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)

Greetings From Waverly, Missouri

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Divided back, used “Linen” postcard. Postmarked September 23, 1938 from Waverly, Missouri. Publisher info:  “NYCE” Quality Colored Landscape Locals. Made in U.S.A. Series or number 61240.

Price:  $5.00

“Dear Mrs. Ellison. We are leaving for home next week. Have had a grand visit. Have been to visit all of Mac’s relations. And have pictures of them all. Love. from Virginia, Mac & girls.”

Oh, how the historians today for Mac and Virginia’s family would love to see those photos! Hopefully, they still exist and are in the next generation’s safe keeping. This is another from the Alice Ellison collection.

Waverly is a small town in Lafayette County (northwestern MO) that was established in the 1840s. It’s known for its wineries and also as the “Apple Capital of Missouri.” It overlooks the Missouri River, though it’s likely that the image depicted here is a generic one.

Sources:  Waverly. n.d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waverly,_Missouri. (accessed May 28, 2015).

Waverly – Apple Capital of Missouri. Web accessed May 28, 2015. [http://www.waverly-mo.com/]

Ensign Kinne, Photographer

See our Waukegan, IL WWII Sailor post for a Kinne & Meyer photo.

Ensign Kinne was born March 22, 1878, in Housatonic, Massachusetts, died October 20, 1940, in Shields Township, Lake County, Illinois, and was buried October 23, 1940 in Pittsfield, Mass. He was the son of Massachusetts native Finneus Morgan Kinne and Lucretia Bowers. Ensign Kinne’s occupation on this death record is given as Photographer, and residence Waukegan. He was single, and a veteran of WWI.

Ensign Kinne’s early life:  several city directories starting with 1891 for Chicopee and running through 1898 for Westfield, MA show Ensign’s occupation as Clerk, working for his father, P. M. (Phineas M.) Kinne, who ran a billiard parlor on Elm in Westfield (on the 1898 directory) and was advertised as “dealer in temperance drinks, cigars, tobacco, etc.”

Army enlistment:  age 26 and 5/12. (Record dated August 23, 1904.)

The 1910 Federal Census shows him incorrectly listed as Ensign “Kaiser”, Musician 1c; stationed at the Navy yard in Puget Sound, Washington; ship name U.S.S. Washington.

The application below for a military headstone shows his Navy enlistment was September 20, 1915 – September 19, 1919.

App for Headstone

The 1920 Federal Census record for Waukegan, Illinois, shows “Esign” Kinne, renting at 122 County St., self-employed photographer.

Surprisingly, as far as Meyer & Kinne, Meyer wasn’t located, and the only other reference currently found for the studio was in a compiled military photo list (no photos)  “Circa 1920s…Staff in front of Barracks A, Kinne & Meyer photograph.”  But it’s interesting how these posts at Laurel Cottage often come together – for this one and the prior two – WWI Army, WWII Navy, and a photographer who served in WWI Army and Navy, with the first name of Ensign. How common was this given name? When we hear it today, we probably think military, but in browsing through the census records through the 1880s – 1940s it’s a name that comes up often.

Sources:  Ancestry.com. Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947

Original data: Springfield, MA, 1890: Price, Lee & Co., 1890.Springfield, MA, 1891: Price, Lee & Co., 1891.

R. S. Dillon & Co.’s Westfield Directory, 1898. p. 169. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989.

Register of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M233, 81 rolls); Records of the Adjutant General’s Office, 1780’s-1917, Record Group 94; National Archives, Washington, D.C. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1910; Census Place: USS Washington, Puget Sound, Washington, Military and Naval Forces; Roll: T624_1784; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 0125; FHL microfilm: 1375797. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1920; Census Place: Waukegan, Lake, Illinois; Roll: T625_382; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 278; Image: 291 (Ancestry.com)

Original data: Applications for Headstones for U.S. Military Veterans, 1925-1941. Microfilm publication M1916, 134 rolls. ARC ID: 596118. Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, Record Group 92. National Archives at Washington, D.C. (Ancestry.com)

“Company Photos.” p. 1. Sept 27, 2006. Naval History and Heritage Command. Web accessed May 25, 2015. [http://www.history.navy.mil/museums/greatlakes/companyphotos.pdf]

Waukegan, IL WWII Sailor

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A portrait of a handsome young man in United States Navy uniform, WWII. There is no identifying information on the back, but the photographer’s studio shows the  imprint of Kinne & Meyer, Waukegan, – Illinois.

Kinne was possibly Ensign Kinne, (1878 – 1940). His counterpart, Meyer, is unknown at this time. Waukegan city directories are not showing the studio name, though there was a printer named Meyer who may have gone in with Ensign Kinne or taken over after Kinne’s death. Kinne was himself a veteran (WWI). We’ll look for him further in the next post.

Studio portrait of unknown sailor, US Navy. Photography studio:  Kinne & Meyer, Waukegan, IL.

Price:  $10.00      Size:  About 4 x 6″

Source:  Ancestry.com. Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947

Novacella Abbey

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You would not know that there is any printing at the bottom of this postcard (in the banner type design) unless you enlarge it. It shows “Brixen (560m) Kloster Neustift, Engelsburg.” This is a Stengel & Co. card of Novella Abbey or Kloster Neustift. This abbey is located in Northern Italy, near the town of Bressanone, in the Italian Alps. It was founded in 1142 by the Bishop of Brixen, and thriving today, still run by the Augustinian Canons Regular, an order of monks that help care for more than 20 parishes as well as run the abbey, produce award winning wines, etc. Check out the link above. (I want to visit there now.)

As far as a time frame for the postcard, I searched online for the series or number 2481 and found a different postcard, but same number, of almost the exact image on another website, by the same publisher. See 1900 – Brixen, Kloster Neustift Engelsburg. I believe the “1900” refers to the year of the postcard. But check out the differences in the two cards. And this is always interesting – you can see that either one or both of them have been altered from whatever the original photo was (and then we kind of wonder why the publisher would have taken the trouble to make changes.) But notice in the “linked in” postcard that the figure with the staff is not proportionate to the other people. And notice that in the postcard that we have there is a different figure with a staff (a shepherd, well presumably both figures are shepherds) with a goat. In the other image the goat is much smaller, stands next to the two ladies and could easily be mistaken for a dog. And there are other differences, of course, but you get the idea. It’s like one of those exercises for kids (find the things that don’t match) and rather fun!

Divided back, unused postcard. Publisher:  Stengel & Co., G. m. b. H., Dresden. Series or number 2481. Circa 1900.

Price:  $18.00

Sources:  Kloster Neustift. Web accessed May 24, 2015. [http://www.kloster-neustift.it/en/order-convent/abbazia-di-novacella-today.html]

Martinschitz, Ernst. “1900 – Brixen, Kloster Neustift Englesburg.” imBildTV. Web accessed May 24, 2015. [http://www.imbild.tv/index.php?option=com_pic_places&view=pic_ef&tmpl=component&fto=800021464&nr=17&fmt=ser]

First Church Of Christ, Scientist, Boston

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Well! How nice to be wrong when thinking this might have to go to the mystery category. It’s normally quite painstaking to identify (if we get lucky) unknown buildings. But this one was found in Google images of domed churches showing right up at the top. No scrolling, even! The building in the foreground is the original church, but see a full description of both buildings in this Wiki article.

And, of course, this is a Real Photo Postcard, and according to Playle.com, this style of Defender stamp box logo dates from about 1920 – 1945.

Divided back, Real Photo Postcard, unused. Defender stamp box. Circa 1920 – 1945.

Price:  $20.00

Sources:  First Church of Christ, Scientist. n.d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_First_Church_of_Christ,_Scientist. (accessed May 24, 2015).

Real Photo Postcard Stamp Boxes. Playle.com. Web accessed May 24, 2015. [http://www.playle.com/realphoto/photod.php]

Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh

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“Dear Family – We were through this old palace today – Happy can tell you its history and the State rooms that we saw are gorgeous. We love Edinbourgh and hate to leave it. Having good weather & a wonderful time. Write me in London. June.”

Addressed to:   “Mrs. Eva Thompson, Pittsboro, Indiana. U.S.A.  RFD”

The year is unreadable on the postal marking which looks like it might indicate 24 July but the stamp is a brown three halfpence Postal Union Congress 1929 stamp. This was one of five special commemorative stamps that were issued on May 10, 1929 by the 9th Postal Union Congress. The PUC was a formal meeting that took place every four years between members of the UPU (Universal Postal Union).

Which Mrs. Eva Thompson….

One could easily get led astray here:  There is an Eva Thompson in Guilford Township, Hendricks County, but another Eva Thompson in Center Township, Hendricks County. Most likely the connection is with the second Eva:  Center Township is closer (3 – 4 miles south) to Pittsboro than Guilford Township. And the 1920 Federal Census taken in Center Township shows Nathan J. Thompson, born about 1867, his wife Eva, born about 1867, and their children Milbern, Maurice and June. All are natives of Indiana. So, our postcard sender should be June Thompson, born about 1908, who is likely married to “Happy.” June would be about 22 years old then, when she would have addressed this postcard to her mother.

Looking a little further we discover an October 1929 Laconia passenger list (Liverpool, England to New York, NY) for Milford and June Davidson (spelled Davison.) June’s date of birth on this record is June 3, 1907, and place of birth Danville, Indiana, which is in Center Township. Milford was born in Hanford, California, March 27, 1905. Find A Grave shows a June (Thompson) Davidson. June and Milford were living in Berkeley, California by 1930. Milford’s occupation is chemist. A couple of Peoria, Illinois city directories (1955 – 1956) list Milford and June, with Milford as chief chemist for Pabst Brewery.

Divided back, used Real Photo Postcard. Postmarked July 24, 1929[?] location difficult to read, possibly Edinburgh, Scotland.

Price:  $15.00

Sources:  1929 Postal Union Congress Stamp Issue. GBStamp.co.uk. Web accessed May 24, 2015. [http://www.gbstamp.co.uk/1929-puc-stamp-issue.php]

Year: 1920; Census Place: Center, Hendricks, Indiana; Roll: T625_436; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 30; Image: 607. (Ancestry.com)

Find A Grave Memorial# 126019609. Find A Grave. Web accessed May 24, 2015.

Year: 1930; Census Place: Berkeley, Alameda, California; Roll: 111; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0320; Image: 1028.0; FHL microfilm: 2339846. (Ancestry.com)

Peoria, Illinois city directories for 1955 and 1956. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989

Scottish Lass Trade Card

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Victorian Era trade card. Washington registered trade mark. Circa 1889 – 1890s. Condition:  Poor, regrettably, due to top middle piece having become torn away from the whole; creases in top and bottom left corners; top right corner missing.

Size:  4 and 1/2 x 6 and 1/2″

Price:  $7.00

A beautiful red-haired lassie in Rob Roy MacGregor-Black (?) plaid skirt and jacket, and a tam-o-shanter with red wings, holds a peacock feather-designed fan. She is posed standing on a path in the forest, with her arm draped protectively around a lamb, who rests just next to her on a grassy ledge. Girl and lamb are looking off to their right. The design ends up to be a little comical – it appears that the lamb wears a little pointed hat (!) but really that is just the bonny lassie’s arm showing through her sleeve – her long sleeves being slit almost up to the shoulder. Very stylish!

At the bottom of this Victorian Era trade card is the wording:   Washington. And then in smaller print, “Trade Mark Registered.”  What is meant by Washington? Our best guess is that it’s one of a series of cards for each state in the Union. Washington became as state November 11, 1889.

Heather And Roses For Clara

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Here’s a lovely old postcard (does it remind you of Scotland?) from around 1910 or so, of a lone figure on a pathway that zigzags through fields of purple heather. Overlaying this scene are some pale pink old roses.

“Best regards from Mabel Reeves.”  Sent to:   “Miss Clara Mason, Shannon City, Iowa.”

Though the postmark year is missing this postcard is probably from around 1910 from which we’d feel pretty certain that the Mabel E. Reeves appearing on the 1910 and 1920 Federal Census’ for Vinton would be the correct Mabel. She appears there with her parents and younger siblings, all natives of Iowa; Mabel born about 1895; parents Lewis and Lula M. Reeves, both born about 1873; Florence R. Reeves, born about 1901, and Harold Reeves, born about 1905. Lewis Reeves on both records is working for the Standard Oil Company.

Clara Mason appears to be the daughter of Marcus Mason and Lola (Streight) Mason, per Clara’s marriage record to Harry (Henry) J. Dippert. Clara and Harry were married August 26, 1921 in Creston, Iowa. The 1910 census for Grant, Union County, IA shows Clara, born in South Dakota (a nice tie-in to the prior post set in SD) about 1890; her father M. D. Mason, a self-employed farmer, born in West Virginia about 1858; mother Lola, born in New York about 1866.

Divided back, used postcard. Postmarked from Vinton, Iowa, April 10th or 16th, year unknown. Publisher unknown. Circa 1910.

Price:  $10.00

Sources:  Year: 1910; Census Place: Vinton Ward 3, Benton, Iowa; Roll: T624_391; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 0024; FHL microfilm: 1374404. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1920; Census Place: Vinton Ward 3, Benton, Iowa; Roll: T625_477; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 26; Image: 1157. (Ancestry.com)

Ancestry.com. Iowa, Select Marriages, 1809-1992. FHL film no. 1728322. Ref. i.d. 2:3KSNJ7P.

Year: 1910; Census Place: Grant, Union, Iowa; Roll: T624_425; Page: 14A; Enumeration District: 0150; FHL microfilm: 1374438. (Ancestry.com)