"Questions & Answers on the Science of Mind" by Ernest Holmes and Alberta Smith, 1935.
My great-grandmother wrote her name inside the front cover, dated 1-27-46. No other markings appear in the book, other than a few earmarked pages.
Another book by Holmes, this one is really just a compilation of answers for hundreds of questions that had been asked through 'The Science of Mind Magazine' over the years.
Some included topics are: dispelling loneliness, preventing regrets, raise of salary, the art of making friends, changing professions, control of unruly child, help for a tired mother, and cancer.
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Yesterday, my mother brought me her grandmother's document of certification on being a member in the Daughters of the American Revolution Society.
It came in two cardboard tubes.
The first tube was mailed to my mother from Bayne between 1983 and 2001 and within it is a smaller tube that was mailed to my great-grandmother Jean from the DAR Society in Washington DC. The stamp on the older tube is dated January 5th, 1923. There is also an 8-cent green Ben Franklin stamp.
The document itself is dated December 1st, 1922 and links her to our ancestor, Aaron Merrill, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary War.
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Also, as of today, my sister and I have 217 names compiled into our family tree. There are still a lot more to enter. I don't think we even have OUR aunts and uncles and cousins in there yet...
BOOK SEVENTYTWO
"How to Get What You Want" by Orison Swett Marden, 1917.
Associated with the New Thought Movement, Marden's mother died when he was three and his father died when he was seven. He later graduated from Boston University in 1871, then got his medical degree from Harvard a decade later, then a law degree following that.
He was also a successful hotel owner.
Inside the front cover, on the dust jacket, is a name I haven't seen in the books so far - Laura Wright. Just yesterday, I came across that name in my genealogy research. Going back five generations then back down one, I found George Garver's brother John had a daughter named Laura Garver, who married a George Wright. I have no other information on either of them yet - not even dates of birth or death.
This book is the first book I've found from the New Movement that didn't belong to my grandmother or great-grandmother. Either Laura didn't have a habit of marking up her books as my direct ancestors did, or perhaps she never even read the book to begin with - or wasn't as involved in the movement as the others. With only one book of hers as of now, it's hard to say.
BOOK SEVENTYTHREE
"The Soul's Sincere Desire" by Glenn Clark, 1925 - this 16th publishing, 1939.
16 editions in 14 years? Popular book! My great-grandmother wrote her name inside the front cover and between pages 64 and 65 is a folded up sheet of paper with the beginning to Psalm 23 written on it. The rest of the sheet is blank.
BOOK SEVENTYFOUR
"Your Mind Can Heal You" by Frederick W. Bailes, 1941.
Yet another New Thought Movement writer, Bailes, like Ernest Holmes, was influenced by the works of Thomas Troward.
Even the style of the jacket cover reminds me of the other 2 Troward books that I've shot already.
BOOK SEVENTYFIVE
""Theosophical Manuals Number Two - Reincarnation" by Annie Besant F.T.S., 1892.
As with the other books in the series from days 11 and 30, both Barbara Garver and Jean's names are written inside the front cover.
In the last few pages of the book, there is a section titled "Information for Enquirers" which explains The Theosophical Society, and how to join.
"The Theosophical Society is an international body which was founded at New York, U.S., on the 17th day of November, 1875, with three well defined objects, viz:
FIRST. - To form the nucleus of a Universal Brotherhood of Humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or colour.
SECOND. - To promote the study of Aryan and other Eastern literatures, religions, philosophies and sciences, and demonstrate the importance of that study.
THIRD. - To investigate unexplained laws of Nature and the psychic powers latent in man."
BOOK SEVENTYSIX
"Through The Gate of Good" by James Allen, 1903.
Allen was a British philosophical writer known for his inspirational books and poetry. He is considered the pioneer of self help movement.
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This weekend, I went down to L.A. to visit my sister and we met up with our uncle immediately after the airport. Earlier in the week, he sent me an email mentioning that he had even more books. The thought of there being even more than what I have here overwhelmed me. Do I have only a small fraction of the collection? Or does he have just a few more that didn't stay with the rest for some reason?
Either way, if there any more, I certainly wanted to see them!
After lunch (I tried a beef stroganoff crepe for the first and probably last time), our uncle said that he had a box of books in the car. This ended up being a small assortment of about 20 books that he had picked out from a larger lot in his storage space. I took 7 of the most interesting and delicate ones from the box to carry-on back to Seattle and my sister is nice enough to bring up the rest when she visits for Thanksgiving in a few weeks.
As it turns out, the entire collection of books had been split up when my grandparents died, some going to each of the four children. When my other uncle died a few years back, his portion had returned to my uncle here. So, the collection is now in three parts, as far as I understand it, with some still being in my uncle's storage unit in L.A., and the rest having gone to my other uncle in Oregon. I will have to contact him soon.
At one point on the flight, my curiosity got the better of me and I pulled out one of the books and started flipping through it. I can't express my sheer satisfaction at the in-flight reading of a deteriorating book from the late 1800s about Iowa lawmakers in session between someone reading Cosmopolitan Magazine and someone else reading a John Grisham novel. One of the more distinguished lawmakers, apparently, was a relative and his name comes up in the index considerably more than anyone else.
BOOK SEVENTYSEVEN
"Science and Health - Volume II" by Mary B. Glover Eddy, 1881.
I recognize Eddy's name as the founder of Christian Science, but I believe this is the first book of hers that I've come across.
The book is in incredible condition and I'm wondering if it is a relatively recent reprint from the 1881 original.
Between pages 166 and 167 is a small piece of paper folded in half with Bayne and Bill's social security numbers written on it.
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