Most Popular Post

Friday 29 April 2016

History

My mother kept some unusual things. She was not one for material possessions and donated items regularly for flea markets at the church. She didn't hold on to dishes, knickknacks or clothes. Rather, she kept our report cards, concert programs and newspaper articles of interest. 

One item we found in her apartment after she died was the front page of the Evening Telegram of St. John's, Newfoundland, the day after President Kennedy died. We also discovered this book, The History of the United States.

 

When Mom and Dad purchased our home in Mount Pearl in 1958, they bought it from an American man, his Newfoundland-born wife and two daughters. The book had been left in the house. Mom kept it and after she was gone, so did I.

It was published in the 1870s and the inscription on the front is faded but states

                            A Christmas Gift for
                                 Abbie Conklin
                                      From
                            Alice A. Draper, 1875

There is a line through this inscription.

At the top of the page is the name 

                              Ray Hubbell

My family has no connection to any of these people. Since 1958, it has been in my family, before that, with the previous owners of the house. How does that family link to the people named in the book? The surnames are different. Who were the people behind the names? Where did they live? How were they connected?

The website ancestry.com has an Abigail Abbie Conklin born in New York, lived 1828-1897. Could this be the same Abbie? I have not found a potential Alice or Ray.

Mom liked history, mystery and old books too.

20 comments:

Anvilcloud said...

It's a keeper for sure.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

When my grandmother died, we found an old newspaper clipping among her scrapbooks -- Edward VIII's abdication speech from 1936. Guess it made a big impact on her to have kept it all those years!

Jackie said...

What a wonderful treasure.
I hope you solve the mystery. I can't wait to learn more....

DJan said...

I would love to hold it and peruse those old pages and facts. :-)

Angela said...

The book is beautiful. It is indeed something to save for future generations!

Marie Smith said...

It is for me!

Marie Smith said...

That's a treasure for sure!

Marie Smith said...

I can't imagine I ever will solve it. I guess there's always hope.

Marie Smith said...

It is an interesting text. There are many available to buy on line for reasonable prices. It was a text book so there are lots of them around.

Marie Smith said...

I plan to save it, Angela.

Anonymous said...

Me too. Me too. How neat.

Kathleen's Blog said...

That is just so interesting. How exciting.

Marie Smith said...

It is!

Marie Smith said...

It is that too.

Ginnie said...

Don't you love mysteries like this, Marie? Oh, and by the way, referring to your last blog entry...my mother loved seeing clothes drying on lines outside. She even took photos of them and labeled the pictures with witty names.

Barbara said...

Neat

Marie Smith said...

Lol. Your mom had a good sense of humour!

Marie Smith said...

It is!

Down by the sea said...

I love old books and history! In England we have had a census every 10 years since 1841 which shows who is living in a particular house and what age they were and where they were born. I did a quick search and found this http://ngb.chebucto.org/census.shtml it might give you some more details? Sarah x

Marie Smith said...

Thank you for the interest. I have used that website for years. It holds a wealth of information.