Open Book

Nineteenth Century Doggerel Poetry   Bursts of creative poetry can appear in the strangest of places. A "poet" wrote the following two rhymes in a daybook (a book of handwritten daily business transactions) that dates mid-nineteenth century and is probably from Pennsylvania. The poet should have stopped with the first line of the first poem:   I never lik[e] the task of writing In a book for public eye But a Friend that I delight in Evry [sic] way to Please I'll try.   To Miss [blank] When thou are home midst pleasure of I would have the[e] some times to think of me And may I cause to live whenever I forget to think of thee.     The second poem reads:   Love Love is a feeling none can well [illegible word that ends "cain"] Tho it prevails in evry [sic] action of our Life Love is a passion we defy in vain As it will come despit[e] of evry strife.   Love is a passion then in some as pure As the fresh tears it causes apt to flow Love is a malady that naught can cure It is an ill that comes to high and low.   The poet was probably too embarrassed to sign his name, but he ended "Springville, July 7, 1841."   Nicky Pickert  

A small album of "Golden Memories" published in 1956 by the eighth grade of Washington Township Consolidated School, Washington, New Jersey, shows the charm of a small school experiencing growth. Students included a poem thanking their teachers, including Mrs. Kinnaman who was "stern but nice" and the "kind and sweet" Mrs. Smits. Pictures of the bright young faces in the class of '56 add to the charm, for they are accompanied by tantalizing quotes such as "equipped with a ready smile," "class screamer," "always good for a laugh," "poker face," "card shark and saxaphone player," "never fails to get caught," and "after school hustler." 

To their credit, the eighth grade expressed "appreciation for the help and unlimited co-operation extended to us by the teachers and others who have helped us to better understand the problems of life we will face in the future." By now, these eighth graders are in their early seventies. They have gone through Vietnam, the Civil Rights movement, and computer-age "learning curves," geek-speak, and data-overload that add considerable frustration to the hardest job of all -- raising children.

The "Class History" portion of the album ends with, "As we come to an end, we find it has been fun for some and just life for others, but we are sure they will all be very happy in the future." Enough time in the old "time will tell" theory might show that "fun for some and just life for others" is as good as it gets.

Agnes Shoemaker

 

 

 

When I was a girl (more years ago than I want to disclose), I bought a little brown tablet from the local five-and-dime. It cost a penney, which probably put a strain on my budget at the time. While cleaning out some stuff recently, I ran across it and thought I could use its blank pages for grocery lists, reminders, etc.

My daughter and a friend saw me write in it and tear out my note to tuck in my purse. Both remarked how the tablet was a piece of old ephemera and should be saved. By that time, I had written in several pages and tore them out, but both my daughter and friend joked that they could double my money, so it would be a good return on my investment to put it out at a flea market. 

Had I not "abused" the tablet, which had printed on front a sailing ship, the word "Worldbound," and a large "1" with the abbreviation for cent, I began to wonder if my investment could be worth ten-fold or even one-hundred-fold my cost. I wondered if I doodled in it, would that make my investment better? Could I get $1 for the tablet "as is" or would I need to discount it because pages were missing? We deliberated about all that, but reached no conclusion.  

The upshot is that the return on my investment amounted to moments of fun. Financially, well, what can I say? I blew it.

Cathy Rieger

 

While at our favorite restaurant today, we overheard a man announce so everyone could hear that it started raining. Many folks immediately looked out the window, but many others picked up their handheld devices and clicked on weather. A sign of changing times.

 

In a scrapbook crammed with genealogy notes about many families--mostly from New Jersey and surrounding areas--one page caught my interest because, as most genealogists know, the maiden names of female spouses are hard to find.

This page concerns the Seabrook family. I will quote the entire page because it is rather interesting. Besides taking a firm stand about the name of the wife of James Seabrook, this page says:

"Thomas Seabrook, the progenitor of the New Jersey branch of the family, was first located in Minneford (now City Island) off Pelham, New York, in the year 1664. At this date he purchased land at Hempstead, L[ong] I[sland], whither he removed. He was at Hempstead 1670-1673. He moved thence to the town of West Chesrer, N. Y., where he was living in 1675. On December 27, 1674, he was killed by the Indians in the uprising which occurred on that date. He was a member of Capt. Osborn's Company which was called out in defence of the settlement. (This information comes from Dr. J. E. Stillwell, the genealogist, who is one of the descendants.) 

"The Seabrook Estate was vested in James the son of Thomas in 1717. Dr. Stillwell says, 'I know certainly that the wife of James Seabrook was Hannah Grover, daughter of Joseph Grover and Hannah Lawrence, his wife.'"

The scrapbook where this page was found was put together probably about 1915. It has many families in it, and is not at all specific to the Seabrook family. Enjoy!

Mary Schefer

 

 

 

 

While researching Matthias Hoffman (died 1838?) of Washington County, Maryland, I came across the following entries regarding land purchases of a man named John Hoover in Taneytown. Hoover seemed to buy up everything he could. The names of the tracts he purchased were interesting. They included parts of "Sarah's Delight, Harry's Grove (or grave), Nicholas' Mistake, Shockey's Mistake, Help to Hall's Sale, Darling's Dale, Bald Hill, Rocky Hill, Cost More Than It's Worth, and Worth Little." His home place was called "Necessity."   For those interested, I found this in Matthias & Mary (Hoover) Hoffman of "Necessity" and Their Descendants, compiled by Jacob A. Hoffman.  

Having seen a ledger of Port Purdy Mills with dates from 1858 to 1865, I became interested in some of the names in it (like Gruber, Huff, and Purdy), but it was mostly those dates that interested me. Entries in the ledger began with the usual entries found in a grist mill ledger -- concerning sales of flour, bushels of corn, etc., but about the time of 1862 and 1863 and throughout the years of the Civil War, the entries weremore erratic.    No location for Port Purdy Mills is in the ledger. The only Purdy's Mills I found was in Lindsay, Ontario in Canada, so the Civil War probably was not the cause of the interruptions in the entries. So my search for Port Purdy Mills ended with another episode of raising more questions than finding answers.   Shot down again...    

While researching Matthias Hoffman (died 1838?) of Washington County, Maryland, I came across the following entries regarding land purchases of a man named John Hoover in Taneytown. Hoover seemed to buy up everything he could. The names of the tracts he purchased were interesting. They included parts of "Sarah's Delight, Harry's Grove (or grave), Nicholas' Mistake, Shockey's Mistake, Help to Hall's Sale, Darling's Dale, Bald Hill, Rocky Hill, Cost More Than It's Worth, and Worth Little." His home place was called "Necessity."   For those interested, I found this in Matthias & Mary (Hoover) Hoffman of "Necessity" and Their Descendants, compiled by Jacob A. Hoffman.