Duffield/Sisson Postcards No. 37

Postcard 37, in the series of postcards from 1908-1914, was sent to Mrs. Charles Sisson from Elgin, Illinois in 1910.

This collection was discovered last year in the Sierra Madre, California home of Warren Brown after his death. Warren’s mother, Edythe Grace Sisson (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.

Main Building, Insane, Asylum, Elgin, Ill.

A Wikipedia listing states that the Main Building, pictured here, was finished in 1872. This state run hospital housed mental health patients as well as tuberculosis and veteran patients at times. The property expanded over the years and at one time was spread out over more than 1,000 acres. The building was demolished in 1993. This building must have been an impressive sight to have prompted the purchase of a postcard to send home.

Postmarked 26 August 1910 in Elgin, Illinois

Addressed to:

Mrs Charles Sisson

Ottawa

Ill

408 Marcy St

The message side of the card simply reads, Eva. It's in pencil, as is the address, but in a finer line. It's not known if Eva herself signed her name or if it was written in later by someone else. The last card in the collection (#36) was postmarked from Elgin on the same date and sent by Vic Sesslar. The handwriting on this postcard doesn't match Vic's seen on previous cards, so we know that someone else addressed it, at least. Vic and Eva were Edith's sisters. If this card was sent by Eva, then we can surmise that she was travelling with her older sister, Victoria.