1880s Autograph Book Owned by William J. Dix

William James Dix was the son of Daniel & America Dix and grew up in West Virginia. He attended Fairmont State Normal School and then became the proprietor of his own drug store in Daviess County, Missouri. William and his wife Sarah had three children. His 1936 obituary says, "His father was a circuit rider and a state senator in Virginia during the Civil War. He was related to Stonewall Jackson through his mother."

I found William's autograph book from the 1880s in a Pittsburgh antique store. My favorite page was written by Effie Swindler in Palatine, West Virginia, on December 7, 1883: "Let our lives be pure as snow-fields, Where our foot-steps leave a mark but not a stain."

Many of the pages are faded, but here's a list of some of the people who signed it:

Mary Anson, Davis City, Iowa
J.M. Dix, Wheeling, West Virginia
Gypsy W. Fleming, Fairmont State Normal School
Charles W. Haymonet, Marion County, West Virginia
Della Leonard, Palatine, West Virginia
E. D. Leonard, Palatine, West Virginia
Minnie Linn, Fairmont State Normal School
Minnie Lloyd, Palatine, West Virginia
J.E. Maxwell, Fairmont, West Virginia
Chas. H. Orr, Palatine, West Virginia
Mary A. Orr, Palatine, West Virginia
H. F. Smith, Fairmont, West Virginia
E. W. Teale, Davis City, Iowa
Chas. Watkins, Palatine, West Virginia
Jacob Yates, Palatine, West Virginia

I'd like to return the book to a descendant of William Dix, so let me know if he's in your family tree.