On another page somebody contributes a message, only signing with his or her initials: B.R.L. This is not useful to me! But due to Otho's last name he or she adds a couple of lines: "Knew ye is a certainty that Virtue the best of possessions can-not live under the bonds of Servility. Motto of Wallace champion of Scotland." {Wallace was a Scottish knight (before 1272-1305) who fought the English during the first war for Scottish independence and was murdered in the most gruesome way for high treason in London.} B.TR.L.'s contribution brings me not one step closer in my quest to solve the riddle of the album, for that reason I will give some information about Chagrin Falls, a village south-east of Cleveland, founded in 1845. It took its name from a waterfall in the Chagrin river. The area covered is 5,5 square kilometers and in the year 2013 it had a little over 4000 inhabitants.
Jane VII
I turn a page and George B. Haggart, who writes as a schoolmate of Otho Scott, is doing an excellent job: "Otho. Remember well thy glorious past, Thy erringness with will - Then shall the future be thy better skill." George, son of James D. Haggart and a J. Moon was born on March 3 1869 and was seventeen when he gave this rather pedantic message to Otho. It does not seem to be a work of his own, he must have found those lines somewhere. The day before yesterday I contacted the historical society in Chagrin Falls and yesterday I got an answer from its president John Bourisseau and he could add some information.
In Jane III A.H. Church wishes Otho the very best, A.H. is Austin Church - son of Henry Church Jr. - Austin was born in 1869 and died in 1929. He is the grandfather of the director of Chagrin Falls' local museum. About J. J. Stranahan (see Jane V) John Bourisseau is able to add that Stranahan together with F.M. Hunt invented a folding boat, that was exhibited in 1883 at an international fishery exhibition in London and got a prize. The boats made by the Stranahan Folding Boat Company were not only sold in the United States, but they were also exported.
Jane VIII
From the start of my investigation I was worried about not being able to trace everybody who signed the album and this is the first one, Lewie H. Richards who on October 1886 wrote the following message: "Our friendship has budded on earth, may it blossom in Heaven". "Lewie", a strange spelling, because normally that name is spelled just like the name of the famous jeans company. I don't want to talk about the e in the name, but using a w in stead of an v is weird. Is Lewie a Louis, and acts he just like those Dutchmen who decide to write their name as Sjarrels in stead of Charles or a John who signs with Sjon. I can't find out and worse, I can't find a Lewie in the censuses.
Jane IX
I run into more difficulties. One of the reasons is the fact the census of 1890 is destroyed by a fire and precisely that census would have helped me a lot, because, remember most signatures date from 1886. Who is C. Stern, who writes "Compliments of your friend" and who adds jokingly "Boxing gloves Remember P's nose". I find a Walter C. Stern, born in 1874, son of Bernherse and Theressa Stern, originally from Germany. In 1880 they are 40 and 33 years old and have two more children Joseph (15) and Manda (13). But Bernherse? It does not seem a German name to me, can it be that by entrance into the United States, an authority understood Bernhard wrongly, and wrote down Bernherce.
Jane X
"Compliments of your friend", Ara C. Brewster wrote down on October 25 1886 in Otho Scott's album. After doing some research I do find out that Ara is not a woman's name but a man's name. He is one of the two sons of Calvin E. Brewster (1843-1885) and Flora Chapman (1850-1937). Ara, born on November 11 1868, marries Nora E. Pelton in 1891. Nora dies in 1960. I am on the look out for pictures of Ara and his wife, but the only picture I am able to find is one of the grave of his parents. Ara's brother Earl H. Brewster became a famous landscape painter.
