Genealogical Gems

  This vintage postcard features “A Southern Baptism.”   It depicts a woman being baptized in a river by her minister. The front of the card reads: “10552 A Southern Baptist.” Detroit Publishing Co made the card as part of its Black Americana line in the late 1800s/early 1900s. The card is postmarked 1918 from Wilmington , NC and is addressed to a Mrs. Alfred Capron, Copley in Ohio .   Wordless Wednesday is a genealogical prompt of GeneaBloggers.   © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015.

  This circa 1912 postcard is a Tuck & Sons' card from the "Thanksgiving" series No 186. Printed in Saxony.   I am thankful for family, friends and you - those reading Genealogical Gems.     Thankful Thursday is a genealogy prompt of GeneaBloggers.

Coatesville was once a bustling town. Main Street was filled with stores. People walked the streets and, at Christmas time, Santa came to town. The annual Christmas Parade still brings Santa to town. This postcard shows Coatesville in a different era. Notice the Sears Roebuck and Co., located in the Central Building. It is between Beneficial Loans and Woolworth Co. Other stores seen here on the North side of East Main Street are: Newberry Co., Young's Pharmacy, and Lipkins. The undated Chrome card is clearly from the late 1960s or early 1970s time frame, judging by the cars.   Those Places Thursday is a genealogy prompt of GeneaBloggers.

November is National Aviation Month so, as such when I stumbled upon this postcard from Lock Haven, I simply had to share it! The card reads: H.L. Tucker, in charge of first Aerial P.O., and Aviator Paul Peck, first aerial aviator ever sworn in to carry US mail, carried the first mail from Lexington, KY, to Winchester, KY, a distance of twenty miles , June 3d to June 8th, 1912. Peck was since killed in a national meet in Chicago Sept 11th, 1912. Souvenir card Lock Haven Aviation meet and races, October 10th, 11th, and 12th, 1912. Wordless Wednesday is a GeneaBloggers prompt which features a picture or image.

Today is Amanuensis Monday! As many of you transcribe your family letters, take note of the zip-code. The US Postal Service introduced the use of two-digit zone numbers (zip-codes) on 1 May 1943. The use of the five-digit zip-codes began in July of 1963.

My desks (yes I have added a second one) have piles to go through. I have piles on my printer, on my file cabinets, on the floor and even on my dresser. I am feeling a tad overwhelmed! Now, that said, most of my piles have already been sorted so that all the info in each pile goes together. Today's "Sorting Saturday" will no doubt stretch into Sunday maybe even next week. I am off from the nursery until Wednesday. Tomorrow I have a Sisterhood meeting after church (finally finished prepping for that last night!). The girls both work Saturday and Sunday so aside from time running them to work and back, I have four more things on my "to do" list for the weekend and Monday. To Do: 1. Postcards - research and data entry 2. Sisterhood minutes & agenda 3. New genealogy/organization project for someone 4. Organize and sort through my papers to prep for day w/cousins next month 5. Fit in some reading Every Sorting Saturday begins with me prioritizing ...

Normally a post for Amanuensis Monday would be more about a specific letter or card but this week, I would like to talk about postcards in general. I personally love postcards. They are a great way to say hello, stay connected with someone and yet because of the limited space not feel obligated to write a novel. From a historical point of view, postcards are a great way to preserve local history. For example, I have come across several postcards of dams, railroads, simple scenes of towns and businesses, and buildings no longer standing. Often a postcard will reveal a tidbit about a place as well. One card features the Schwartz Stein Collection, located (at that time) at 2177 Fruitville Pike, Lancaster, PA. The tidbit reveals this is the "largest collection of antique steins in the world. There are over 4,600 from the largest 48" to the smallest 1/32" high. Open to the public by appointment only." Postcards can reveal so much information if you know where to...

I am doing some side work researching postcards and writing up descriptions for a friend and, like most things in life, there are pros and cons. The major pro of course is that it is work so there is some financial benefits. I am also learning quite a bit about various places and dating postcards in general, which in turn has helped with some of my own research. The con is that I tend to get lost in research! I was working on a postcard depicting the grave of Benjamin Franklin and his wife. The card itself did not reveal much of interest to me. Dated 1907, it is an undivided back therefore the message had to be written very tiny on the white space at the bottom of the picture on the front. It's addressed to an Ernest McConnell of Narvon, whose family I have not heard of before. But ... hubby's family (on his mom's side) actually attended Christ Church in Philadelphia. His maternal grandmother is Julia Coursault. Her parents were Charles Edwin and Appelina Coursault....