-
Miss Margaret Sigler
Tucked among the many pieces of correspondence, envelopes, notes–and locks of hair–of my three-greats grandmother, Ellie Stoneroad Patterson, is this beautifully lettered acrostic. The poem spells out the name of Ellie’s mother Margaret Sigler. No author is listed, but assuming Margaret wrote it about herself and she did so while she was Miss Sigler and not Mrs. Stoneroad, the paper would predate 1835–the year of birth of Margaret’s first child, daughter Emeline. Many are the charming virtues of a lovely maid; In all her beauties there is no gloomy shade, Since the fair and lovely train, with spirits glow, So shall their modest actions and deportments show. Many are the direful modes…
-
Ellie’s new year’s resolution
Twenty-five-year-old Ellie Stoneroad, my third-great grandmother, resolved on January 1, 1868, to keep a journal for her eyes only. In her opening entry, she noted her mother’s recent illness, her existential boredom, her wish to do some good in the world, and her devotion to her god. Ellie continued to write from her Mifflin County home–for a while, anyway. She put pen to paper on January 2, 10, 17, 22, and 26; February 1, 4, 8, 9, 13, and 24; March 1, 11, 15, 25, and 30; April 14 and 26; May 3; June 3 and 8; and July 7. The new year’s resolution lasted for just about half a…
-
JL Patterson, farmer
My great great great grandfather, John Lyon Patterson, wife of Ellie Stoneroad, lived on a farm in Pleasant View, Pennsylvania. His stone farmhouse stands today, along present-day Route 75 in Spruce Hill Township, Juniata County, not far at all from where I grew up. My family, or at least many parts of it, hasn’t moved far in well over a century. Grace Patterson Henry, JL’s daughter and my great great grandmother, assembled and saved many items and papers from both her mother’s and father’s families, and she’s the reason I have this amazing collection today. Among the items saved are those pointing to JL’s farming background. I found one of these items…
-
Adams Express Company
The pile of old papers handed down from generation to generation and now finding itself in my hands has quite a few folded scraps of yellowed paper–letters, clippings, recipes, and so forth–whose context and relevance I don’t know. They’re interesting in the own right, as artifacts from two centuries ago, and their endurance is fascinating. How have these old letters and receipts managed to survive for so long? And, more importantly, why have they survived for so long? I toss my own papers every day. If I should stuff a few of them into a vault for 150 years, will future generations be fascinated by them? Will they be imbued with importance…
-
Bessie’s Hair
One of the more peculiar findings in my grandfather’s papers was inside a folded piece of paper tucked away in a folder with the papers of Ellie Stoneroad Patterson, my delightfully name great great great grandmother. It’s a lock of hair from a woman who died the same year the U.S.A. celebrated its first centennial. The very matter-of-fact note reads: Bessie died Sep. 1 1876 Myrtle” Oct ” Bessie’s hair A leaf that was on her corpse + a piece of her’s and Myrtle’s shroud A piece of hair and shroud
-
She didn’t even mention Abe
In a falling-apart expanding file are a number of beautiful little envelopes of private correspondence to Ellie Stoneroad Patterson, my three-greats grandmother. Inside are handwritten letters, embossed, on paper still substantial and barely yellowed, even after all these years. The handwriting is exquisite but light, not written darkly and faded over time. They’re tough to read, but not impossible. One letter, dated March 9, 1861, comes from S.E. Dixon, one of Ellie’s friends. Mrs. Dixon writes from Harrisburg of her travels to Baltimore, Annapolis, and Maryland over the previous week. We spent Sunday at Annapolis, had a delightful time, Monday we went to Washington, where we remained until Wednesday afternoon.…