Category Archives: St. Patrick’s Day

With Every Fond Wish

Posted on by
Reply

Divided Back, embossed postcard. Copyright 1908, Julius Bien & Co., New York. Postmarked March 15, 1909 from Kansas City, Missouri. “St. Patrick” Series Number 740.

Price:  $12.00

Just realized we missed posting a St. Valentine’s card last month, oops! But here’s a gorgeous one for St. Pat’s Day.

Addressed to:   “Miss Elizabeth Waite, Salina, Kansas. Hoyt-West Millinery Co.”

The sender wrote:   “Only a postal from Myrtle. I leave here Monday eve for Wellington. Hope you are all O.K.”

Elizabeth Waite, according the the 1910 Federal Census was a milliner, so this card was sent c/o her employer. She is the daughter of Isaac Smith Waite and Lizzie Hogle, born native to Ohio. Elizabeth was born in Kansas, October 19, 1884.

In searching for Hoyt-West Millinery, among other mentions, we’ve clipped part of the “Town Gossip” section of The National Field, March 5, 1908. (How’s that for a pretty close date to our postcard?) The interesting thing is the mention of a Myrtle Wilcox accepting a position with Hoyt-West. So, this could be the same Myrtle that sent this card.

Another clip below; this one mentioning Elizabeth:

Sources:  Year: 1910; Census Place: Salina Ward 4, Saline, Kansas; Roll: T624_455; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 0138; FHL microfilm: 1374468. (Ancestry.com).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/125233967/elizabeth-s-waite: accessed 17 March 2023), memorial page for Elizabeth S. Waite (19 Oct 1884–1 Mar 1983), Find a Grave Memorial ID 125233967, citing Gypsum Hill Cemetery, Salina, Saline County, Kansas, USA; Maintained by Mayflower Pilgrim 332 (contributor 47081711).

“Town Gossip.” The National Field, March 5, 1908. Thursday, p. 5. (Newspapers.com).

“Local Items.” The Salina Evening Journal.July 20, 1909. Tuesday, p. 2. (Newspapers.com).

Acme Bar And Oyster Saloon

Posted on by
Reply

Trade card, circa 1882 – 1883, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Price:  $15.00                 Size:  2 and 1/2 x 4 and 5/8″

Acme Bar and Oyster Saloon. 9 and 11 Royal Street, Open at All Hours. J. M. Shannon, Proprietor.

“All are welcome to my shrine,

Call day or night, or any time,

My address is nine and eleven,

Embark for Royal street, then you are in Heaven.”

I’ve been away from posting new items a ridiculously long time, too much of the regular job rolling around upstairs and the laundry and dishes and gardening, etc. threatening to overtake, as usual. Or, at least that’s how it’s seemed. But back now, so here’s a leprechaun in a cabbage patch for St. Patrick’s Day, put out by J. M. Shannon, proprietor of the Acme Bar and Oyster Saloon. Oysters were big back in the day! My own great-grandmother, Sarah Durning, worked for a short time at the W. H. Dewey Ice Cream and Oyster House in Detroit, so we believe, from a city directory entry in 1880. Anyway, that’s nothing to do with J. M. Shannon’s Acme, but just mentioning, because Sarah was of Irish descent, like Shannon must have been. Notice how the  first letters of the verse above spells ACME. Clever!

So, where was the Acme Bar and Oyster Saloon? New Orleans and that’s a fact. There’s an Acme Oyster House in the French Quarter, present-day, established 1910, and one would think there might be a connection, at least as inspiration, since as we found out from newspaper clippings, the 19th-century Acme business had been a popular one of pretty long-standing, though it had changed ownership multiple times.

Appearing in the St. Tammany Farmer, April 21, 1883:

Below, two clippings from Commercial Bulletin, Price-Current and Shipping List. July 5, and July 12, 1882:

John M. Shannon, prior steward of the Pickwick Club

John Shannon, along with Peter McGrath to be more precise

Prior to Shannon in 1882-’83 we find the Acme Saloon, aka Acme Oyster Bay and Saloon under Gerome M. Borges, proprietor, circa 1876 – 1878, per city directories. This gem of an ad below is clipped from The New Orleans Daily Democrat, February 13, 1877:

Appearing in the Louisiana Review, September 11, 1889, the Acme was owned by Henry Langhetee:

By at least October 1893, the Acme had changed ownership again, this time to James McGowan, well-known in the New Orleans, according to the clipping below:

Sources:  “Acme Bar.”  St. Tammany Farmer, April 21, 1883. Saturday, p. 3. (Newspapers.com).

“The Acme.”  Commercial Bulletin, Price-Current and Shipping List. July 5, 1882. Wednesday, p. 2. (Newspapers.com).

“The prestige….”  Commercial Bulletin, Price-Current and Shipping List. July 12, 1882. Wednesday, p. 2. (Newspapers.com).

L. Sourds & Co.’s New Orleans City Directory, 1878. Page 97. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995.

“Citizens and Strangers!”  The New Orleans Daily Democrat, February 13, 1877. Tuesday, p. 4. (Newspapers.com).

“The Acme bar, oyster saloon and restaurant.”  Louisiana Review, September 11, 1889. Wednesday, p. 6. (Newspapers.com).

“The Acme, 9 and 11 Royal Street.”  The Times-Picayune, October 2, 1893. Monday, p. 8. (Newspapers.com).

Three Cheers

Posted on by
Reply

Divided back, embossed, used postcard. Postmarked February 25, 1910 from Pueblo, Colorado. St. Patrick Series No. 3.

Price:  $3.00

“Erin Go Bragh”

Three cheers for Old Erin’s Isle,

Three cheers for the harp and flag of green.

Three cheers for the shamrock boys,

And a kiss for the Irish Colleen.”

Another for St. Pat’s Day….Three-leaf clovers this time, and a pretty, rather heavily corseted colleen, pinning a clover on her man’s lapel. They’re out for a night on the town, she in her finest dress, he in top hat and tails. He’s bringing the shillelagh though, just in case of any trouble. 😉  Addressed to:   “Mr. J. M. Ellison, Sawnee, Okla.”  which the sender probably wrote in haste, as it should, of course, be Shawnee. She writes:

“2 – 25 -10.  Dear Mike: – Your letter received and I want you to do what ever you think best about that place. It sounds alright to me. Hope to see you soon. Love from all, Ma.”

Luck From Mattie Hicks, 1908

Posted on by
Reply

Undivided back, embossed, unused postcard. Publisher:  Raphael Tuck & Sons’  “St. Patricks Day Post Cards.”

Price:  $3.00

“St. Patrick’s Day – and I wish you Luck.”

Happy St. Pat’s Day! Here’s a barefoot country lass (love the fringe on the shawl or sweater) with a very large four-leaf clover and a little piggy running from underneath. The card is signed at the bottom in pencil,  “Mattie Hicks 1908.”

Brigit O’Quinn, Banada, County Sligo

Posted on by
1

Brigit OQuinn pc1Brigit OQuinn pc2

Divided back, unused postcard. “Carta Puist.” Circa 1911. Printed by Malcolm & Hayes, New York. Publisher:  The Gaelic League. Photo by Anna Frances Levins. Number or series 30249.

Availability status:  SOLD  (High resolution digital image sold and to be included in book soon to be published).

“Brigit O’Quinn, Banada, Co. Sligo. 15th Century Irish Costume.”

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

Cardcow has this postcard showing a postmark year 1911. Ha, this is crazy (great) as the sender on the Cardcow card has written,  “This is one of the three colleens that have been staying with us…”   (For some reason I was thinking that maybe Brigit O’Quinn was a figure in Irish history and the photo represented her, so to speak. Must of been the beautiful traditional outfit or maybe the hairstyle.) And, normally, we’re researching photos of people that were born elsewhere and emigrated to the U.S., so this one is like a flip, sort of, born and lives elsewhere, visiting the States. Nice! Anyway, Cardcow’s card was postmarked from Butte, Montana. And so, we find a newspaper article online that appeared in the Anaconda Standard, (Anaconda, Montana) July 12, 1911:   “Miss Brigit O’Quinn, accompanied by Miss Noone, gave an Irish jig in a manner that kept the audience applauding for several minutes at its completion.”

More to follow shortly on this post, as I’m out of time this morning…..

The next day….Here’s the clipping mentioned above and several more, showing that the three colleens, the Misses Bridie MacLoughlin, Eileen Noone and Brigit O’Quinn were on tour, visiting, among other places, Montana, Yellowstone National Park, Oregon and Kansas.

Miss Noone PianistExhibitMiss Eileen NooneMaking Limerick Lace

The trio, in the company of the Reverend Michael O’Flanagan and Fionian MacColum (The Gaelic League’s American envoys mentioned in the second clip above) returned home via Liverpool, England, on the passenger ship Adriatic, leaving New York and arriving in Liverpool August 2, 1912. The ladies’ estimated ages per the ship list are:  Bridie, age 30; Bridget, age 35 and Eileen, age 27. Below, a crop from the passenger list.

Onboard Adriatic Aug 1912

Sources:  “Miss Noone, Pianist.”  The Anaconda Standard. (Anaconda, Montana) 12 Jul 1911, Wed, p. 5. (Newspapers.com)

“Exhibit of Irish Industries Opens Tomorrow Morning.” The Oregon Daily Journal (Portland, Oregon). 21 Aug 1911, Mon. p. 16. (Newspapers.com)

“Gaelic League’s Exhibit Irish Industries.” (photo of Eileen Noone) The Oregon Daily Journal (Portland, Oregon). 21 Aug 1911, Mon. p. 16. (Newspapers.com)

“The Irish Industries Exhibit.” (photo of Brigit McQuinn). The Wichita Beacon (Wichita, Kansas) 26 Jun 1912, Wed. p. 3. (Newspapers.com)

The National Archives of the UK; Kew, Surrey, England; Board of Trade: Commercial and Statistical Department and successors: Inwards Passenger Lists.; Class: BT26; Piece: 528; Item: 12. (Ancestry.com)

Accept All Good Wishes

Posted on by
Reply

Accept All Good Wishes pc1Accept All Good Wishes pc2

“This is me don’t it look like me”  is the sender’s caption at the top of the card. Wonder if there was a striking resemblance or this was said jokingly, but in either case knowing what the postcard sender thought about the card’s design is an unexpected bonus. If this one reminds you of Ireland you are not alone, as the postmarked date is March 16th. I thought “Ireland” when I saw it, and maybe the sender did, too. The design shows a beautiful young woman in profile, her strawberry blonde hair covered by a hooded cape in the palest of green. She wears a white Grecian-looking dress with a posy of purple flowers tucked just above the waist. The cape is bordered in purple and the hood’s decorative flowered ribbon is flowing in the breeze. The background is a country scene of green fields, a river and a red-roofed house….The sender writes:

“A. G. Cal. Mar. 16, 1922. My Dear Neice & all Hope you are all fine, as for our part we are just fine. We sure have been haveing lots of rain and is raining here to-day. Our baby is getting along fine and may[?] God bless him and all. his name is Tony Marcelino[?] Perry. So this is all for this time, I’ll write you a letter, but let me no the address.  Your Antie. Mrs. M. M. Perry.”

“A. G. Cal.”  is Arroyo Grande, California, and the sender had it right on one of her other guesses – Petaluma is in Sonoma County. It looks like it got there, though. The card is addressed to:   “Miss Mary Azevedo, Petaluma, Marin County, Calif. c/o Mr. P. J. Azevedo.”

Not seeing the forest for the trees…

Ha, in scrutinizing the handwriting, I hadn’t even noticed the profusion of clovers in the embossing. Maybe it was produced with St. Patrick’s Day or Ireland in mind. In any case, it was very clever of the artist or publisher to show the embossed view on the back.

The 1930 Federal Census taken in Petaluma, shows Mary C. Azevedo, single, born in California about 1904, age 26 (so about age 18 when she received the postcard) living with her widowed father, Peter Azevedo, born in Portugal about 1878; and her siblings, sister-in-law, and two nieces.

The postcard sender appears to be Mary Aeraeis (spelling varies – this is the spelling on the 1910) who married Manual Perry. The 1910 census taken in Tomales, Marin County, CA shows George Azevedo, head of a large household, with his wife and children; his partner, the aforementioned Peter J. Azevedo; his wife Lucia; Peter and Lucia’s daughter Mary (the postcard recipient); Manual Perri, employee of the Azevedos, born Portugal about 1886; Mary Aeraeis, born California about 1893; and others.

Divided back, embossed, used postcard. Postmarked March 16, 1922 from Arroyo Grande, California. Printed in Germany.

Price:  $12.00

Sources:  Year: 1930; Census Place: Petaluma, Sonoma, California; Roll: 222; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 0033; Image: 381.0; FHL microfilm: 2339957. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1910; Census Place: Tomales, Marin, California; Roll: T624_88; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 0053; FHL microfilm: 1374101. (Ancestry.com)

St. Patrick’s Day Souvenir

Posted on by
Reply

St Patricks Day Souvenir pc1St Patricks Day Souvenir pc2

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! Here’s a beautifully done postcard celebrating the day, though not in the best of shape, with a crease down the middle and a tear at the top toward the left. Oh well, but the composition is lovely with all those white and gold-tone shamrocks surrounding the scene of  “Lough Swilly From Castle Bridge Buncrana.”

At the bottom right on the waterway scene is printed,  “Design copyrighted, John Winsch, 1911.”  This was quite difficult to make out and only worked when I pointed a flashlight at the original held tilted at an angle. (Odd because enlarging the view on the computer blurred it more.) Lough Swilly is a fjord or sea inlet located between the Inishowen Peninsula and the Fanad Peninsula in County Donegal. The sender wrote:

“Dear Sadie:  Come & see us stop at where you go to Rodder. How are you I am fine & dandy and hope you are the same. I got your card was glad to hear from you. I guess we wont be here next week by this time we could..[?]…down to Rodder alright. We were packing some thing to day glass & dishes. I was up to stay all night with Lucille last night. I am not writing this good I am writing it up stair on that little table. Well I must go to bed. I will write more[?] when I get to the new home[?] best regards to all. [?]  excuse my writing.

Addressed to:   “Mrs. Charles Hartwig, Bishop, Cal.”

Sadie Eleanor Hartwig is Sadie’s full married name, per her husband’s WWI Draft Registration card. He is Charles Christian Hartwig, born April 18, 1876. This 1918 document shows he was farming, and they were living in Bishop in Inyo County. The 1920 Federal Census shows they were living in Warm Springs. Sadie was born in Kansas (of Scottish and Irish descent) about 1880 according to this census, however further records shows 1890 for her year of birth; Charles, of German descent, was born in Illinois; and they had two children at this time, Eleanor age 4, and Dorothy, age 1. Also in the household is Sidney B. Johnson, likely a boarder helping with the farm work.

The reference to Rodder though is a mystery. It doesn’t show up as a city. Some other searches were tried (just briefly) without success.

Divided back, embossed, unused with writing. Publisher:  John Winsch, design copyright 1911.

Price: $10.00

Sources:  Registration State: California; Registration County: Inyo; Roll: 1530793. Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918.

Year: 1920; Census Place: Warm Springs, Inyo, California; Roll: T625_94; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 36; Image: 1130. (Ancestry.com).

Year: 1930; Census Place: Merced, Merced, California; Roll: 178; Page: 19A; Enumeration District: 0003; Image: 108.0; FHL microfilm: 2339913. (Ancestry.com).

Erin Go Bragh

Posted on by
Reply

Erin Go Bragh pc1Erin Go Bragh pc2

Another beautiful old postcard for St. Paddy’s Day. This one, showing the Celtic Harp and some shamrocks on a green flag with gold-tone trim, and a white clay pipe in the foreground, is addressed to:

“Master Joseph Miller, 220 – 14th St., Oregon City, Ore.”

And the unknown sender wrote:  “Greetings from St. Patrick”  which is a little amusing (across the centuries from the blessed saint.) …The phrase Erin go Bragh is an English spelling for the Irish Éireann go brách (or go bráth) which is normally translated as “Ireland forever.”

The postmark year on this one is hard to figure out, but it looks like it could be 1900 or 1907. The use of the form of address, “Master,” indicates that Joseph was still a boy when he received this card. He is found in census records with his family. The 1900 and 1910 Federal Census show the street name and city as matching the address on this card. (The street number was not given on these census records for 14th Street.) Per the 1900, Joseph was born in Oregon, March of 1898 (March, a good month for St. Pat’s day!) His parents were Jacob Miller, born Kentucky about 1861, and Margaret, born Ohio, about 1870. The 1910 Federal Census shows the three Millers, and an additional family member, Joseph’s baby sister Margaret, age two.

Divided back, used postcard. Postmarked from Portland, Oregon, March 16th, exact year unknown, possibly 1900 or 1907. Printed in Germany. Publisher unknown.

Price:  $6.00

Sources:  Year: 1900; Census Place: Oregon City, Clackamas, Oregon; Roll: 1345; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 0088; FHL microfilm: 1241345. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1910; Census Place: Oregon City, Clackamas, Oregon; Roll: T624_1279; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 0043; FHL microfilm: 1375292. (Ancestry.com)

Dear Erin

Posted on by
Reply

Dear Erin pc1Dear Erin pc2

Divided back, unused postcard. Publisher:  Wolf & Co., New York. No. 1503. Card date unknown, possibly circa 1910.

Price:  $10.00

“Wishing You a happy St. Patrick’s Day.”

“Dear Erin how sweetly

thy green bosom rises,

An emerald set in

the ring of the sea.”

Beautiful postcard and verse for St. Pat’s Day, showing a drawing of a young woman, representing Ireland, in a white gown and unusual head covering with cape attached. She is standing on the world. The flowing lines of her long hair, dress and cape, the graceful placement of her hands, and her expression make this a particularly lovely card. The verse is the first two lines of a poem by John Philpot Curran, (1750 – 1817) noted Irish speaker, politician, wit, lawyer and judge. Curran was born in Newmarket, County Cork, and it’s interesting to read that at the start of his career he struggled with public speaking and had a speech impediment. The speech impediment was overcome by reciting Shakespeare and Bolingbroke (an English politician and philosopher) in front of a mirror.

Sources:  Williams, Alfred M. The Poets and Poetry of Ireland With Historical and Critical Essays and Notes. Boston:  James R. Osgood and Company, 1881 (Google eBook)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Philpot_Curran