According to Wikipedia, the term for the study and collection of postcards is called deltiology.
The general focus of my blog page is to take a closer look at the large volume of postcard collections that have been passed down to me. Some of my blog posts highlight just a presentation of the cards, including this one, when I focus on a particular holiday. Other times, I take a more in-depth look at the sender and receiver and present them as a viable tool in furthering my genealogy research.
These collections have been passed down from my three leading ladies, Grandma Julia, Aunt Etta and Gra Gra. Of the three, the one I think was an actual deltiologist (a person who collects postcards as a hobby) was Aunt Etta. Her collection was much more extensive and she had many unposted cards that had been collected along the way. Whereas, those cards from Grandma Julia and Gra Gra were primarily cards sent to them by friends and family members. To learn more about my leading ladies, please see my previous blogs:
Intro to Gra Gra & Volunteering at Kent Hospital
Intro to Grandma Julia and the Bitgood’s Pine Knoll Laboratory
Intro to Aunt Etta And Her Great Adventures.
The Valentine’s Day postcards presented here, today, were some of those belonging to Grandma Julia and Aunt Etta.
My featured postcard was sent to Grandma Julia, in Plainville, Mass., by her grandson Leroy James. The reverse side is shown below:
Notice this postcard was postmarked in 1909, from Buffalo, NY. The handwritten message reads: “Dear Grandma, I am looking for a letter, are you all well. From your Grandson Leroy.” If you would like to learn more about Leroy, please see my previous blog: A Thanksgiving Greeting from 1908!
The postcard shown below was sent to Grandma Julia by her son Martin, father of Leroy. It was also postmarked in 1909 from Buffalo, NY, where they lived for a while. His handwritten message reads (to the best I can figure it): “Dear Ma, I am all most frozen, awful cold here, have written you a letter and sent you some cards and Roy a Valentine. Hope you will like them. We all send love to you and kisses. Good bye, write soon, Martie.”
The next postcard is from Mollie, wife to Martin, sent to Grandma Julia. Her card was also sent from Buffalo, NY, postmarked 1909. Her handwritten message reads: “Dear Ma, Hope you will come and see us before long. I think you would have a lovely time here, this is a nice place if you like it. I would love to see you all once more. Martin is doing all right __. Love to all from all. Kisses, Mollie.”
The postcard shown below was sent to Grandma Julia from her granddaughter Gladys, the daughter of William James. The card was postmarked in 1909, from Hyde Park, Mass. Her handwritten message reads: From your loving granddaughter, Gladys James.
The next postcard, shown below, was sent to Aunt Etta, in Franklin, Mass., postmarked in 1909, from Providence, RI. The card was signed from Levi and Frances, I am not sure whether they were friends or family members.
The next two postcards were sent from sister Sarah, who I am still working on correctly identifying. I am trying to figure out if she was married to a brother of Aunt Etta’s husband William Hooper or perhaps she was his sister. Notice in her message she asked about “Joe”, I don’t know yet who Joe was. Please see my previous blog for some background on the family of William Hooper, but it is still very much a work in progress: Don’t Jump Too Fast To Conclusions.
One of the two postcards was addressed to Mrs. Wm. T. Hooper (Aunt Etta), with handwritten message: “To Etta with Love, from Sister Sarah”. The other card was addressed to Mr. Wm. T. Hooper, with handwritten message: “To Will, from sister, have you heard anything from Joe. With Love, Sarah”. Both of these cards were mailed from Worcester, Mass. For a time, Aunt Etta and Will did live in Worcester, I think they lived with Sarah. There is more to learn about this story for future writings.
The final few postcards you will see displayed in a slideshow, below, with just the front image of the cards.
Although I haven’t written new blog posts as often as I would like, the unfortunate result of having too many irons in the fire, be assured that there are many stories yet to learn and be told–with a little help from the clues of these postcard collections. So, please keep a watch out for my future postings.
Until next time…
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