycle, with the above caption. The girl wears a red outfit and hat with black tassels, and is looking back over her shoulder, smiling. The boy is outfitted for the road in his green motorcycle suit, brown boots, cap and gloves.

Sent to,  “Mr. J. M. Ellison. Gen. Del. Sacramento, Calif.”

The sender wrote,  “Dear Mike. I am sending this card to you to let you no we are all well. We had a letter from Lizzie this morning. Tell Dossie we got her letter and many thanks for the 5.00 spot. Good By.   Wiflie[?]”     The sender (hard to read his or her signature – Wilfie as a nickname for Wilfred?) added,  “Mr. Henson The baptist preacher was out to see me and said for me to give you his best reguard.”

On the postmarked year, the 1 in 1914 didn’t get imprinted, but presuming it’s a 1 rather than 2, due to the copyright date of the card. The publisher logo is also visible underneath the postmark, and shows a capital “B” inside an artist’s palette with the words “Bergman Quality” underneath.

This card is another from our Alice Ellison Collection.

Bunnies In The Backyard

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Divided back, lightly embossed, used postcard. Postmarked March 24, 1910 from Axtell, Nebraska. Publisher unknown.

Price:  $4.00

“Axtell Nebr., Mar. 24, ’10 – Dear cousin Ida. How are you by this time we are all well hope this will reach you all the same. You had better come with your mother and Josie out here this summer. It blew something terrible yesterday but to-day it is still and nice. Have you got any small chickens yet we got two hens that are hatching. As ever your Cousin Alice.”

Addressed to:  “Miss Ida Nelson, Terril, Iowa, Box 5”

Tea with kitty, breakfast with bunny….

This is a great card for me, as it so reminds me of myself with our own bunny (as previously mentioned on a prior post.) After, what I’ve come to refer to as  “Tea With Kitty”  comes  “Breakfast With Bunny.”  Breakfast with the bun takes place in the backyard, in a setting much like the one here, with a high fence, and greenery, and with me on the garden bench with my cereal, and the bun bun, just like on this card, to my left, with her varied plateful of kale, parsley, roses, dandelion leaves and flowers, etc. (Enough about me, but it is interesting to find the ones where art imitates life or there is some special connection.)

You might not notice at first, the caption in script at the top which says,  “A Joyful Easter.”  And just to describe the card, it shows two reddish brown bunnies and a white one (the lookout maybe, making sure everything is okay) in a garden setting. The brown bunnies are being fed some greens by a little girl in her Easter dress, who sits on a garden bench. She has gold ringlets, and holds Easter eggs in her lap.

The receiver of this card was not found in online records, though there are plenty of Nelsons in Dickenson County, and even in the town of Terril.

Welcome Easter Morning

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We welcome Easter morning today, just as this postcard did 101 years ago. This card is from an unknown publisher who appears to be the very same unknown publisher for the post entitled Easter Greetings To Uncle Dewey.  Anyway, this is another beauty showing a couple of ever-so-cute brown and white bunnies; one is stationary and the smaller one, at the bottom of the card, is running and has his back feet up in the air. The background is white with a beautifully embossed flower design; white embossed flowers appear in the corners; the border is yellow-green and the caption is gold-tone with colorful capital letters. The card was sent from the Fletcher, Kansas post office, and the sender wrote:

“Hello. I received your card a long time ago, was glad to get it. How are you, I am just fine. Wish I could see you. How are you teaching school. Best Easter greeting – your Friend.  Elsie Winger”

Addressed to:  “Miss Mattie Winter, Richmond, Kans.”  It looks like the date was either March or May 18, 1913. Check out how the embossing looks as seen from the back of the card – so cute! In searching for the addressee in online records, we find quite a few entries. The 1910 Federal Census taken in Richmond, Franklin County, Kansas, is one such entry, and shows Mattie with her widowed father and her sister. The census shows:  Austin W. Winter, teamster, born Illinois about 1852; Anna L., no occupation, born Kansas about 1881; and Mattie J., Public School teacher, born Kansas about 1889. Since there is no street address for Mattie one assumes Richmond was a small town in 1913, and a Wikipedia search indicates that as of the 2000 Federal Census, the population in Richmond Township was 812, and some more searching confirms that Richmond was indeed a small community back when this card was sent. See the excellent website listed below re Franklin County for more history on the town.

As to the sender, Elsie Winger:  This was a puzzle for a short while, as Fletcher, Kansas was not identified online as a current or defunct town. It turns out Fletcher was the name of the post office which was located in Mitchell Township, Stanton County, KS. We then can be quite confident in assuming that it is the correct Elsie Winger, with her parents and brothers, that is on the 1910 Federal Census taken in Mitchell Township. (No other possibilities show up.) This census shows:  James H. Winger, farmer, born Indiana about 1873; his wife Luiza J., born Missouri about 1880; Elsie M., born Kansas about 1901; William H., born Kansas about 1907; and Harold K., born Kansas about 1908. It’s interesting to note that this census shows an Elsie M. Chapman, also age nine, living next door to the Wingers. So, Elsie Winger would have been about twelve years old when she wrote and sent this postcard to friend Mattie, who would have been about twenty-four.

Divided back, embossed, used postcard. Postmarked March or May 18, 1913 from the Fletcher post office, Mitchell Township, Kansas. Publisher unknown.

Price:  $10.00

Sources:  Year: 1910; Census Place: Richmond, Franklin, Kansas; Roll: T624_439; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 0099; FHL microfilm: 1374452. (Ancestry.com)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond_Township,_Franklin_County,_Kansas

http://www.franklincokshistory.org/places-2/towns/richmond/

http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/1912/f/fletcher.html

Year: 1910; Census Place: Mitchell, Stanton, Kansas; Roll: T624_455; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 0208; FHL microfilm: 1374468. (Ancestry.com)