Greetings! Cards and Notes Tell Stories of the Early 1900s

If email, Facebook, and Twitter had been around in the early 1900s, we would have no insight into communication among members of the Howe and Salyers families of Carrollton, Kentucky. Thank goodness people actually wrote notes and cards to each other – and thank goodness Sarah Eva Howe Salyers pasted so many of those notes and cards into her scrapbooks.

The most recent scrapbook I've explored contains many cards, and each one tells us something not only about Sarah but about the time in which she was a young woman. Today we'll look at some of those cards from the 1920s and 1930s.

Some cards in the scrapbook celebrate birthdays, while others are for staying in touch. Here are examples of both kinds.

These two birthday cards are pasted to old, crumbling pages, and I dare not try to remove them to see who sent them and who received them.

This birthday card was probably addressed to one of Sarah's children.

This sweet card invites someone to visit.

Someone is nudging the recipient of this card to write back. The sender, or maybe Sarah herself, tagged the dogs with the names of Sarah's children: James Richard, Bob, and Mary Alice.

Sarah's sister Leonora Alice Howe sent this postcard from Cincinnati to her brother-in-law (Sarah's husband), William Levi Salyers, while he was traveling on business.

Sarah sent this card to her husband, who was again traveling in his job as a representative of Moore Brothers Company, distributor of stoves and furnaces. She wrote a poignant note: 
"Who looks for your buttons now?"

Sarah kept many cards that have a Dutch theme. Most of them, like this one, are stereotypical – a child wearing wooden shoes, a windmill, and messages written in ethnic vernacular to simulate mispronunciation of American speech. I know from her descendants that she often used this phrase about the weather: "There's just enough blue in the sky today to make a Dutchman a pair of britches." I'll post more Dutch-themed cards in future posts, maybe with some insight about American attitudes about Dutch immigrants in the early 1900s. 

I wish I knew the story behind this card. Who sent it? Who received it?

Last but not least, this card sent by Sarah's son James Richard ("Jim") to his sister Mary Alice, suggesting that it might apply to her. It was in the early 1930s, and letters in the scrapbook reveal that Mary Alice had caught the eye of a young man named Lawrence. Jim suggested that she would jump up and run after him if he walked down her street.

Postcards and note cards tell a lot of stories. We'll look at more of them in a future post. In the meantime, I'll take a break from blogging to spend time with visiting relatives – three generations descended from Sarah's daughter Mary Alice.

Death Casts a Shadow on Sarah's Joy

We pick up the story of Sarah Eva Howe Salyers where we left off, with the birth of her twins Jim and Mary Alice. Sarah and her husband William L. Salyers now had two sons and a daughter in their happy Carrollton, Kentucky home.

It was a joyous time for Sarah, but she had one nagging worry. In the weeks before the twins arrived, her father, Robert James Howe, was not well. He was complaining about stomach upsets and fatigue. As many people did in those days, he had traveled by train to the world-class spas in French Lick, Indiana, hoping that the area's sulfur-spring "miracle waters" would bring relief.

Image from a post card sent home to Carrollton by Robert J. Howe in March 1910.

On April 8, two days before the birth of Sarah's twins, Robert wrote to his wife Alice Ada Cost Howe:

Dear Allie,
Today I have been recovering from the disorder of Friday.  Have been drinking waters hot and cold, walking, chatting, making acquaintances, etc. Visited West Baden again this morning and tried the waters from two of their springs. Mr. John Herrod[?] and Mrs.[?] James Todd of Owenton arrived last night. Took a bath hot sulphur salt glow rub etc. this afternoon. Letter from Bro Will [Rob's brother William F. Howe] rec'd this A.M. I wish you all good health. My love to you. Tell Leonora [Sarah's sister Leonora Alice Howe] to write.
Affectionately, Rob.

In other letters, Rob mentioned headaches, skipping dinner, and drinking "five or six glasses of hot mineral water, which has since been effective . . . " He wrote letters to Alice from French Lick as late as April 12, when he mentioned that he was "nervous" and would share details when he saw her. (I interpret the letter to mean that he was nervous about his health.) He probably left for home soon after that to meet his new grandchildren.

Less than three weeks later, on April 29, 1910, he was dead.

Although Rob was a prominent citizen and businessman of Carrollton and known throughout the region, I have not found his obituary online. It may have been front-page news in the Carrollton Democrat, as was the news of his brother Joseph B. Howe's death 19 years later. I'll be visiting Carrollton to dig in the archives and will update this post when I find an obituary.

Condolence Letters

Sarah's scrapbooks include many condolence letters sent to her and to her mother. Even though Rob had been feeling below par for a while, the letters indicate that his death was unexpected.

I am struck by the outpouring of sadness in these letters – and the eloquence of the writing. Most of the letters sent by relatives and close friends included comments about Rob's deep Christian beliefs, and most expressed concern for Alice and her daughters Sarah and Leonora. Some were especially concerned about Sarah, who was "just over her confinement" after giving birth to twins.

Page 1, Letter from "Aunt Katie"

To Alice From "Aunt Katie" of New Mexico:
"It is not that I think I can say something to lessen your grief that I write, but because I want you to know we feel for you and sympathize with you in your bereavement. ... But what a good thing he got home. And that Sallie was over her confinement. . . . The memory of him is so pleasant as he was so kind and good – and what comfort that is to us  . . ."

To Alice from Margaret Bond of New Orleans:
"I wish I was able to say something to help the heartaches, but words fail me so. With the deepest sympathy and may the Lord help you each one in this dark hour."

To Alice from Mariam Coltrane of Concord, North Carolina):
"God's ways are mysterious, and we have only to accept them knowing that it is a 'loving Father.' In this case we know that he was ready always for the summons and to me the quick call is so much more desirable than a long, lingering illness. ... I hope that Sarah was sufficiently recuperated not to have any real harm to her health from the shock."

To Alice from Mattie A. Carrington of Louisville:
 "I was so shocked and grieved to know of your great sorrow, and I want to offer you my love and deep sympathy."

To Alice from Mrs. W.C. Darling of Grand Rapids, Michigan:
"The very sad news has reached me of Mr. Howe's sudden death. How Mr. Howe will be missed. The vacant chair in the home, the empty pew in the church . . . "

To Alice from Sallie W. Wells of Charleston, South Carolina:
"I cannot yet realize it is true . . . I feel I have sustained a personal loss, for he was always a true friend, and they are passing away so rapidly. ... Not only will he be missed at home but wherever he is known."

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What a fitting post for Father's Day 2017. Sarah loved her father and was, as mentioned in the post dated Aug. 11, 2016, a bit of a "daddy's girl." Today's reflections on her father might remind us of our own. Happy Father's Day to all dads and dad-like mentors out there.

The Howe-Winslow Letters, Part 1: John and Uncle Henry Confer on John's Campaign for U.S. Senate – and Blame the Anti-Saloon League for His Loss

The handwriting above this photo of John Junior Howe (1879-1939) says "vote for." Because of other items in the scrapbook, we think the writing was by John J.'s 1st cousin once removed, David H. Salyers II (my husband's father, 1915-1981). "D2" would have been 9 years old in 1924, when John was a candidate in the Kentucky Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. John would have been 45. Although John ran for public office several times, I think this scrapbook entry pertains to his unsuccessful race for U.S. Senate.

Remember my comments in the previous post about having a packet of letters between John and his uncle Henry M. Winslow? I found a picture of Henry in the Carroll County section at Northern Kentucky Views. It identifies him as an lawyer and president of Carrollton National Bank. The image is not dated. Findagrave.com
 reports his birth date as 3 Aug 1850 (Carrollton, Kentucky) and his death year as 1931 (Sarasota, Florida). I'd estimate Henry to be 40 to 45 years old in the photo. (There's gray in the beard but no facial wrinkles.) That dates the image to 1890-1895. I'm  speculating, of course.

Most of the letters in the packet include one or both of these topics:

• John J. Howe's campaign as the "dry ticket" candidate in the 1924 Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. (Remember that several of the Howe men were card-carrying, tee-totaling members of the Temperance movement.) Most of the letters on this topic were focused on campaign finance.
• Henry's trials and tribulations related to owning the Carroll County, Kentucky, land from which a ferry made sojourns from Ghent to Vevay, Indiana, home base of the ferry's manager, Martha J. Graham.

In today's post, we focus on the campaign.

The Senate Primary Campaign of John J. Howe

John used caution as he made his decision to throw his hat in the U.S. Senate political ring. Here's an except from a letter he wrote to Uncle Henry on Nov. 9, 1923:

Now that the Democratic state ticket has been elected by such an overwhelming majority [William J. "Honest Bill" Fields, who like John J. Howe was a Methodist and a prohibitionist, was elected governor], I will soon begin to enter into the activities of my canvass much more vigorously and will shortly confer with some of my most dependable advisers preliminary to making my formal announcement.

On Dec. 3, 1923, Henry expresses a possible obstacle between John and victory in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate:

I am a little astonished and concerned to know what effect Gen. J. Tandy Ellis' candidacy will have upon your prospects, thinking probably that Senator Stanley's friends are pulling him out into the race in order to divide the dry vote with you.

(Augustus O. Stanley represented Kentucky in both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate and was the state's governor 1915-1919. Fellow Kentuckian  J. Tandy Ellis had multiple connections with him. Stanley was Howe's victorious opponent in the Democratic Party primary for U.S. Senate in 1924, but he lost the general election to Republican Frederick M. Sackett)

Just three days later, Henry writes to his nephew:

I got it in the neck to the tune of about $6000 in the Roane Chancery Court last week. And I am proceeding to pay it up before I leave here tomorrow to meet you in Lexington on Saturday.  . . . In view of this large unexpected demand upon me which I am proceeding to raise the money and pay off rather than continue longer in the courts, kindly do not clip or send in any of the coupons or expect any interest payment before the first of January on behalf of your mother and Lille, as I will be away in Florida until about the first of next year and may not be able to leave my finances in such condition as to meet these demands before that time.

Henry apparently was a defendant and lost in court to the tune of $6,000.

In the packet of letters I purchased, the correspondence about the campaign jumps from December 1923 to July 1924. Now we see a lot of references to cash, loans, rejected loan applications, and the like. On July 2, the president of Louisville National Bank, Richard Bean, writes to John J. Howe at his campaign headquarters, Room 349 Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, with carbon copies to John at his bank in Carrollton and to HMW, likely Henry M. Winslow in Tennessee:

I return herein the note inclosed [sic] in yours of the 30th ult. for $1000.00 because we are not seeking outside loans now Mr. Howe, and, of course, the loan as you offer it is rather unusual anyway. Whenever individuals borrow over $1000.00 we generally have collateral. I hope you can furnish that on this paper without any inconvenience.

I interpret the language to mean that John proposed borrowing $1,000 or more from the Bank of Louisville but was turned down flat.

Then on July 7, Henry replies to a letter from John – a letter in which John wrote, "It will be necessary soon for me to have more and if you are not coming this way soon maybe you better arrange it if possible." Henry responds:

I was in Chattanooga this morning and sold some of my stuff at really about 10% less than I thot [sic] it was worth and nearly 10% less than I was substantially offered last January, and I got for it the enclosed cashier's check for $1820 which I have endorsed to you. Do you suppose that you will be able to pull thru with this? If not, give me the best estimate you can as to what any balance you think I ought to contribute, will likely be.

Henry asks for the total cost of what campaign advertising has cost in the county and city newspapers, as well as the cost of travel and hotel lodging. He reports that relatives in Lexington have commented that John has "about a million of his pictures put up over the cities and country on every post, tree, telephone pole, windows, etc." While Henry admits that the relatives might be exaggerating a bit, he suggests that this kind of publicity may be "over-done."

He adds his opinion that the "Democrats in New York at the Convention are acting a fool very considerably and their chances of success in November maybe considerably lessened by reason of the bickerings they have had among themselves and that Coolidge and LaFollette may each reap considerable benefit for the lack of gumption among the democrats." (Indeed, Republican candidate Coolidge defeated Democrat John W. Davis and Progressive candidate LaFollette.)

Four days later, Henry returns to the topic of posters, relaying reports from Lexington:

. . . some of your friends as well as your enemies are adversely criticising [sic] your extravagant use of posters in that section of the country. I suggest if you should not warn your county managers against repeating this kind of advertising to the extent of over-doing it. However good this "poster" kind of advertising may have been in the more or less remote past, when it was first started, I hardly think it is apt to amount to much after it has become a sort of "old song" to which little attention is paid.

On July 17, Henry expresses dissatisfaction with the system of campaign finance. As I read it, I wondered if the Anti-Saloon League, a powerful, temperance-promoting social/political organization, was demanding money from the candidates it supported. Later in the letter, Henry expresses appreciation for the way a Republican running as a Progressive is funding his campaign. Again, we hear themes that may be familiar today, almost 93 years later.

The letters continue, back and forth. The men occasionally meet in Lexington, Carrollton, or Cincinnati to discuss campaign strategy and family business. In what appears to be his last letter to John during the campaign, Henry urges attention to "getting out the unpurchasable [sic], reliable and honest voters."

 

The primary election must have been soon after Henry wrote this letter, because a letter written by Henry's daughter Alice on Aug. 7 expresses sadness and surprise over John's loss.

It seemed to me that every body [sic] I knew was going to vote for John as there is so much feeling against Stanley. ... I was sorry too when John sent out word after the election that he would support Stanley in the fall. I think that was a mistake as well as wrong. John knows the type of man Stanley is and all he stands for, and to think that just because he is Democrat that he [John] would support him now in the Fall. It would be far better for us to have a good dry republican for a couple of years and get rid of Stanley than to keep him as a disgrace to the party and state.

The packet contains post-election letters, more of them from Henry to John that from John to Henry. We must extrapolate some meaning and make some guesses along the way. I get a sense from Henry's letter dated Aug. 9 that John wrote to him soon after the loss at the polls, thanking his uncle for his generous campaign support (Henry contributed $10,000 in an eight-month period) and maybe apologizing that he did not win. Henry responds:

I do not regret a thing in regard to the whole matter, except that the anti-saloon league did us up the way it did. I am of the opinion that its management is mostly rotten and merely, in recent years especially, becomes a mere graft on the candidates which it sees proper to to endorse for its supposed strength.

Perhaps my old friend Young and some few are reasonably honest (being largely deceived of the Devil however) but they are for the most part nearly as rotten as the old parties have gotten to be, and in their vain imaginations only pretending to earn their salaries and perquisitses [sic].

If in your experience with them you think that I am much misjudging them I would be glad to know.

. . . Still yet your affectionate uncle,

Henry

The last few letters about the campaign and election tell us a lot about money. It's easy to assume that both John and Henry were prosperous. Both came from entrepreneurial, successful families. Both worked as attorneys. Both were bank officers and had financial interests in land and other assets. The letters from Henry seem to cast doubt on that assumption. In a letter dated Sept. 3, 1924, Henry itemizes his outstanding loans:

I am up to my limit in both the banks here and another bank in Tennessee, besides having $4100, which I renewed at the Louisville National Bank, with the understanding that I would pay it about the first of November. This, besides the $5000 which I have from the Carrollton National Bank, including a $3000 note of Mr. Kennedy, discounted there by me. . . . I will see what other help I can render you, but if I add on another thousand, it will have to be by increasing my notes at Carrollton from $5000 to $6000 and putting up collateral. And taking out Mr. Kennedy's note discounted there.

Three days later, John writes back to his Uncle Henry, describing his own financial woes:

Did John accidentally buy a farm? Was he at the auction to inflate the bidding but got caught with the high bid? If he made a habit of that, it's no wonder he lacked cash!

More questions than answers at this point – and some of those answers may never be found.

Same-Day Delivery Letters: The 1800s Version of Texting

If you read "The Courtship of Sarah's Parents" posted 20 June 2016, maybe you noticed that Robert J. Howe mailed a letter and packages to his fiance on the morning of their wedding day, knowing she would receive them that same afternoon.

Did you wonder how the mail could get to Alice so quickly?

In 1882, same-day deliver of residential mail was common in Cincinnati and other major cities. Robert wrote on the envelope of his letter to Alice that it was to be delivered by 2 p.m. This was the letter about packing their trunks for the honeymoon, and the wedding was to be at 7 p.m. that very day. Time was of the essence!

 

According to the United States Postal Service,¹ letter carriers in major cities in 1880 were expected to make deliveries “as frequently as the public convenience . . . shall require,” Monday through Saturday. By 1905, carriers who worked out of New York City’s main post office made nine daily deliveries! Such service eventually became too expensive to continue. In 1950 the nation's postmaster general ordered postmasters to limit the number of deliveries in residential sections to one per day.

Endnotes
¹ U.S. Postal Service Publication 100: The United States Postal Service – An American History 1775-2006, accessed online 20 June 2016
Other Sources:
Michael Todd, A Short History of the U.S. Mail,  published in Pacific Standard online newsletter 6 February 2013. Accessed at https://psmag.com/economics/a-short-history-of-mail-delivery-52444 on 4 February 2019
Blog of the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum, accessed 4 February 2019 at https://postalmuseumblog.si.edu/2016/04/daily-deliveries-down-to-one-1950.html

The Courtship of Sarah's Parents

On March 4, 1870, at the age of 15, Robert James Howe,¹ abandoned his work on a composition about gorillas and started a new essay he titled “Matrimony.” The Howe family often wrote compositions for their own enjoyment and to express thoughts and opinions. They shared their writings with each other and saved them in notebooks, desk drawers, boxes, and scrapbooks. We’ll never know what prompted Robert to write about matrimony, but we can learn about him and his era by reading it: “I once read an anecdote in a paper about matrimony. A boy had been asked by his Sunday school teacher the definition of the word matrimony. He had in his mind the answer to a question about purgatory, so he gave that to her: ‘A place or state of punishment in this life, where souls suffer a short while before they go to heaven.  ...  Many persons differ in their opinions of matrimony, therefore I think the best way to judge it is by experience. So if you want to be initiated into the mysteries of matrimony, marry.”

Robert James Howe, undated photo

By 1880, having reached the age of 25, Robert gained a different perspective on matrimony. That was the year he met 21-year-old Alice Ada Cost.² They met at St. Paul M.E. Church in Cincinnati, where Alice played the piano at Sunday school and other gatherings. A note Robert wrote to Alice on Oct. 7 of that year leaves no question about Robert’s plans:

“Your kind note ... reached me in due time ... but my almost immediate departure prevented the prompt reply your kindness merited. [Robert traveled as a representative of his father’s thriving woolen mill located in Carrollton, Kentucky.] Since my return I have delayed answering because I was waiting an opportunity to call or in some other way further cultivate your acquaintance. Next Sunday ...  I expect to be at home and, if agreeable to you, I want to escort you to church that evening. Awaiting a favorable answer by mail – directly; I have the pleasure to subscribe myself, Respectfully, Robt. J. Howe.”

Alice Ada Cost, circa 1882

The telephone, though patented in 1876, was not commonplace in middle-class homes until the 1940s or later. Robert no doubt put put on his best suit, probably donned a hat, and made his way to 516 West Court Street, Cincinnati, where Alice lived with her parents Richard and Sarah Arnet Cost. Alice, no doubt, took care to wear her favorite dress and style her hair just so. Off they went on their first date, a stroll to the church for the Sunday evening service.

That first date must have been a success. The scrapbooks include many cards and letters from Robert to Alice. We find few, if any, from Alice to Robert. Alice, like many young women, kept her suitor’s letters as treasured mementos. If Robert kept Alice's letters, they did not make their way into their daughter Sarah's scrapbooks.

Over time, Robert’s letters become less formal. Names evolve from “Robert” to “Rob” and from “Alice” to “Allie.” Sentences become shorter and less elaborate in structure and language. Notes refer to mutual friends and favorite activities. Affection is obvious.

On Friday, Aug. 4, 1882, Rob wrote to Allie: “I returned last night in good health. Hope you are well. I expect to see you about eight o’clock this evening. Truly, Rob.” The evening went well, we can assume, because the next day Robert went to Duhme & Company, a highly respected jewelry and silver store at Fourth and Walnut in downtown Cincinnati, and paid $6.25 for an 18-karat wedding band.

By October 1882, the mail carriers of Cincinnati and neighboring towns delivered a wedding invitation: “Mr. and Mrs. R.H. Cost request your presence at the marriage of their daughter, Alice A., to Robert J. Howe, Wednesday evening, October eleventh, at seven o’clock. Cincinnati. 1882.”

On the morning of their wedding day, 11 October 1882,³ Robert sent Alice a last-minute note about packing for their honeymoon trip: “Dear Allie, Brace up! Clouds have a silver lining! Remember, ‘the clouds we so dread are big with mercy and shall break in blessings over your head.’ Herewith I send two packages. Please open both yourself. Put in trunk contents of the larger one and ... the other please put in wardrobe or elsewhere until tonight. After the ceremony I will put it on for traveling. Beside these I want to pack in your trunk two other suits. Yours, Rob.” (Robert’s reference about big clouds comes from “Light Shining Out of Darkness,” a hymn text written by William Cowper of England in 1774. The scrapbooks are full of references to literary and religious writings.)

The scrapbooks contain little information on the wedding, but I envision a beautiful event, with the Howe and Cost families and their friends – including some of the area’s social, political, and social leaders – “dressed to the nines,” reveling in delightful music and happy in each other's company.

Where did Robert and Alice go on their honeymoon? They packed trunks full of suits and dresses, so they must have traveled some distance, and they must have stayed a while. I have found nothing yet that specifies their honeymoon destination. When 15-year-old Robert wrote about matrimony, he  mentioned Niagara Falls as a typical honeymoon destination, so maybe they went there. Later in the scrapbook is a Niagara Falls picture postcard and a receipt dated Nov. 11, 1885, for a stay at the Hotel Kaltenbach. A second honeymoon, perhaps? The receipt, addressed to Mr. Howe, confirms payment of $9.38 for Room 24 for “Self and Lady” and Room 25 for a nurse, who accompanied Robert and Alice to care for 2-year-old Sarah Eva Howe.

Endnotes
¹ Robert James Howe was born 18 January 1855 in Flemingsburg, Fleming County, Kentucky to Irish immigrant parents John Howe and Sarah Brown Howe. Source for date and location: Passport Application; National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; Roll #: 211; Volume #: Roll 211 - 01 Nov 1875-31 Jan 1876; accessed on Facebook 4 February 2016. He died 29 April 1910. Source: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/31550875. I continue to search for an official death record.
² Alice Ada Cost was born 24 Dec 1859 to Richard Henry Cost and Sarah Evaline/Eva Arnet , probably in Cincinnati, Ohio, and died 15 April 1939 in Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky. Source: Kentucky. Kentucky Birth, Marriage and Death Records – Microfilm (1852-1910). Microfilm rolls #994027-994058. Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort, Kentucky. (Death Certificate #9569).
³ Ancestry.com. Ohio, County Marriage Records, 1774-1993 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.-Accessed 4 Feb 2016. The image indicates the record is in Hamilton County, Ohio Marriage Book 88, Page 361.