Duffield/Sisson Postcards No. 39

This next card in the collection was sent to Edith Sisson from her sister Mae after she had passed through the town of Page, North Dakota. Today Page is a very small town with under 500 residents. It's about 35 miles northwest of Fargo in Cass County. In 1910, the census shows almost 1400 people living in Page, many of them immigrants. The population peaked as the railroad was expanded through the area. People came from all over to settle on land that was now easily accessible. They came for a fresh start and a chance to make a name for themselves in a new community.

125. -- Public School, Page, N. D.

The school building shown on the postcard doesn't appear to still be in existence. I did a little bit of searching to see if I could find any other old photos or find out when it was demolished, and couldn't find a thing.

Postmarked September 4, 1910 in Fargo, North Dakota

Addressed to:

Mrs. Chas Sisson.

Ottawa

Marcy. St. Ill.

Sep 4 1910.

Dear Edith.

We left Page last

night & are in Fargo

to-day. Just came from

church. We heard a

good Sermon. Fargo 

is a swell town.

Roosevelt will be in

this town Mon " so

we will stay and

see him.

Your sister

Mae.

Marie Louise (Duffield) Bragg (1862-1943), called Mae by her family, was the oldest daughter of William Duffield (1833-1925) and Henriette Louisa Desusclades (1841-1887). Edith followed just two years later, so these sisters were close in age. Mae seems very matter-of-fact in her notes to Edith and perhaps that's a clue to her character. In 1910, Mae and her husband of 18 years, Herbert Bragg, were living in South Ottawa, LaSalle County, Illinois where they farmed a piece of rented land. It's not clear why Mae was in North Dakota, though there are postcards to follow from other locations that make it seem as though she was on a vacation trip. She is probably traveling with her husband Herbert and it's likely that they are taking the trip by train.

From theodorerooseveltcenter.org, I learned that Theodore Roosevelt was indeed in Fargo at this time. He was there to lay the cornerstone of the new Carnegie Library on the Fargo College campus on September 5, 1910. It was pouring rain that day, but thousands of people came to hear him speak. Despite the inclement weather, this was probably a highlight of the trip for the couple. I find another hint at Mae's character when I consider that she purchased a postcard featuring a public schoolhouse and that she was attending an event at the college. Education meant a great deal to her.

This card is from a collection of postcards dated between 1908 and 1914 that was found in the Sierra Madre, California home of Warren Brown after his death in 2015. Warren’s mother, Edythe Grace (Sisson) Brown (1897-1978), was the daughter of Edith Amy Duffield (1864-1926) and Charles Herman Sisson (1868-1927). Charles and Edith were married in Ottawa, Illinois in 1895. They remained there until the early 1920s when they moved west to Los Angeles, California. Their collection of memorabilia was passed down to Warren, my husband’s cousin, and is now in my possession.