Duffield/Sisson Postcards No. 49

Main Street looking West. Streator, Ill.

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.

Streator, Illinois is located about 10 miles south of Ottawa. It's not clear why this card was chosen; there are no clues in the message. 

Postmarked May 22, 1911, in Dayton, Illinois

Addressed to:

Mrs Charles Sisson

Ottawa Ill

408 Marcy St.

Dear Ede - 

I am going to call up Vick

and tell her to bring you when

she comes for eggs. you

know I thought about what

you asked about those

Hollyhocks and Ede there

is all kinds of them, not so 

big but what I think you

could set them out again

so if you come you can get

some. Tell Vera I'll

try to get that __?___

across top:

if I can

because I 

want a 

pillow like

that so

much

It will be

nice to

have her

make me

one.

Eva

Eva Grace was the youngest of the five Duffield children, a surprise child, born 14 years after the fourth one. She was adored by her sisters Mae, Edith and Victoria, and brother Albert. In 1908, Eva married Lyle Green and moved with him to a farm in Dayton, a bit north of Ottawa. From her notes, it seems she was terribly lonely for her sisters. In this one, she even mentioned niece Vera, Edith's eldest daughter. Many of her notes are similar to this one in that the message is written very small and scrawled to cover all available space. A talker, this one. Her postcards are my favorites in the collection.

Duffield/Sisson Postcards No. 48

This card is the 48th in a collection of 100+ 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.

Beautiful Idaho. -- Black Lake.

Though the postcard pictures Black Lake, it was mailed from Payette, a town located about 4 hours South of one of two Black Lakes in Idaho. The other is much farther North, in Kootenai County. Looking at photos of both lakes, I believe this is the one closer to Payette. The postcard may have been chosen simply for its beauty since it's unknown if the sender even went to the lake at all. This Black Lake is in the mountains, about 5 miles from the Snake River and the Oregon border.  It would have been a rough road in the Spring in 1911.

Postmarked April 30, 1911, in Payette, Idaho

Addressed to:

Mrs Charles Sisson

Ottawa.

Illinois.

Marcy St.

Payette, Idaho

Dear Edith,

I am in this town

Today we are in

Mr & Mrs Howards Auto sitting

out side of the church

Their is a Masonic

funeral here & we are

waiting out side

hope you are well

good bye

Mae.

Mae, born Marie Louise Duffield, was Edith (Duffield) Sisson's sister, and was married to Herbert Bragg in 1892. Sometime between 1910 and 1920, Mae and Herb moved from Ottawa, Illinois to Long Beach, California. This 1911 journey may have been when the couple made the move. Mae wrote several postcards to Edith that were saved as part of this collection. Her tone was matter-of-fact and without fluff throughout the messages, a clue, perhaps, to her personality.