Easter Greetings from Toledo to Cleveland, Ohio

In the 1910s, a young Wood relative in Cleveland, Ohio received this Easter postcard from his teenaged first cousin in Toledo, Ohio. The sender wrote in cursive, although the recipient could not yet read it! 

Why is a rooster is guarding a nest full of colorful Easter eggs? And why does this holiday-themed scene appear to be in Holland?! 

Happy Easter to all. 

Happy Presidents' Day 2024

 

In the days when President Lincoln and President Washington were honored with separate Federal holidays on their birthdays, my husband's uncle in Cleveland received these colorful penny postcards from his aunt and uncle in Chicago.

Both of these postcards were sent more than a century ago, part of the Wood family's ongoing plan to stay in touch even when they lived hours away from each other. 

Presidential birthdays were two of many occasions for aunts and uncles to write a line or two to young nieces and nephews!

Soaring into the New Year with Good Luck

 

To start the new year in 1910, a Wood cousin received this penny postcard featuring good luck symbols and a couple of youngsters flying high in a new-fangled flying machine LOL. 

May your 2024 start with much good luck!

Christmas Greetings Via Penny Post Cards in Ohio

 

Here is one of the colorful penny postal greetings sent to my husband's uncle in Cleveland, Ohio, every Christmas from 1907 to 1914. 

I was surprised to learn, from Smithsonian Magazine, about the history of Christmas penny postcards--all because someone wanted to streamline his holiday correspondence. 

Wishing you and all those dear to you a very merry Christmas.

Colorful Penny Postcard from Halloween Past

This penny postcard for Halloween was mailed from Chicago, Illinois to Cleveland, Ohio on Oct. 28, 1913, from a doting aunt to a 6-year-old nephew.

The greeting asked whether the boy was practicing his violin or had decided to stop taking lessons. (Spoiler alert: he quit!)

In the early 1900s, hubby's Wood family throughout the Midwest stayed in touch via this type of penny postcard, colorful and convenient, not to mention affordable. Thankfully, 110 years later, the colors remain bright and the handwritten message is still legible today.

For more about the history of the postcard, and the craze for penny postal greetings, see this page.

Happy Valentine's Day, 1912 and 1946

 My husband's uncle Wallis W. Wood (1905-1957) was six years old when he received this colorful Valentine's Day card from an aunt and uncle.

It was postmarked 12 February 1912, sent from Chicago to Cleveland. 

The senders were Nellie (Rachel Ellen) Wood Kirby and her second husband, Arthur Kirby. 

How many six-year-olds get mail? Wallis (the correct spelling of his given name, not the wrong spelling shown on the card) was probably happy to see this pretty card from relatives!

My father, Harold Burk (1909-1978) sent the flowery card (below) to my mother (Daisy Schwartz Burk, 1919-1981) on the first Valentine's Day after they were engaged in 1946. 

Dad made heavy use of greeting cards throughout the year, sending Mom a mushy or funny greeting nearly every month right up until their wedding on Thanksgiving weekend of 1946. She saved them all, and today they're safely tucked away in an archival box, preserved for the next generation and beyond.

Dear readers, Happy Valentine's Day 2023.

Happy Family History New Year!

 

On December 31, 1914, this colorful penny postcard was mailed to the Cleveland, Ohio home of my husband's uncle, Wallis W. Wood. The children seem to be unwrapping a lucky "pot of gold" for the new year, 1915.

Now, 108 years later, let me wish you a new year of health, happiness, and peace, with a lot of lucky ancestor discoveries!

Merry Christmas Penny Postal Greeting

This penny postal greeting card was received by my husband's ancestors 110 years ago.

The colors are still bright and so is the greeting to you, dear readers!

Here's a hearty greeting from me and mine,

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas time. 

Christmas Greetings from Early in the 20th Century

These penny postal greetings date from the early 1900s. They were received by my husband's uncle, Wallis W. Wood, who was then a youngster living in Cleveland, Ohio. 

Printed in beautiful color in Germany, some of the penny post cards sent to the Wood family were purchased in Toledo, Ohio, and others in Chicago, Illinois. All the cards are still in great shape, in the family's hands more than a century later!

Thanksgiving Greetings from 1914

According to the postmark, Rachel Ellen "Nellie" Wood Kirby (1862-1954) sent this colorful Thanksgiving postcard from her home in Chicago to her young Wood nephew in Cleveland on Wednesday, November 25, 1914. 

He was nine that year, and he also received penny postal greetings for Thanksgiving from his first cousins in Toledo, Ohio.

Dear readers, I wish you and your families a most happy and very healthy Thanksgiving.

Independence Day Postcard from 115 Years Ago

 

For Independence Day 115 years ago, my hubby's uncle Wallis W. Wood (1905-1957) in Cleveland, Ohio received this colorful penny postcard in the mail. 

I just love these vintage postcards, still in the family more than a century later.

The sender was Rachel "Nellie" Wood Kirby (1864-1954), an attentive aunt living in Chicago, Illinois. 

Nellie and other members of the Wood family rarely missed an opportunity to send penny postcards to younger relatives. 

One year, Nellie even sent her nephew a postcard for George Washington's birthday on February 22, which was celebrated as a federal holiday beginning in 1879. 

Today, of course, George Washington shares his official holiday with Abraham Lincoln, both celebrated on Presidents' Day. 

Happy Independence Day!

Penny Postcards from Easter of 1914

 

In April of 1914, my hubby's uncle Wallis W. Wood (1905-1957) received two colorful Easter postcards. 

He lived in Cleveland, Ohio and received penny postal greetings for every conceivable holiday, sent by his Wood and Slatter relatives.

Shown at left is the postcard from his aunt, "Nellie" Wood Kirby (1864-1954) and her husband, Arthur Kirby (1860-1939). 

Nellie was an older sister of Wallis's father, James Edgar Wood (1871-1939).

 

Although I've tried to find Nellie in the 1950 US Census, I haven't yet succeeded. I checked the 1949 Chicago directory (online for free at the Library of Congress) and didn't see her name listed under Kirby. 

Nellie was living in a nursing home when she died, and I haven't found her there in the 1950 Census, nor at the address where she lived in 1945, according to the city directory. I'll keep looking!

Here's a pretty postcard sent to Wallis by his aunt Ada Mary Ann Slatter Baker (1868-1947), who lived in Toledo, Ohio when she mailed this card.

By 1920, Ada and her husband, James Sills Baker (1866-1937) were living in Cleveland and most likely visited with Wallis and his family quite often.

Ada was the older sister of Wallis's mother, Mary Slatter Wood (1869-1925). 

Now 108 years later, these postcards live on in the Wood family's collection!

Love the Valentine, Puzzled By the Spelling

This is a lovely, still colorful Valentine's Day postal greeting sent to my husband's ancestor in Cleveland, Ohio on February 12, 1912. 

That's 110 years ago tomorrow.

It was signed by the recipient's Aunt Nellie Wood Kirby and Uncle Arthur Kirby, who lived in Chicago, Illinois.

Nellie repeatedly used the wrong spelling for her young nephew's given name. This mistake puzzles me, since the boy was the son of her favorite brother. 

I saw the incorrect spelling on every single one of her penny postcards to this nephew. There were a lot of cards: She sent greetings for Christmas, New Year's, birthdays, Easter, and more, for at least a decade.

Wallace or Wallis?

As shown in the image at bottom, the postcard is addressed to "Wallace W. Wood." His name was actually "Wallis W. Wood."

This was a common error, repeated by more than one Census enumerator over the years. The ancestor's official documents (birth, marriage, death, military) reflect the correct spelling of Wallis. I've checked! 

Naming patterns as clues

Family naming patterns can be helpful but not definitive in evaluating online family trees. Since I'm married to another Wallis in this family, I'm very familiar with the naming patterns in his tree and the supporting documentation. That's how I know that Wallace is completely incorrect and Wallis is absolutely correct.

Over and over again, I see the incorrect spelling for this ancestor on other people's online trees. That's an extra-gigantic warning sign to BEWARE. Of course I always view online trees as possible clues and not fact, but I really steer clear when the tree owner hasn't taken the time to view and attach official documents reflecting the correctly named spelling of ancestors. 

Research and cite your sources! But don't necessarily trust names in the family's correspondence, as Nellie's Valentine demonstrates ;)

My post is part of the fun February Genealogy Blog Party about love stories. In this case, it's the Valentine I really love!

Penny Postal Greeting New Year's

When my husband's uncle Wallis Wood was just 5 years old, he received this fanciful New Year's postcard from his Wood relatives at the end of 1910.

It was very early in the air age. The two kiddies in in this air ship are having a steampunk holiday, from the looks of this colorful illustration. 

But in reality, an airship named America did set out to cross the Atlantic Ocean in October of 1910, lifting off from New Jersey to land somewhere in Europe (no fixed destination). Before experiencing difficulty and abandoning the attempt, the crew set a new record for flight time (71.5 hours) and distance flown (1,008 miles). 

Dear readers, wishing you a brighter and better new year in 2022!

Penny Postcard Christmas Greetings

 

More than 100 years in the past, this colorful penny postal greeting was sent by a loving aunt and uncle in the Wood family to a young nephew living in Cleveland, Ohio. 

This and other postcards are still in family hands today, much treasured and well preserved.

Dear readers, may you have a joyful Christmas!

Penny Postcard Thanksgiving Greetings

 

More than a century ago, this colorful penny postal greeting was sent to my husband's uncle in Cleveland, Ohio. 

Wishing you and your loved ones a very happy and very healthy Thanksgiving! 

The Penny Postcard Craze and Family History

Early in the 20th century, my husband's Wood family stayed in touch frequently via colorful penny postal greetings. 

Any holiday or celebration was a great reason to write to a young relative.

Not just on birthdays but also for Abraham Lincoln's birthday and July 4th and everything in between!

Penny postcard craze

The Wood family was completely caught up in the postcard craze of that era. 

It really took off when the price of mailing a postcard was lowered from two cents to one cent. 

At the time, the highest quality postcards were printed in Germany and shipped across the Atlantic. Most of the postcards sent by Wood ancestors in Ohio and beyond were, in fact, made in Germany. 

Postcards as family history clues 

Wallis Wood (1905-1957), my hubby's uncle living in Cleveland, received dozens of birthday postcards during his preteen years. Happily, the family held onto these postcards over the years.

Thanks to the addresses and postmarks, I was able to track this Cleveland branch of the Wood family as they moved to different houses nearly every year from 1905 to 1917. 

Why? Because Wallis Wood's papa (James Edgar Wood, 1871-1939) was a home builder. 

James constructed a new house roughly every year, moved his family in as he finished the interior, and sold that home. Then he moved the family to another home being completed by his crew. 

James, his wife (Mary Slatter Wood, 1869-1925), and their four sons had lots of different addresses over the years. In between Census years and in between directory listings, the postcards showed me where they were living.

These are just three of the fun birthday postcards sent to Wallis before 1915.

This is my post for week #46 of Amy Johnson Crow's #52 Ancestors challenge.