PAGE 16 - 7 Social Event Tickets, from 1869-1884

PAGE 16 of my great-grandfather's Souvenir Album.  My Great-grandfather, James Grover "Grove" TERWILLIGER, filled this Souvenir Album with a miscellany of ribbons, invitations, stamps, cards, tickets, cut-outs from hotel letterheads, and other items from his travels and his affiliations. 

On this page, he continues with 7 more tickets to balls, picnics, and other receptions, covering a range of dates from 1869 to 1884.
I will describe then as if they are in three horizontal rows, from top to bottom, from left to right.

1.  Lanciers EASTER PARTY at Empire Hall, April 25th, 1878.  I haven't yet found details of this event in the number of New York newspapers I've searched. I'm not certain if the word "Lanciers" refers to a family, title, individuals, or a society.  Of course, just to confuse the issue, a lancier is also a dance! In addition, Empire Hall is not found as a building - and I'm wondering if it is a hall inside the Empire State Building?   **See below for additional information - it's in Syracuse!  And the "Lanciers" also refers to a series of parties held there.

2.  Arion Masquerade Ball, Gilmore's Garden, Feb. 21st, 1879  This was apparently a huge ball, written up in a full column & a half in the New York Times the next day.  For details, click through - it starts on the top left column. "Last Year's Great Ball Eclipsed.  Gilmore's Garden banked with flowers and ablaze with lights -- Fifteen thousand persons present -- A magnificent Procession -- Scenes and Incidents"  and much more.  It's very entertaining reading about the masquerade ball and the variety of activities in the festival. Note that Gilmore's Gardens was on the site of the (later) Madison Square Garden.  

3 & 4 (2 tickets for same event).  Seventh Regiment National Guard Military Promenade & Civic Concert  [at] Academy of Music, Thursday Evening April 8th 1869.  Below the date you may be able to see my great-great-grandfather's signature: James Terwilliger, Esq  Note that this clearly is James M. Terwilliger, who would have been 44 yrs old; his older son, James "Grove" Terwilliger would have been only 13 yrs. 

5.  Annual invitation POLICE PIC-NIC and GAMES  of the First Platoon, 18th Precinct, at Sulzer's Harlem River Park, Friday, June 16th, 1882.  Once again, this ticket would have been for the senior James Terwilliger, as he was working for the Police Commission at this time. The Pic-Nic and games included a "Prize Shooting" event, as well as dancing.  All members of the New York Police Force were free to enter the Pic-Nic and Games events. The Park was at the foot of 126th Street, E.R. [E.R. means East River; the Harlem River Park is still there, at the foot of the Third Avenue Bridge]

6.  Reception and Grand Annual Festival of PALESTINE COMMANDERY No.18  Knights Templar, New York City.  Academy of Music and Nilsson Hall, Wednesday Evening, February 15, 1882.  Music by Gilmore's Band. Tickets were for Five Dollars Each.  Hmmm. $1 in 1882 is equal to at least $20, so this is not a small sum. 

7.  Seventeenth Annual Reception, B.P.O. ELKS, New York Lodge No 1, Madison Square Garden  Thursday, February 14th, St. Valentine's Night. Although there is no date on the ticket, research shows this is in 1884.  

I hope you enjoy reading about these activities and events in the late 1800s.  My great-great-grandfather James M. TERWILLIGER, and his elder son, my great-grandfather James Grover "Grove" TERWILLIGER, and their families, clearly enjoyed social events and societies. 

If you have further information or comments, do let me know below in the Comment section, or email me via calewis at telus dot net.  

**Albert Riezebos (Thank you!) found information on Empire Hall - in Syracuse NY.
Googling "Empire Hall"  brought up this, The seventh annual convention of the Woman's Belief Corps, Department of New York will be held at Empire Hall, Syracuse, Tuesday and Wednesday.  http://bit.ly/1bBV0ef  
...which led me to this:  "It was in 1856 that the building was extensively enlarged and improved, and in 1857 that it passed to Horace and Hamilton White.  it was then Sprague & Gage were the landlords and it was given the position of canal collector of Syracuse, Capt. William C. Gage became the landlord.  In the Empire, upon the reconstruction, was built the Empire Hall, an auditorium which in its time became quite famous for social gatherings, small conventions and church festivals."   http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyononda/hotels/empirehouse.html
See newspaper account - middle of 4th col.:http://bit.ly/1bFzsgH  

PAGE 15 - 1877-1884 Eleven Tickets to Social Events

Oh my, what a number of social events my great-grandparents attended. I'm not certain if they were actually members of some of these societies or organizations, but they could have been.

Here are 11 tickets, and I will describe then top-down, in 3 columns starting with the left-most column:

1. Hawthorne Literary Union, Monday Evening, October 15th, 1883, was presenting Gilbert's Comedy: "RANDALL'S THUMB", at the Lexington Avenue Opera House, followed by a Reception.  The ticket admitted "Gentleman and Ladies". 
2. The Greenwich Literary Society on Wednesday Evening, April 23rd, 1884, at the Lexington Avenue Opera House; the ticket was for the Closing Entertainment & Reception, and listed three women's names across the top left corner, with the words "Chimes of Normandy". 
3. "The Hawthorne" Dramatic Entertainment & Reception "Esmeralda" was held at the Lexington Avenue Opera House, on Monday Evening, April 21st, 1884. 
4. The Lee Literary Association provided the Second Dramatic Entertainment and Reception, at the Lexington Avenue Opera House, on Wednesday Evening, March 7th, 1883, at 8 o'clock.
   ------
5. Amateur League, Performance and Reception, at Lexington Ave. Opera House, on Tuesday Ev'g, Mar. 20, '83.  Evening Dress required for admission on floor to reception.  
6. Second Annual Reception of the members of Friedens Encampment, No. 89, I.O.O.F., at Fernando's Assembly Rooms, on Monday, March 20th, 1882, at 8 o'clock, P.M. sharp.
7. I.O.O.F.  Forty-First Anniversary, Ark Lodge, No. 28, at Ferrero's Assembly Rooms, Tammany Building at Eight O'Clock, Thursday Evening, February 17th, 1881.
8. Society of Tammany, or Columbian Order, 102d Anniversary of American Independence, July 4th, 1878.
   ------
9. Concert and Recitations, given under the auspices of The New York Post Office Temperance Association, at Masonic Temple, 23d St. and 6h Ave., on Thursday Evening, (8 o'clock), May 29th, 1879.   N.B. - The gentlemen appearing in this entertainment are all employed int eh service of the New York Post Office.
10. Concert and Recitations, [at] Chickering Hall, on Wednesday Evening, November 26th, 1879, under the auspices of The New York Post Office Temperance Association.
11. Philharmonic Society, Nyack-on-the-Hudson, Rehearsal, at Rockland Institute, on Thursday Even'g, Dec. 20th, 1877. Doors will be closed at 8 o'clock.

My greatgrandfather worked in the Post Office in various capacities.  He and his wife, as well as his parents, were strong Temperance supporters.  The family were very active socially, they loved drama shows as well as musical events and recitals.  We will see more of these kinds of event tickets on other pages.

If you have any questions or comments about these social events or places, do contact me via calewis at telus dot net, or leave a comment below.  I always appreciate learning further details! 

PAGE 14 - 3 Tickets: OLD GUARD, Knights Templar

Page 14 of my greatgrandfather's "Terwilliger Souvenir Album" contains 3 tickets to events in 1876, 1877, and 1878.  This family loved to attend social events!  You can click through on the web links to learn more and see relevant photos.

The blue ticket on the left is for Thursday Evening January 24th 1878, at the Academy of Music, for the OLD GUARD Veteran Battalion Military and Civic Reception.
In small print at the bottom of the ticket, it reads -
"Army and Navy Officers and Members of the National Guard are requested to attend in uniform"

The white ticket on the right is identical to the blue one, and is for Thursday Evening January 18th 1877, at the Academy of Music, for the OLD GUARD Veteran Battalion Military and Civic Reception.
In small print at the bottom of the ticket, it reads -
"Army and Navy Officers and Members of the National Guard are requested to attend in uniform"

For more information on the History of the Old Guard in New York, here is a link to a summary of how it came into being in New York:  click here.

The smaller ticket at the bottom is for the GRAND BALL of the Knights Templar Central City Commandery No. 25, to be held Thursday Evening February 17th 1876 at the New York State Armory, Syracuse NY.

The next page includes tickets to 11 concerts/receptions/recitations in the 1870s and 1880s.

If you have any additional information on these tickets, do contact me at calewis at telus dot com.  And, as always, I love to read comments below.

PAGE 13 - POLITICAL & ASSOCIATIONS, 1879-1894 Items

Page 13 of my great-grandfather's Souvenir Album.  My Great-grandfather, James Grover "Grove" TERWILLIGER, filled this Souvenir Album with a miscellany of ribbons, invitations, stamps, cards, tickets, cut-outs from hotel letterheads, and other items from his travels and his affiliations. 

This particular page has a very large invitation to the Opening of the Legislative Halls in the new capitol, Albany, January 7th, 1879; above it is the New Capitol Reception card entitling the ticket holder to attend the Reception as well : "Hon. James Terwilliger & Ladies".  Grove's father, James M. TERWILLIGER (1825-1909), had been active politically, part of the founding of the new Republican Party.  I suspect that Grove received various invitations as his son, moving in similar social circles, if not similar political circles. (note to self: more & more research to do)

On the left side are two ribbons:
The top one, POST OFFICE CLERKS ASSOCIATION of NEW YORK, has no date on it, but is likely from the late 1870s-1880s, as Grove is listed on the 1880 Census in NY as occupation: "Clerk in P.O."  By 1900, although his occupation is listed as "Clerk Rail Road"  I believe he was still a postal clerk, specifically for the railroad.

The bottom white one for the Grand Lodge of NY Independent Order of Odd Fellows - I.O.O.F. - ERICSSON OBSEQUIES, August 23rd, 1890.  The New York Herald had two notices including an Excursion ad about the Obsequies for Capt. John Ericsson, the inventor/builder of the iron-clad man-of-war, USS Monitor,  which you can read by clicking on the two links in this sentence.  The IOOF ribbon may mean the person wearing it could be on the boat, able to see/hear the ceremony more easily.  Capt. Ericsson's remains were returned to Sweden, where he was born.

The blue ribbon with a big red-white-blue bow-tie top, is for an "AIDE" attending the Oct. 10th, 1892 COLUMBUS celebrations of the N.Y. Public Schools. 

Under the blue ribbon is an Irish stamp [hidden], a Bermuda stamp, and 4 symbols - perhaps one of my readers can tell me what they are for/from - See left.

To the right of the Opening of the Legislative Hall invitation card are 4 more symbols, one of them for the Imperial Hotel in Cork (Ireland) - perhaps he'd travelled there.  I will need to do more research for ships' lists!  See right.  

Above the right-hand strip is a dark gold ribbon for the A.P.W. with verse: Asbury Park /  Is still alive, / And waits the / Meet for '95. 
What's the A.P.W.?  This is the Asbury Park Wheelmen - bicyclists!  Here's a link to the 1894 Meet article in the NY Times, October 5, 1894.

The right edge of Page 14 has 2 ribbons:
The top red white and bue ribbon states: Wholesale Dry Goods Republican Club, and likely refers to the Presidential campaign in 1892.

And finally, the COMANCHE CLUB Outing, Sept. 11th, 1894, ribbon at the bottom right. The Comanche Club may have been another cyclists' club in New York. 

Whew! A very busy page, Page 14.  Outings, Events, Political and personal interests - I think my great-grandfather was a bit of a pack-rat!

Please do comment or post your questions about this post - I always love to hear what others think of these posts.  I'm determined to inventory Grove's Souvenir Album, although each page sometimes takes a number of hours of research!    You can also contact me directly at calewis at telus dot net  

PAGE 12 - ORGANIZATIONS' RIBBONS

Page 12 of my great-grandfather's Souvenir Blog includes 7 ribbons from various organizations.  All are silk, and are thoroughly glued onto the page -- indeed, they are glued into the page!

The first one is a 7" silk ribbon from the Knights Templar organization, advertising the "62nd Annual Conclave of the Monroe Commandery No.12, Grand Commandery Oct 12, 1875, Rochester NY".  I looked this up online, and found an example of the same ribbon described as follows, in the New York Historical Museum & Library:   Polychrome printed silk ribbon: depicts vertical arrangement of masonic elements emblematic of Knights Templar:  helmet, cross, crown, triangle, circle, and Maltese cross;  with inscriptions:  "IN HOC SIGNO VINCES / 62d / ANNUAL CONCLAVE / MONROE / COMMANDERY / No. 12 / K.T. / GRAND COMMANDERY / Oct. 12, 1875. / ROCHESTER, N.Y."
The Latin motto stands for "by this symbol [the red cross] you shall conquer"; sometimes stated as "by this sign you will succeed".    Clearly I need to find out if my great-grandfather and/or his father were members.  Or perhaps he had friends who were members.  My great-grandfather was a puzzle - he seems to have been a member of many different organizations, but it isn't clear to me how active he was in any of them.  As I go through the Album, I will be doing more research on this to try to gain a clearer understanding of him. Sometimes I think these items are from his own father, James M. Terwilliger, who stood on several election tickets, and was also the first Secretary for the new Republican Party when it was formed.

Next is a slightly wider white silk ribbon for the Hugh de Payens Commandery, No. 30, Buffalo, N.Y.  Once again, this is for the Knights Templar organization, the Masons.  But Buffalo is a long way from home for my great-grandfather.  Perhaps he collected ribbons from other Brother Masons.  For those readers who are not familiar with the the Masons, here is a link to a brochure found online.

In the middle is a wide, 8" black ribbon, with gold-thread edging and 'tails'.  "State of New York / WM. H. SEWARD. / Memorial honors. / by the LEGISLATURE. / Albany, April 18, 1873. / OFFICERS."  Clearly the wearer would have been an Officer for the Legislative Memorial Service - was this worn by my 2nd great-grandfather James M. Terwilliger? He would have been 53 in this year, so this is certainly possible, whereas my great-grandfather James "Grove" Terwilliger would only have been 27 yrs of age.   William H. Seward was a very well-known politician in New York state as well as in Washington DC.  Click to read more about him.  He died October 10, 1872, and this Memorial Honor event in the following spring, was put on by the Legislature to honor his services; the link leads to the NY Times newspaper write-up of the entire speech given for Wm. H. Seward.

Next is a 6" white silk ribbon, Knights Templar, for the CENTRAL CITY Commandery, Syracuse, N.Y., No. 25.  As in previous ribbons, the number identifies the Lodge number.

On the right is a narrow 6 1/2" ribbon for the CYRENE COMMANDERY, No. 39. in Rochester, N.Y. Under the symbols on the shield is the phrase: "Be thou faithful unto death."   The quote running across the bottom says:
       "Silver and Gold have I none, but,
        such as I have, give I unto thee."
Finally, in very small print at the bottom:  Oct. 12 & 13, 1875 --- A . O .  767

Along the bottom underneath these ribbons, are two small silk ribbons (5" x 1 1/2") for the N.E.A.  This is the National Education Association.  The right white ribbon:  N.E.A. 1892.  Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; and the left red ribbon states:  N.E.A.  Denver, 1895,  New York.  While neither my great-grandfather nor his father were teachers, my great-grandfather had a very good friend who was a school superintendent, and his half-sister [twenty years younger] was also a teacher.  These are plausible - but certainly not proven - reasons why he has these ribbons from two of their annual meetings.

If anyone has more information about these 7 ribbons' events, I would be very happy to learn more, and will amend this post.  Comment below, or email me, calewis at telus dot net.  It was fascinating to read about these groups of Masons/Knights Templar, and the NEA.

TERWILLIGER SOUVENIR ALBUM - One Year Blogiversary!!

Well, this is it - my ONE-YEAR BLOGIVERSARY!  I've only done 11 pages so far.  Sigh.  So many pages to go, and some of them are very challenging or frustrating in one fashion or another.  But it is a start at least - one page by one page...







My maternal greatgrandfather, James Grover "Grove" TERWILLIGER, put together a Souvenir Album in the 1890s, including many items from his parents' lives.  The Album is 16.5" tall, 11" wide, and 5" thick.  I refuse to count the number of pages but it's more than 120 - I think.  I keep being distracted by items on the pages, and the pages are quite heavy, as well. One day. Here is the cover on the right:



The Album is quite thick, made of very heavy paper, with items 100% tightly-permanently-glued down on each sheet.  It includes symbols cut out of paper/letterheads, tickets, menus, political buttons, wedding invitations, calling cards, and more.  I'm determined to inventory the entire album, to record it.  Some of the earliest items seem to be from about 1840.

Above is a photo of the book from the side - the bookmark [business card] shows where I'm at right now! The next page will be Page 12.

I hope all of you are enjoying some of the pages - there's something here for everybody.  I'd love to dash ahead and show you the menu for a dinner party they had.  Or to show you the pages with a very few very old photographs - not labelled of course!  And the obituaries which helped me learn about his wife's mother - the ORMSBEE line.  Oh, and the page of political buttons and other oddities in the middle of the Album.  Fascinating items.

If you would like more information about this Album, or any of the pages detailed to date, please contact me at calewis at telus dot com, or Comment below.  Cheers (clink!)...

PAGE 11 - 4 Fanciful NY Tickets, 2 Small Ones, 1882-1897

My last post on my greatgrandfather TERWILLIGER's photo album, showed 3 large decorated tickets to music events.  The next page in the album has 4 similar tickets, plus two small tickets.  These ones are more varied, ranging from an Elks Society Annual Reception, to a Symphony ticket.
This is the full page, showing the placement of these fanciful tickets to events in New York (mainly):

Here are the two small tickets on the left side:  [Blue]  Nov. 12, 1892, First Evening Concert, Symphony Society of N.Y., at 8:15, Music Hall, New York  
[White] Mar. 20, 1897, Fifth Evening Concert, Symphony Society of N.Y., at 8:15, Carnegie Hall, New York    

The large ticket on the left side has no identifying information on the event being staged, but it is very attractive and complex. I searched through Google Images, and didn't find any reference to this very interesting image - I'm certain there is a 'story' here, don't you?
The Top Middle ticket appears to be a fund-raiser for the Renner's Dancing Academy:  a Grand Masquerade Ball, Tuesday Eve'g, February 14th, 1882, at Walhalla, 48-52 Orchard Street.

The Bottom Middle "Ladies Ticket" is for the 13th Annual Reception of New York Lodge No. 1, the B.P.O. Elks, at Madison Square Garden, Monday, Feb. 9th, 1880.  This would be the original Madison Square Garden building [1879-1890].


Finally, the Right side Ticket: the Bal Masque de L'Opera, Thursday January 26th, 1882.  No place is described, however a quick search through my favourite NY newspaper website, http://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html  showed me the Evening Telegram NY newspaper [p.3,right side], states it was held at Madison Square Garden.

I hope you enjoyed these fanciful tickets providing insight into the variety of cultural events happening in New York city, in the 1880s.  If you have more information or details of any of these items, do let me know - I love learning more.  The links add a bit of history or additional details, for your pleasure!

Contact me at calewis at telus dot net, and/or leave a Comment below!

PAGE 10 - CARNIVAL & BALL TICKETS, 1882 and 1883

The next two pages are of fanciful Tickets of Masquerade Balls and Carnivals.  The TERWILLIGER family apparently loved anything to do with music, dance, and concerts of all kinds.


Here is the full page with three large souvenier Tickets, on the left.  You can see that the top and bottom tickets are the same format/design, with different fonts for the details on the 'card'.





The top ticket:
The Grand Masquerade Ball of the New York Maennerchor, Wednesday February 21st, 1883
held at Terrace Garden, 58th Street, near 3rd Avenue.   The New York Maennerchor [men's chorus] celebrated German and American choral singing.  There are a number of Maennerchor societies continuing to sing in communities such as Utica Maennerchor, which has been going strong for over 145 years!

The middle ticket:
The Grand Carnival de L'Opera, Madison Square Garden, Thursday January 26th, 1882.  The New York Metropolitan Opera did not open until almost 2 years after this date, so this ticket may be to a gala fund-raiser.  Do let me know if you have additional details.  This is the first Madison Square Garden building, which was used for a number of sporting events at the time.

The bottom ticket:
Prospect Ass'n Grand Masquerade Ball, Academy of Music, February 1st, 1883
held at the Academy of Music & Nilsson Hall.  Apparently the Prospect Association held annual Grand Balls, but I have yet to find details of the purpose of the Association.  Another small mystery to be solved.

The next page, Page 11, has 4 large tickets similar to these, plus two small tickets as well.  I hope you enjoyed seeing these 130 year old tickets.  As always, if you have questions or information to offer, please do not hesitate to contact me at calewis at telus dot com, or leave a Comment below!

PAGE 9 - 14th Annual Reunion, ARMY of the POTOMAC

Page 9.    My Terwilliger greatgrandfather and his family actively participated in many social events - for example, the Newburgh Centennial details can be seen back on the post for Page 4 of his Souvenir Album. On this page, he has surrounded the poster with many symbols of organizations and the like. Personally, I like "Friday" on the right side! I have little notion of the symbols' meanings, and hope that some of the readers will understand - for instance - the 6-pointed cross in the middle surrounded by sun, moon, stars, and various crosses! Do feel free to comment below.

The dates of the 14th Reunion are on the inset drawing of Washington DC, at the centre bottom:
      MAY 16th & 17th, 1883

In swirling ribbon beside the words "Army of the Potomac" are the following names:
Left:                         Right:
McDowell              Burnside
McClellan             Hooker
Pope                       Meade

The ribbon tied below states 1861    1865  on the 'bows', and Bull Run and Appomattox on the strands, above the drawing of Washington DC.

The Executive Committee members are listed on both the left and right sides at the bottom:
Left:
Gen. A.A. Humphreys          Gen. John G. Parke,
Gen. S.S. Carrell,                 Gen. George D. Ruggles
Gen. J. C. Tidball,               Gen. Ellis Spear
                Gen. E.A. Garmin
Right:
Gen. Duncan S. Walker      Major H.L. Cranford
Major George M. Lockweed    Major N.H. Camp
Capt. John M. Carsen        Capt. R.W. Tyler
               Capt. I.N. Burrill

On the right side can be seen symbols of sea battle: a sailing ship's sails and masts, flag, trumpet, anchor. On the left side, ground battles with a helmet, drum, cutlass, rifles, cannon. All draped in the American flag.

And around on all sides... cut out symbols, painstakingly and thoroughly glued onto this page. I may need to do a page only on these 50 cut-out symbols! Several I can see are Sigma Phi letters. Here are a few more:

• The red circle middle top:  The Military Service Institution
• The red circle top left:  United States Consulate Annaberg Saxony
• The tall gold rectangle left:  Morton Commandery, New York
• Beside the above, on right, Small square, blue on gold, deer -?:  "Pulset Virtus"  (They were brave/virtuous)
• Below the above, a prancing unicorn
• On the top right, blue circle:  Jamaica
• Also top right, below above circle:  Newburgh Centennial
• Below above:  Friday
• Below above:  Happy New Year (in red ribbon)
• Beside above, dark gold seated baby holding a staff with a 'leaf' on either end -?

Also on the right side, there are two birds on a log, facing each other with a symbol seen on one of them between the birds (seen right side top, and also in middle right);  there is an owl sitting on the old man moon, many Greek letters [for organizations], as well as stylized initials.

If you have any light to shed on these symbols and letters, do leave a comment or email me at calewis at telus dot com   - I am always happy to add to the knowledge about items in my greatgrandfather's Souvenir Album.  

The next page is of Balls, Masques, and Operas - gorgeous brilliant cards.

PAGE 8 - 8 MARRIAGE INVITATIONS

This feels like part of a Christmas Song...   Eight Marriage Invitations!

My Greatgrandfather, James Grover "Grove" TERWILLIGER, (1856-1929), kept an oversized Souvenir Album, which includes a few items of his father's and then his and his wife's family, friends, their activities and events through the 1800s into the quite early 1900s.  On this page, I find one relative, Jenny D. Graves - my 1st cousin, 3x removed.

The couples' marriages are apparently in the early 1880s, not all cards list the year; italics and non-italics and size of font are my best attempt of reflecting the cards themselves:

1.  Jones - Hier  Mr. & Mrs. R.W. Jones request your presence of the Marriage of their Daughter, Lulu  to  George S. Hier, Wednesday Evening, March 26, 1879, at eight o'clock, No. 154 South Salina St., Syracuse, N.Y.  ["Lulu" is nickname for Louisa]                              

2.  Ryan - Fyler  this envelope contains three heavy unadorned cards: (a) Ceremony    Thursday May seventeenth, 1883. St. Lucy's Church, Syracuse, N.Y., 9.30 A.M.,  (b)  Peter L. Ryan    Ada C. Fyler  and, finally (c) a church card:  Please present this card to the usher.   No details of the parents - this is a rather unusual invitation to a wedding, don't you think?

3.  Hansell - Dill  Mr. & Mrs. Standish F. Hansell  request your presencc at the marriage of their daughter Mary to  James Brooks Dill, Thursday afternoon, October 21st  at four o'clock,  1705 Summer St. Philadelphia.   1880   

4.  Burdett - Crow  Mr. & Mrs. G.C. Burdett, request your presence at teh marriage of their daughter Lillie  to  A. Eugene Crow,  Tuesday afternoon, September twenty sixth, at four o'clock,  Church of the Heavenly Rest,  Fifth Avenue near Forty-Fifth Street, New York.

5.  Tefft - Schwarz  Here is a notice of a marriage having already taken place:   Adolph H. Schwarz,  Mary C. Tefft  Married  Thursday, February 14th 1878.   4 Burns Place, Syracuse, N.Y.   An enclosed card seems to be an at-home card:  Mr. & Mrs. A.H. Schwarz,  Empire House, Syracuse, N.Y.  [Empire House was a large hotel by the railway station in Syracuse NY]

6.  Hastings - Rogers  The pleasure of your company is requested at the marriage reception of F. Adele Hastings  and  Geo. Tracy Rogers,  Thursday evening April fourteenth, eighteen hundred eighty one, at eight o'clock.  754 Main St.  Buffalo, N.Y.

7.  Graves - Craner  Mr. & Mrs E.C. Graves request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their daughter,  Jennie D.  to Royal K. Craner, Thursday, April 28th, 1881, at 5 o'clock P.M.  Jordan, N.Y.    [Jennie is the daughter of Edward C. Graves, my greatgreatgrandfather Charles Giles GRAVES's brother]

8.  James - Pearson Mr. & Mrs. Thomas L. James request your presence at the marriage of their daughter, on Thursday, April twentieth, at half past seven o'clock.  Church of the Holy Trinity, Madison Ave. & 42d Street.   It's not an oversight as the names of the couple are not listed on this invitation at all.  But - there are four enclosed cards:  (a) Mr. Henry G. Pearson  a larger card: (b) Miss James   an even larger card: (c) Please present this card at the Church  and finally, a large card: (d) Reception from eight until ten  6 East 49th Street.


Contact me if you wish to see the individual cards, and if any of these people are your ancestors, do let me know any details of these brides and grooms.  I'm always excited to add more details to my greatgrandfather's Album inventory.  

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas everyone.  Have a glorious New Year in 2013 with loving family and friends.   - Celia

PAGE 7 - 7 MARRIAGE INVITATIONS

Away from Death & Calling Cards, and into Marriages for this next post! This Souvenir Album belonged to my great-grandfather "Grove" who filled it in;  it was saved by his eldest child, my grandmother, and was carried back and forth through her many moves back and forth across North America, finally ending up in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

The dates of several of these marriages are in the early 1880s, so I can assume that these individuals are friends of either or both James Grover "Grove" TERWILLIGER & Clara Augusta "Gussie" GRAVES. Grove & Gussie were my maternal great-grandparents and lived in New York and in New Jersey. These seven couples are as follows:

Munroe & Williams
Dilks & Robinson
Eggert & Jacques
Jones & Halsted
Rice  & Kelly
McDonald & Little
Snydam & Clark

-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  

Munroe & Williams:
"Mr & Mrs Allen Munroe  request your presence at the marriage of their daughter Mary Louise,  to  David Sage Williams, on Wednesday January thirty first at twelve o'clock. West Genessee St.  Syracuse N.Y."

 Dilks & Robinson:
"Mr & Mrs George W Dilks  request your presence at the marriage of their daughter, Josephine,  to  Andrew J Robinson, on Tuesday evening December fifth, at seven o'clock.  University Place Church, 10th Street & University Place"     Enclosed card:  "Reception  from eight until eleven o'clock, 34 West 9th Street"

Eggert & Jacques: 
"Mr & Mrs William Eggert  request your presence at the marriage of their daughter, Vine,  to  John Jacques, Thursday evening March fifteenth at eight o'clock.  Central Congregational Church, Madison Avenue & 47th Street  New York.  1015 Lexington Avenue"    Enclosed card: "Reception, from half past eight until twelve o'clock, Turf Club, Madison Avenue & 26th Street"    *Update from an anonymous comment:  Vine is actually Alvina Eggert, and the year is 1883.

Jones & Halsted:
"Mrs L Russell Jones  requests your presence at the marriage of her daughter, Isabella Ker  to  Newberry O Halsted, Wednesday September 26th 1883, at twelve o'clock, Christ Church, Rye, NY"

Rice  & Kelly:
"Mr & Mrs Edward F Rice  request your presence at the marriage of their daughter, Lizzie E,  to  Andrew W Kelly, Wednesday afternoon, January fourth 1882, at half past five o'clock.  First Presbyterian Church, Syracuse NY"    Enclosed small card: "Please present this card at Church"

McDonald & Little: 
Mrs. J. Grant McDonald  requests the pleasure of your company at the marriage of her daughter, Belle,  to  H. John Little, on Thursday evening, February nineteenth, at half past eight o'clock.  41 West 42nd Street."

Snydam & Clark:
"Mr. & Mrs. L. C. Snydam,  request your presence at the marriage of their daughter, Jessie,  to  Gaylord P. Clark, Wednesday afternoon June fifteenth, at four o'clock.  Baldwinsville, N.Y.  1881" 
(remember Dr. Gaylord P Clark from the Calling cards? became Dean of College of Medicine, Syracuse University; died young).
-  -  -  -  -  

I hope you enjoy checking out some of the links in the above marriage announcements.  It's clear that I'll need to go back through some of the Calling Cards eventually and update the information I find about some of my greatgrandparents' friends.  

As always, do contact me if you wish any information or photographs of the Marriage Invitations of specific individuals.  The next page in the TERWILLIGER SOUVENIR ALBUM, Page 8, contains 8 Marriage Invitations.  A nice symmetry.  

PAGE 6 - CALLING CARDS, BLACK-BORDERED

On this next page of the Souvenirs Album, my great-grandfather Grove carefully glued down 18 Calling Cards, in a rather pretty pattern.

Of these, you can see that 6 have black borders on them (4 thick borders, 2 thin borders), which indicate the person on the card was in mourning.

Interestingly, many of the cards have addresses on them - although I'll have to see if all of those addresses are for New York city, Albany, Saratoga Springs, Syracuse, Roselle New Jersey, or places further away!  Clearly, Google Maps and I are going to become great friends.

As in previous posts, the links often go to the quirky site Old Fulton NY Post Cards (turn off your speakers!), which has a wonderful searchable database of old New York state newspapers.  If you look at the pages for the person in an article or social note, don't forget to use Control-F to find the name highlighted on the newspaper page.  Of course you'll find lots of interesting distractions as well on the pages!

I've decided to transcribe in 3 horizontal sections from left to right, top down. The mourning cards with black outlining are underlined.  Enjoy clicking through the links here, as well.

Top Row:

• Left Corner:  Charles H Holt,  #9 Pine Street (penciled), although the printed address on the card is 643 Fifth Avenue.  - Well, the addresses don't match, but I think this is our Charles H. Holt, found on Ancestry.com in the NY 1891 city directory:  occupation  Executor, 1180 Ninth av.  h 47 W. 72d.  That occupation "Executor" is a legal term regarding estate law and related roles; don't confuse the word with Executioner, a quite different role indeed!
  
• James Nicolson   - is this the James Nicolson who was active/owner in the Hardware & Metals Trades?  or the James Nicolson advisor to British Admiralty -?  or some other person entirely...?
  
• Belle McDonald, 41 West 42nd St.  - possibly the writer of Sunday School books;  or the woman who penned the fanciful story of how a deer founded what is now Gloversville NY;  possibly this is Mrs. Belle McDonald whose daughter died in 1903 at Oriskany NY.  But I suspect she may be the co-owner of a Millinery store in Johnstown, who bought supplies in New York (Johnstown is a little north of Albany).  Perhaps a totally different friend?
  
• Right Corner:  Mr. Charles F. MacLean, 14 Gramercy Park   - This would be the lawyer who became the NY Police Commissioner, and later a Justice of the NY Supreme Court;  died 19 March 1924 in NY.  Unclear who the person is who died (as this mourning card signifies) as his wife was alive in 1924; possibly a parent?   And, ah yes, Gramercy Park - New York City's only private park.  A rather exclusive address, indeed!  I have a memory that my grandmother Terwilliger mentioned coyly that their family had a key to open the gate and visit/play there at times.

Middle Section:

• Rotated card: Mr. Carlton Rogers Jewett    - I found a lovely photo of Dr. Jewett on a Jewett family tree [Ancestry.com], and a rather gushy write-up of his wedding in 1885, with words like "a very brilliant reception" etc.  Although a physician, he was listed in the newspaper article as both Dr. and Mr. Jewett.
  
• Dr. F. H. Dillingham, 118 East 17th St,    - physician in NY,  living with Charles T. Dillingham, publisher, as found on Ancestry.com NY 1882 City Directory.  He was an Assistant Sanitary Superintendent in Manhattan, and worked in the Health Department for about 20 years until resigning in 1902.
  
• Rotated card:  Emma Edwards   - so far I've found several likely Miss Emma Edwards, and several Mrs. Emma Edwards, not necessarily the same women, in various towns of New York state.
  
• Manfred P. Welcher, Pleasantville N.Y.   - The Rev. Dr. Manfred P. Welcher, "Field Secretary of the Anti-Cigarette League of America"; this organization sought to make illegal the selling of cigarettes and cigarette paper to minors.  In 1902, he is listed as (Rev.),  living in Brooklyn, NY, on Carlton Avenue [Ancestry.com].   Pleasantville is a pretty little town in Westchester county about 30 miles out of town from New York.
  
• Rotated card: William W. Hansell, 1705 Summer St     - There was a calling card for a Standish F. Hansell posted on "PAGE 4 - 29 Calling Cards"; perhaps a relative?  Searching on Ancestry.com, 1885 City Directories: William W. Hansell, home residence at 1705 Summer Street in Philadelphia PA, a partner with Merritt Hall,  Hansell & Hall "shoes".   On the same page is listed Standish F. Hansell, and a number of other Hansells, several related to "Hansell & Sons, Saddlers".   Here's a link to a 1901 social notice of a William Hansell off on a 10-day yacht cruise with friends [middle of page].  Another link to a 1902 notice that he had been robbed of money and a gun by a Florida pilot [going through a 'bad channel'], while sailing with the same friends as noted in the 1901 notice.
  
• Jas. Terwilliger, 139 Warren Street    - This would be my greatgrandfather  father's card.   This is the manner in which he usually signed his name or put his name on a photo.  Plus, the only other possible James Terwilliger would be his nephew who was born 1886 - too young to have a Calling card for this Album.  As James M. Terwilliger lived in Syracuse for much of his life except until shortly before he died, this address would be for the town of Syracuse 
  
• Centre, thick black border:  Mrs. N. G. Wolfe   - Although her mourning card is carefully placed smack in the middle, I've had no luck finding more information about who this person could be, nor her husband, nor her relationship with my Terwilligers. 
• Below left angled:  Robert S. MacArthur, 130 West 21 (penciled)    - (Rev.) Robert S. MacArthur, was Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, NY; and later, President of the Baptist World Alliance.  See Book link here as well, about the History of Calvary Baptist Church, written by Robert Stuart MacArthur & Frank Rogers Morse, published 1890.
  
• Centre rotated card, thick black border:  James P. Ballard,  Jan. 1st, 1883 (penciled)   - This may be the same person nominated (Democratic ticket) for  Assessor-Van Buren.  And likely the same person, whose daughter Florence was married to Frank A. Weber of the Royal Air Force [Britain] on July 13, 1918.   The date penciled on the calling card may be the date of visitation -?  Perhaps someone has a better idea...
  
• Right angled card:  Harvey C. Hemingway, 129 Macon St, Brooklyn (penciled)    - In 1895 the Hemingway Preserving Company was incorporated in Auburn NY, with Harvey C. Hemingway, Dwight F. Hemingway, & Edward W. Parmele, as Incorporators and Directors.   In 1900 City Directory, Harvey is listed as Sec-Treas & General Manager of HC & Co Inc., living in Syracuse, NY.  The company was briefly described in the Directory as 'packers and mfrs canning machinery'.  In 1925 the Syracuse City Directory lists him as Pres and gen.mgr; living with two other directors at same home address - 2 sons? Roy W. & Stuart C.  

Bottom Row:

• Left Corner, thin black border:  Miss Carrie E. Gibson, 42 East 29th St .  - I believe this might be the Carrie Gibson who married J. Frank Hull and settled in Poughkeepsie.  Before her marriage, she was quite musical (singing); there is a newspaper account of her conducting a choir of young children for a special event held at Cherry St. Chapel, Poughkeepsie.
  
• Charles Harris, 278 Carroll St    - There are many many Charles Harris individuals listed in New York in the late 1800s and early 1900s - [over 20] too many to identify this particular person, and none to  match the same address, which is in Brooklyn, by the way.
  
• Augustus E. Jardine   - In 1910 Atlantic City N.J. Directory, [Ancestry.com] he is listed w. wife Mary; occupation as vice-pres and gen mgr Atlantic City Transportation Co..  Ten years earlier, in 1900 Federal Census of Smyrna Delaware, [Ancestry.com] he is listed with wife Mary and son Edward, his occupation was Sec-Treasurer of Transport co.   He died 18 October 1925 and is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, NY.
• Right Corner, thin black border:  Mrs. William H. Strickland, 87 Madison Ave.    -  The assumption is that it's not her husband who died [she would likely then card herself as Mrs. -her given name- Strickland].  One possibility is found in 3 March 1891: "William H. Strickland, one of the lumbar kings of the Penobscot River, died in his home in Bangor last Friday, aged 61 years."  Or... was he an agent for travelling entertainers?  And who is she? 

There you have it - an entire page of interesting Calling Cards including Mourning Cards.  A lot of searching and digging through potential names in New York state, as well as other possibilities that showed up in searches.  At some point, one has to quit and put this up online... I'm definitely NOT doing an exhaustive search here for this project, simply a brief logical search through several different databases, checking maps as well.  

Once again, if you know any of these listed people, do let me know the correct details or any stories of them.  I'd be thrilled to be able to add to the inventory of my greatgrandfather's Souvenirs Album.