Holiday Break

Christmas 1952, Middletown, CT

I've decided to take a little break until January. Hope you have a warm and wonderful holiday and you are able to squeeze all of the family histories you can out of your relatives a bonus.

Wishing you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

Treasure Chest Thursday - A Mystery Medal

Earlier this month, my mother arrived at our house for dinner with a little bag full of genea-goodies including the school athletic medals that I shared last week. This week's treasure is a mystery.

This is a gold medal (actually bronze) awarded to an exhibitor at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exhibition, also known as the St. Louis World's Fair. We are currently working under the assumption that this came from my grandfather's things and not my grandmother's, but we could be wrong. In either case, it wouldn't have originated with either of them; my grandfather turned six in February of 1904 and my grandmother was born that March.

I have found, on the Internet Archive, a copy of the list of exhibitors at the fair. It is a very long list, the book is over 1300 pages long, it will take me some time to get through.

Since my mother doesn't remember ever hearing any family stories about the exhibition, I don't know that we'll ever solve this mystery with any degree of certainty, but I hope to at least make an educated guess.

Sepia Saturday - Fun in the Snow

This week's prompt shows two young women decorating a snowwoman.

Click on the photo to visit Sepia Saturday and find the links to other posts.

While I don't have any snowperson images in my collection, I do have snow photos, my mother is Canadian after all.

All of these photos come from my grandfather's albums. These are photos of family, taken at home in Thetford Mines, Quebec.

My great-uncle, William John White "Pin" Smith

My great-aunt Frances Ruth Smith

My great-aunt Lucy Hamilton Smith

These photos were taken around the campuses of Bishop's College School and King's Hall Compton in Lennoxville. Some are just taken in the snow.

But these more accurately reflect my take on the theme, Fun in the Snow.

These photos make me cold just looking at them, and now it's time to walk the dog, so out into it I go!

Treasure Chest Thursday - Bishops College School Medals

My mother has been decluttering and organizing her apartment. As a result I have been inheriting a lot of pictures, slides and artifacts over the past few months. I'm trying to scan and photograph these treasures as she brings them to me, but I'm really behind after the goodies she brought me this past weekend. On Saturday she brought me an envelope filled with photos, on Sunday she brought me these medals, among other things.

B.C.S. WAR YEAR 1917

B.C.S. WAR YEAR 1917

B.C.S. WAR YEAR 1915 LENOXVILLE

Mum had never even looked at these before, having just scooped up the box they were in when she packed up my grandmother's house for her move to assisted living back in the 1990s.  Neither of us had any idea that my grandfather had participated in fencing or high-jump while he was at boarding school at Bishop's College School in Lenoxville, Quebec.

Of all the photos he took at BCS, there were only these two of track and field events and none of fencing and he probably was behind the camera for both of them. The pole vault photo is captioned simply, "OVER."

"OVER" Taken in 1913.

You can just make out that this is some type of foot race. Taken in 1914.

Of course, we don't know for sure that these are his medals. We're really going to have to get in touch with the school and find out if we can dig into their archives for confirmation and hopefully photos. We'll be right down the road for a family reunion in August, I wonder if their archives are open in summer?

Sepia Saturday - Christmas Illustrations

Sepia Saturday is going back to a new theme every week. Now, though, instead of posting an image with suggested themes, they are posting just the image and leaving the interpretations all up to the participants.

This week's image appears to be a vintage Christmas calendar or Advent calendar, with lovely illustrations.

Click on the image to visit this week's Sepia Saturday post and the other participants.

I am sharing some vintage Christmas illustrations, too. Rather than an advent calendar, though, my illustrations are on postcards.

Before I was hit with the genealogy bug, I bought these postcards to scan and copy and use in my paper crafts. Now I know that there could be a connection to be made by sharing the information on the other side of the card. 

I hope Santa Claus
will be real, real good
to you this year.
Lovingly
Maxine

Miss Marie Sewright
1615-10 Ave
Los Angeles
Calif

I found a possible lead on Ancestry, but I'll have to do a bit more searching.

Dearest friend,
Wishing you
all a merry
Christmas and a happy
New Year
Agnes

Miss Viola Immeli
#913 Mary St
Evansville,
Ind.

I found Viola very quickly on Ancestry at this address in city directories, working as a stenographer. I did not find her in any member trees.

From Lois

Miss Susie Narbor
119 Hawthorne Ave
Yonkers
N.Y.

Hello Irving I wish
you a Merry Christmas
hopeing you will be 
well pleased with your
presents. This Card
is from the girl you
met that Saturday that
did so much talking you
was glad to get rid of me.
From a Old Friend.

Mr. Irving Virkus
491 Clifford Ave
Rochester N.Y. 

Irving appears in a few trees on Ancestry.

 

Dear Susie
I am so happy you
can walk and
are quite well
again.
Thanking you
for the cards you
have so kindly sent
[illegible] she
has enjoyed them
so much she wishes
you a merry Xmas
Lovingly by your
E.C. Fellows

Miss Susie Narber
119 [Illegible] Avenue
Yonkers
NY

A quick search of Ancestry didn't yield any clues about Susie.

I trust this well
find you enjoying
better health than
when I last heard
from you  we have 
had no cold weather yet.
Just a light snow about
ten days ago.
[illegible]
12-20-08. Omaha

John P Pomeroy
Great Barrington
Mass.
The Oaks

I don't know if Mr. Pomeroy was found in better health or not when he received this card but sadly he did pass away about six months later according to his death record in Ancestry. I didn't find him in any member trees.

If you recognize any names or other information, please let me know. Also, if you know of any websites or social media pages where I could share these postcards, let me know. Thanks!