Autograph Book Signed in Pittsburgh and Fredericksburg

The first page is signed "Susie Jane Lowery, Pittsburgh Penn." She owned this autograph book as a teenager, before her Manhattan marriage to a Pittsburgh-born banker, before her two daughters were born, and before her husband spent time in prison.

Susie was the daughter of John T. and Martha Lowery and was born in 1862 in Charlottesville, Virginia. In 1887, she married David J. Richardson in Manhattan, New York. By 1900, they were living in Allegheny City (now the North Side of Pittsburgh) with their two daughters Lilia and Marguerite. In 1909, husband David was convicted for his role in the 1908 collapse of the Cosmopolitan National Bank in Pittsburgh. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison and released early in 1912.

I found Susie's autograph book with signatures from 1879 through 1883 in a Pittsburgh antique store. It's slightly warped from apparent water damage and some of the pages are faded, but it contains many signatures and printed calling cards. Here are two of the signatures:

From Susie Jane Lowery's autograph book dated 1879:  Arthur von Senden
in Pittsburgh, Pa. and George A. Walker in Fredericksburg, Va.

Some of the other people who signed the book include:

     Flora A. Baker - Morgantown, West Virginia     

     Charles Black - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

     Isabel D. Boyce

     Mamie Brye

     Albert Cline - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

     John M. Griffin - Fredericksburg, Virginia

     Charles Haley

     John B. Hughes

     Kate Mandis - Fredericksburg, Virginia

     Sadie McCrum - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

     A.L. Minnemeyer

     Florence Oliver - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

     Paul Pry

     D.F. Sawhill - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

     A.E. Sprague

     Linda Word - Richmond, Virginia

I'd like to return the book to a descendant of Susie Jane Lowery Richardson, so let me know if she's in your family tree.

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.

Superstitious Beliefs of Ancestors

Tomorrow is Friday the 13th. I don't consider myself a superstitious person, but I've always been fascinated by some of these sayings, customs, and strange beliefs. When I was young, if I walked up the stairs and tripped, my mom would point out in jest that I wouldn't be getting married that year. I've shared that saying with my own son, and so it continues.

One of my favorite Scholastic books from grade school, which I've saved after all these years, is Superstitious? Here's Why! Here are a few excerpts:

• "Name superstitions run into the hundreds. It's lucky to have only seven letters in either the first or last name. Men with thirteen letters should add one for good luck. No girl should marry a man whose last name has the same initial as hers, or, as the rhyme goes, 'Change the name but not the letter, marry for worse instead of better.' A girl whose name is Mary begins with a good start in life."

• "Salt as a present for a friend in his new home is a custom in many countries. Because of its lasting quality and the fact that it preserved food, salt is believed close to friendship. In ancient Greece a stranger was welcomed by having a pinch of salt placed in his right hand. In Eastern countries salt was put before strangers as a pledge of good will. Hungary has long had the custom of sprinkling the threshold of a new house with salt, so no witch or evil thing will enter." 

• "When you sneeze friends are apt to say, 'God bless you,' or the German expression, 'Gesundheit,' or perhaps the Italian word, 'Felicita.' Maybe they will merely follow the old practice, still popular in the Near and Far East, of clasping their hands and bowing toward you. The custom of asking God's blessing began when early man believed that the essence of life--the spirit or soul--was in the form of air or breath and resided in one's head. A sneeze might accidentally expel the spirit for a short time or even forever, unless God prevented it." 

Do you remember any interesting superstitious sayings from your own family?

Genealogy Novel: Finding Eliza

I download a lot of e-books to read on my iPad using the Kindle app. While I read all kinds of genres including nonfiction, romance, historical fiction, self-help, etc., my main criteria is that they need to be free. (Ok, I admit it...I'm cheap!) But when I heard about this book, Finding Eliza, I knew I had to read it and was willing to pay. And it was still a bargain since it only cost $3.

This novel was written by Stephanie Pitcher Fishman, who is a professional genealogist and one of the founders of the The In-Depth Genealogist blog. She also writes research guides for Legacy Family Tree.

Finding Eliza is a gripping book involving a "forgotten" relative, a diary, and another reminder of America's troubling history with racial hatred. It's the story of Lizzie and her Grandma Gertrude, who learn the truth about a long-forgotten relative, Eliza. There are sections which take you back to the 1930s in Georgia, based on entries from a diary written by Gertrude's father.

Although on the periphery of the story's main messages, I couldn't help but notice that the novel shows how younger generations are often uninterested in genealogy, how others can't get enough of it, how families often hide from shameful stories, and how you can't help but be affected when learning some details about your ancestors.

If you have some free time over the holidays, it may be the perfect time to grab this book and curl up on the couch for an enjoyable read.

Family Stories May Upset Descendants

Learning about your ancestors can lead to a story that makes you proud, or one that upsets you. But the truth is the truth, and trying to bury painful stories doesn't change the fact that they happened. However, because of the impact these family stories can have upon descendants, it's important to remember the importance of diligent research, providing sources for all of your findings, and sensitivity. You really don't want to share stories that are based on assumptions, rumors, or partial research.

An article in yesterday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reminded me of how family stories can often be upsetting to living descendants.  "Former residents of Brentwood 'demon' house dispute book's claims" discusses reactions to a new book called The Demon of Brownsville Road. I haven't read this book and don't intend to, but apparently the author has upset the members of three families whose ancestors were associated with a house in Pittsburgh where paranormal activity has been experienced.

Two families dispute that the house is haunted because their parents and grandparents never mentioned it and they themselves never saw anything strange. And a third family objects to the author's assertion that a source of the problems at this house was their physician grandfather who rented space there in the 1920s and 1930s to perform illegal abortions. The newspaper article indicates that the author has no documentation to support these claims against the doctor, just "rumors and old stories ... he was told by Brentwood residents over the years."

While a family fact like this may be true, it's obviously something that living family members would not want to believe. The family claims the grandfather didn't move into the area until the 1940s, and I can't help but wonder if the author checked his timeline of events before including this story in his book.

Research won't change the facts or make painful stories any easier for descendants, but we should be aware of how these types of stories may affect others and should make sure we've been as thorough as possible.