A Book a Day, week 9

BOOK FIFTYSEVEN

"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, c. 1599 - this publishing, 1889.

This is the 3rd edition of the play by Harper & Brothers Publishing, also known for Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Harper's Weekly, and Harper's Bazaar. The company is known as HarperCollins today.

My great-great-grandmother, Winifred, wrote her name inside the front cover, dated May 8th, 1890. She also wrote in some notes on Caesar inside the back cover. Between pages 162 and 163 is a folded up sheet with further historical notes in her handwriting.

The only information we have on Winifred so far is that her mother's name was Juliette Preston and her father was Colonel York. Something tells me that tracking down military info on a Colonel York from the 1860s is going to be next to impossible.

But I already have a lead...

UPDATE - A FEW HOURS LATER: Since this morning's post, I have traced back Winifred's side and went back to Thomas Minor, who was born in Chew Magna, Somersett, England in 1608. I've never wanted to go to a place named Chew Magna as much as I do right now. I also found out that my mother's mother's mother's mother's father's mother was born in Toronto. So, that makes me Canadian, too.

BOOK FIFTYEIGHT

"The Hidden Power" by Thomas Troward, 1921 - this 11th edition, 1947.

Along with Troward's other book in the collection (day 47), this book has my great-grandmother's name in it also dated September, 1948.

Between pages 106 and 107 is a card with some watercolor-esque art on it, with very little color. It appears to be of a large tree and three people - one walking and two riding a horse (or donkey, perhaps?) and all three with halos. As subtle as the image is, my mind is immediately drawn to Joseph, Mary and an infant Jesus.

Many pages have been earmarked and written in, with some notes added in the edges of the pages. On page 50, my great-grandmother wrote: "facts change - Truth never changes."

BOOK FIFTYNINE

"Spiritual Letters on the Practice of Self-Abandonment to Divine Providence" by Jean Pierre de Caussade - this publishing, 1948.

De Caussade was a French Jesuit priest who lived from 1675 to 1751. Although the tattered dust jacket on this book reads "J.P" for Jean Pierre, the title page reads "P.J." which gives me concern for the rest of the book's translation by Algar Thorold, if the original author's name was twice (2 title pages) written incorrectly.

My grandfather's address sticker is inside the front cover.

BOOK SIXTY

"The Great Prayer" by Ervin Seale, 1946.

My grandmother wrote her name on a sticker on the first page, and there is an ink stamp for the Institute of Religious Science at 177 Post Street underneath that.

There is a small bookmark on page 41 of "Our Lady of Sorrows" with the message "Pray for us!" Underneath that, it reads: "Remembrance of the Happy Days I spent at Sacred Heart Retreat House, Alhambra, Cal." There is a copyright date of 1936.

Many pages are marked up with notes and passages underlines.

I am still smiling every time I see my grandmother's use of a paperclip for a bookmark in all of these books. This one has four.

BOOK SIXTYONE

"Monarch Notes and Study Guides - Chaucer's Canterbury Tales" by Joseph E. Grennen, 1964.

Apparently a competitor to Cliffs Notes, Monarch Press seems to now be defunct.

Very few pages are written on, and there are no names written inside the covers, but I am assuming this to be my grandmother's book, taking the indication from the paperclip bookmark.

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In other news, yesterday proved to be quite exciting. While cleaning up my parents' storage unit, we found an old red crate filled with framed photos of relatives and a hefty stack of papers from my great-aunt Bayne's genealogy research from 1971, using Daughters of the American Revolution resources.

I haven't dissected the crate yet, but a quick thumbing through the paperwork shows a ton of family connections - many of which my sister and I have made on our own in the past few months, but seemingly a few that we had missed.

There are other treasures in there as well, such as sheet music for a song titled "Sitting on the Door-Step" with lyrics written by Barbara R. Garver, 5 pages titled "Americans of Royal Descent", copies of old letters and newspaper clippings, a photocopy of an envelope addressed to Barbara from 1879, and even a copy of the diary kept by Barbara of her trip from Des Moines to Philadelphia for the Centennial Exhibition of 1876.

On one page I landed upon, there is mention of Ella Garver Pitcairn, a name that came up in book 16, but without the "Garver". Looks like she is family, after all!

Some excerpts from letters written by Ella mention the name Garver coming from Switzerland (a connection I had already made), but that the name was originally Gerber, later changed to Garber and Garver generations later. I suddenly want to watch the scene from The Godfather II where young Vito has his name changed for him on Ellis Island.

Somewhere in this stack of papers, I am most hoping for some clues on the story of the two Garver brothers, one of which stealing the other's money and possibly losing it in the stock market crash of 1929, while keeping onto his own wealth. Also, I'm expecting to finally make the official connection to the Mayor Garver of Des Moines from 1922-1926.

Also, I found a poem written by a friend of Bayne's in 1976 after he, Bayne and Marian (Bill) visited the cemetery in Newville, Indiana where family is buried. The same cemetery was visited and written about by Barbara on her trip 100 years prior. I'm going to be 99 years old in 2076, so I'm not so sure I'll be able to make the next trip.

Update 10-19-10: A few more tidbits on Bill, coming from my own memory of her and a few passages I found in these papers. Bayne and Bill were sisters. They had an older brother named George Carlton Garver. Although when Bill, the youngest, was born, she was named properly named Winifred Marian Garver, their grandfather, George Garver, came over to the house to ask the children about the new baby. The family was in the dining room having breakfast, and he asked the two children, "What shall we call the baby? Shall we name the baby 'Billie'?" They agreed, and from then on she was called "Billie". This was in 1905.

BOOK SIXTYTWO

"The Quiet Way" by Gerhard Tersteegen - translated by Emily Chisholm, 1950.

Tersteegen was a German religious writer who lived from 1697 to 1769. This book is composed of sections of letters he had written. It is primarily single sentences or small paragraphs - quick spiritual messages or small sermons, mostly.

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Here is my great-aunt's cover letter for the stack of papers, dated 1971. There are some updates since then (such as the info on her and her sister going to Newville, Indiana in 1976 as well as a penciled in date of death for her younger sister, Billie), but clearly in 1971 she was family-minded, although there is no mention of whom this could be for. Herself? Generations to follow? There is no way to say, but I hope I use it as well as she could have hoped me to, and I will certainly pass it on to future generations, possibly adding my own work (and stories of my generation) to the collection.

Bayne and Bill were two of a very few of my extended family that I have met. My mother tells me that the sisters were quite the society girls of Des Moines, back in the day. I believe my sister phrased it as "the Iowa versions of Paris and Nicky in the 1920s."

Although they are both deceased now, and I was quite young on the few occasions when I did meet them, I do remember visiting some fancy place near the La Brea tar pits that was filled with antique furniture and I was not allowed to touch anything. Rightly so.

BOOK SIXTYTHREE

"The Magic Nuts" by Mary Louisa Molesworth, 1899.

The book is credited as simply "Mrs. Molesworth" as were all her children's stories, although her first two novels were for adults and written under the pseudonym of "Ennis Graham."

"Mary Louisa Molesworth typified late Victorian writing for girls. Aimed at girls too old for fairies and princesses but too young for Austen and the Brontës, books by Molesworth had their share of amusement, but they also had a good deal of moral instruction. The girls reading Molesworth would grow up to be mothers; thus, the books emphasized Victorian notions of duty and self-sacrifice.

Typical of the time, her young child characters often use a lisping style, and words may be mis-spelt to represent children's speech—'jography' for geography, for instance." (taken from wikipedia)

The inscription reads "Jean, from Auntie May, Xmas 1900"

My great-grandmother Jean would have been 8 years old that Christmas, but I cannot find any record of her having an aunt named May, even though I believe I finally have all the family tree connections in my possession on that branch now.

Still, it is rather tedious going through name after name when so many of these relatives from the 1800s had upwards of 12 children (who, in turn, would have their own armies of offspring). So many names...