Once again I’m sifting through this mountain of Sutton/Thomas artifacts that I have been mining for over a year. If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll have to admit many of these items are fascinating in their own right. They are even more so collectively for the intimate view they provide us into the lives of a couple of prominent Maplewood families of the 19th and early 20th centuries. And I haven’t even gotten to the love letters yet.
Included in this treasure trove are all of the letters William Lyman Thomas wrote to the woman who would become his life partner, Kate Sutton, from the time he met her in 1867 until they were married 2 ½ years later in 1869. These are fascinating to read. So far I have scanned only a couple of dozen.
They are all in their original envelopes, many with the original stamps. They run from June 1867 until the end of March 1869. The amount of time it will take to digitize these is a lot. So far I’ve not been able to put in the time. Any suggestions on how to accomplish this would be appreciated. This is a very rare opportunity. I would hate to miss it.
For the twenty somethingth time, I want to thank the descendants and members of the Sutton, Thomas, Grumley, Hayes, McConnell and Shelton families for sharing with us their family treasures.
2 COMMENTS
watching old movies I have heard about a girl’s dance card. I do not know if I have ever seen one. I always wondered what it was but now I see it is a diary or keepsake of the evening and who you danced with.
The train ticket is a neat find. I had a great grandfather from St Joe, Mo who was involved with the trains. Enough so that one of the perks was my older brother and I rode the train from Kansas City to Chicago for free with my Great grandparents and grandparents. I was maybe 6 and my brother maybe 8. I recall being fascinated by the train but to this day do not remember where we stayed, what we did, how long we were gone.
Again, it makes me wonder how much stuff has my family tossed thinking it is an old piece of paper that means nothing to anyone anymore. I know it is hard to know what to keep and how to keep it but someday folks will be amazed at seeing it again.
watching old movies I have heard about a girl’s dance card. I do not know if I have ever seen one. I always wondered what it was but now I see it is a diary or keepsake of the evening and who you danced with.
The train ticket is a neat find. I had a great grandfather from St Joe, Mo who was involved with the trains. Enough so that one of the perks was my older brother and I rode the train from Kansas City to Chicago for free with my Great grandparents and grandparents. I was maybe 6 and my brother maybe 8. I recall being fascinated by the train but to this day do not remember where we stayed, what we did, how long we were gone.
Again, it makes me wonder how much stuff has my family tossed thinking it is an old piece of paper that means nothing to anyone anymore. I know it is hard to know what to keep and how to keep it but someday folks will be amazed at seeing it again.
Very cool – a lot of history