Jane
In the booklet, that looks like an equivalent of a Dutch poetry album (mostly kept by girls), I
find this certificate that shows that Jane Scott bought a grave on March 10. 1886
in Chagrin Falls, a village close to Cleveland in the American state of Ohio. I
can’t remember how the booklet came into my wife’s possession, possibly she bought it in
an antique mall in Chardon, another village near Cleveland. I would love to find out
who Jane was and I have to do this by looking at all the people who wrote
something in the booklet. In the
coming days I will start an investigation and I will keep you posted.
Jane II
But first the album, It measures 20x13
centimeters, is covered with a velvety
material and the word Album is punched out of tinplate that is fastened
with three very small nails to the cover. The pages are gilded on the edges and
most of them carry no writing at all.
Some leaves have a romantic illustration. On its
first page it says “Good Luck Album”. The first person who writes in the album
does that on page five on October 25. 1886. Its not much of an effort because
there are only a few words: “Compliments of Alida Gifford”. To start with
my investigation I have to be on the look out for Alida in the census
of Chagrin Falls of 1890 or a census of an earlier date, but unfortunately I
can’t trace her. Although I find two families (Decorte and Nelisse) of Dutch
origin and I discover a widow Sarah Gifford, born in Wales, with three
children, none of them is called Alida. After looking
further elsewhere I find out that Sarah might be the widow of a blacksmith, George D. Gifford (born in England) and
that Alida, their eldest daughter, born
in 1869, married later in life J.W. Hutchinson and died on November 10.
1939.
Jane III
On the next page I find "best wishes" of A.H. Church, born in 1838, and he must be a blacksmith, just like George D. Clifford. What is the connection between Jane Scott and the local blackmiths?
Jane III
On the next page I find "best wishes" of A.H. Church, born in 1838, and he must be a blacksmith, just like George D. Clifford. What is the connection between Jane Scott and the local blackmiths?
Jane IV
Two pages further on, I find the first
contribution of somebody who makes a real effort in beautiful handwriting,
C.W. Randall. He is a surveyor in Chagrin Falls. But friend Otho? I thought the album
belonged to Jane Scott, this proves that during the past days I have been
looking at a wrong owner of the album. Otho is an unusual name, such a name
must be traceable and sure enough: in the census of 1870 I find the name: Otho
Scott is an eight months old baby then (it means that he is 16 years old on
November 22. 1886). He lives with his mother Jenny (32) en two brothers Frank
(4) and George (2) in Chagrin Falls in a house worth $800 and the rest of the
possessions are valued at $300. There seems to be no father. Has he passed away or is
he working elsewhere? Is
mother Jenny the same as Jane Scott who bought a grave on March 10. 1885 in
Chagrin Falls?
Jane V
Thanks to C.W. Randall I know now that the
album belonged to Otho Scott. Remarkable, because of the rather sweetish
pictures spread through the album. One page further – after Randall – J.J. Stranahan writes on December 13.
1886: “There is plenty of room in the upper story-climb”. I am able to find
out a little bit more about Stranahan by reading an obituary after his wife’s death in 1892. Stranahan came as
an inspector of fishing to Chagrin Falls in the autumn of 1872. A year later he
started - together with P. Hohler - a
paper, “The Chagrin Falls Exponent”. The paper would exist until 1964. In 1875
Stranahan is the single publisher of the paper, it became a weekly in 1930, but Stranahan
died fifteen years before that.
