The more of these pages I scan and transcribe, the more I tend to really appreciate the notes and comments. Finding names and dates might be exciting for genealogists, but they’re just so terribly dry. It’s like someone signing a receipt or bill.
This was a tough name to decipher, and even after staring at it for a long time… I’m still not sure if I’ve gotten it correct. My initial impulse is to read the name as “Moom Hegemein.” I’m not sure if I’m reading the first name properly (or if it’s a shorter first name, with “M” as the middle initial). I’m also having a tough time with the last few characters in the last name.
George Terry,
Mattituck, L.I.
In the book of life, “Gods Album”
May thy name be traced with care,
And may all who here have written
Write their names forever there.
Unsure if the first letter is an “E,” but it’s my best guess. Whatever it is, it looks like a very fancy letter to make. If you look at the larger version, you can see that the letter was formed in one stroke, with the circular swirl done as the pen made its way down the letter.
Lives of great-men oft-remind us,
We can make our own sublime,
And in dying leave behind us,
Footprints on the sands of time,
Your Unknown Friend,
This note from Annie was a bit tricky, as it took me a few passes to get acquainted with her letter “M.” The end of the letter has a slight swirl to it, a backwards curl that almost resembles a lower case “q.”
I had a tough time reading the letter p in this note, but after comparing a lot of similar words… I feel a lot more confident about words like precepts and point. The one letter I’m still struggling with is in the final attribution (in the bottom left corner of the page). I think it’s “by B. J. Howe,” but I can’t tell for sure what the second initial is.
The Aldine Autograph Album, with decorated spaces and lines for sentiment and name.
What’s interesting to note is that her last name is spelled “Duryea” on this title page, but in subsequent pages shows up as “Duryee.” In fact, there are several other signatures that appear to be family members – and all of them sign their name “Duryee.”
A few days ago, while attending the Vintage Bazaar Holiday Pop-Up Shop, I came across an old autograph book. The moment I opened it and saw all the messages, I was entranced.
