Duffield/Sisson Postcards No. 34

Next in the series of postcards from 1908-1914 is No. 34, sent from Aurora, Illinois. 

These postcards were discovered last year in the Sierra Madre, California home of Warren Brown after his death. They were saved by his maternal grandparents, Edith Amy Duffield (1864-1926) and Charles Herman Sisson (1868-1927), and passed down to Warren, my husband’s cousin. Charles and Edith were married in Ottawa, Illinois in 1895 and remained there until the early 1920s when they moved west to Los Angeles, California. 

Public Library, Aurora, Ill.

The Aurora Library was built in 1904, funded by Andrew Carnegie. The library still stands in the same spot today, but if anything remains of the original building, it appears to have been substantially renovated. Aurora is about an hour from Ottawa, roughly northeast, and lies on the Fox River. The message on the back of the postcard makes it clear that this was just a stop on a trip.

Potmarked 24 August 1910 in Aurora, Ill.

Addressed to:

Mrs Chas Sisson

Ottawa

Ill

Marcy St

Message:

Dear Edith,

We have to wait 

an hour in this

town Hope you

are all well

Mae

Marie Louise "Mae" Duffield, born in 1862, was the first daughter born to William Duffield and Henriette Louise (DeSusClades) Duffield. She followed brother Albert who was two years older. Then came three more girls - Edith in 1864, Vic in 1866, and Eva in 1880. When their mother died in 1887, Mae became the woman of the house. I'm also an "eldest daughter" and can assume that Mae, like me, may have bossed her younger siblings a bit. I saw my own first daughter do the same with her younger siblings. I think it must be an unspoken rule or something! In this family, it doesn't seem to have caused any ill-feelings between the girls.

This is the first postcard from Mae to her younger sister Edith. The tone isn't bossy at all, just matter-of-fact, another possible clue to Mae's personality. Several postcards from Mae are in this collection; additional clues to the sister's relationship may be gleaned from them.

Mae married Herbert Bragg in 1892. In the 1900 census, her youngest sister Eva is living in the household. Absent, though, are children. The couple doesn't appear to have ever had a child. Sometime between 1910 and 1920, Mae and Herbert moved to Long Beach, California. Edith and Charles followed soon after with their family. 

Duffield/Sisson Postcards No. 33

Next in the series of postcards from 1908-1914 is No. 33, sent from Morris, Illinois. 

These postcards were discovered last year in the Sierra Madre, California home of Warren Brown after his death. They were saved by his maternal grandparents, Edith Amy Duffield (1864-1926) and Charles Herman Sisson (1868-1927), and passed down to Warren, my husband’s cousin. Charles and Edith were married in Ottawa, Illinois in 1895 and remained there until the early 1920s when they moved west to Los Angeles, California. 

First Baptist Church, Morris, Ill.

Morris, Ill. postmark, dated July 29, 1910

Addressed to:

Mrs Chas. Sisson

S. Ottawa

Ills

408 Marcy St

Message:

I am O.K. and hope

you are all the same

suppose you think

I had forgotten you

but have not so an-

swer soon

Stella Brown

Morris Ills

Route 5 Box 91

care W. A. Brown

This is the second card featuring "Stella". The first, from Edith's sister Eva, simply gave an address for Stella in Dwight, Illinois. Now, a card from Stella Brown tells us she is living in Morris, Illinois. With her full name and those places I searched for more information to try and figure out how Stella was connected to the Duffield girls. It's complicated.

I found a Miss Stella M Brown living north of the river in Ottawa in the 1904 and 1906 city directories. She lived with her parents and some brothers and was employed as a dress maker. I next found her on the 1880 census with those same family members, and others, living in North Ottawa. That census listing included a sister a few years older than Stella named Birdie Brown. In 1894, Birdie married Edith's cousin Robert Beguin (son of Elizabeth Duffield and August Beguin).

The card above shows Stella receiving mail in care of W. A. Brown in Morris, Illinois. In 1883, Josephine Beguin (another child of Elizabeth Duffield and August Beguin) married William A. Brown. They are living in Morris, Grundy County, Illinois in 1910. William Brown is listed on the census as born in West Virginia. All of Stella's siblings were born in Illinois, so I don't know if this is a Brown relative to Stella. She had a brother named William, but records show he was born in Illinois and married a woman named Clara. They may be related some other way, but aren't siblings.

I was trying to figure out how Edith and Stella were acquainted, and was thoroughly confused, so I constructed a timeline to sort it all out:

• Stella and her family were in Ottawa and she was born about 1878, according to the 1880 census.
• Stella's sister Birdie Brown married Edith's cousin Robert Beguin in 1894. 
• 1900 census just lists Stella's parents and her brother Charlie. Have not located the rest of the Brown family in 1900.
• Stella is listed in the 1904 and 1906 city directories. Some of her brothers are, too. Her occupation is listed as dressmaker. 
• She disappears from the directory in 1907, though her parents and brother Charlie remain. 
• In an earlier postcard, Stella's address is given as a hotel in Dwight, Ill. Dwight is in Grundy County.
• In 1910, Stella is associated with her brother-in-law's sister Josephine, another of Edith's cousins, and her husband William Brown (unknown if related to Stella). 

Honestly, it looks like they were acquainted simply because they lived in the same small town and Stella's sister was married to Edith's cousin. Stella was likely just a friend, unrelated to Edith. And she must have been a good friend since they continued to stay in touch.

Sources:
1880, 1900, 1910 Federal census records.
Ottawa, Illinois city directories.
LaSalle County, Illinois marriage records.