Duffield/Sisson Postcards No. 41

Postcard number 41 in this series gives a glimpse of life as a farmer's wife in rural Illinois. Lyle Green, husband of Eva (Duffield) Green, attended a sale in Galesburg, Illinois in the fall of 1910 and brought this postcard home to his wife. Galesburg is about 110 miles from Lyle's farm in Dayton, no small trip in those days. In this postcard to her sister, Lyle's wife Eva said he was there two days. It doesn't mention the type of sale. This note was more about Eva's work on the farm.

Galesburg, Ills., Central Park and Main St.

Postmarked September 30, 1910 in Dayton, Illinois

Addressed to:

Mrs Charles Sisson,

Ottawa,

Illinois.

408 Marcy St.

Dear Ede -

I was just wondering how you

were feeling when the boy

brought your card. I am glad you

are better. I guess its my turn

now. Have been half sick since

Sunday and last night Maud

had to come over and get

supper and this morning she

got breakfast and dressed 

me a chicken for dinner. We

were downtown yesterday afternoon

and the sun gave me a headache.

Lyle was at this place to a sale

for two days. How is Teddy?

Are they gone?

Sister - Eva

Eva then added a note across the top:

I did as

you told

me and

packed eggs.

I have just

55 put away

and a few

more ready

when I get

a box. The 

night I came 

home a chicken

fell in the well

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.

Eva has already been the focus of several blog posts as she authored many postcards in this collection. She was Edith's youngest sister and lived a little bit north of Ottawa, in Dayton, with her husband Lyle Green at this time. Lyle was a dairy farmer and it was Eva's job to feed the workers and take care of the chickens. 

Her savior while she was feeling ill was her mother-in-law, Maud. Teddy was young Ted Stiles, writer of the last postcard, and former neighbor of Edith. His family had indeed gone. They were such close friends of Edith and her daughters that the move was a sad experience and no wonder a topic of conversation. 

My favorite part of this particular note is all the chicken news. I especially liked postscript part of the note. Eva and Lyle had only been married two years and she was still fairly new to farming. She may have been packing the eggs to preserve for home use, or packing them for resale, but my guess is home use. Big sister Edith had provided a handy tip, probably on her last visit. The final line of this note was simply that a chicken fell in the well. Preparing the meals, preserving the bounty and everyday farm mishaps all were part of Eva's life as a farmer's wife.