I have a dozen or so vintage Thanksgiving post cards in the collection handed down by my 1st cousin, twice removed, Myrtle HILLARD BURROUGHS (1903-1977). She was a first cousin of my paternal grandmother, Goldie PRICE HEISER (1893-1919), and she was like a big sister to my dad, Charles L. HEISER (1913-2001). And like an aunt to my sister and me. In fact, I originally thought she was my dad’s sister because they were so close.
Favorite Thanksgiving post card #1
This one was sent to Myrtle from her Aunt Sallie. Her Aunt Sallie was Sarah PYLES PRICE (1862-1940). Sallie was Goldie’s mother, and she was the mother-figure for my dad since she and Goldie’s father, Montgomery PRICE (1859-1947), raised my dad after Goldie died. So, I have a special place in my heart for Sallie.
The date is unreadable, but the content shows that it was probably between 1907-1910. She writes about Santy Claus. It’s sweet, and in my mind, I can see her smiling as she writes the card…the corners of her mouth turned up, and the smile lines in her cheeks and around her eyes. It makes me smile to imagine it.
Favorite Thanksgiving post card #2
I do like the front of this one. It’s the only one I’ve seen with grapes hanging on a vine! That makes it stand out. But the backside makes an impression, too. This one is from William Thomas PRICE (1856-1943). Will, as he was called, was the brother of Montgomery PRICE and Myrtle’s mother, Gertrude PRICE HILLARD (1874-1953).
Most of the stories I know about Uncle Will are from things my father said and from the letters from The Tour of Ill Will (that’s a story for another day). Uncle Will was a severe alcoholic in later years, but he seemed to be functioning at the time of writing this post card in 1916.
In the note on this card, he talks about missing seeing her and says for her to ‘come up soon.’ Myrtle was 13 at the time, I think. The postmark is hard to read. Anyway, it warms my heart to see that Uncle Will wasn’t only and always the troubled alcoholic that I heard about.
Though, according to The Tour of Ill Will letters, he had a drinking problem even before he married in his mid-20’s. Here’s a blog post I wrote a while back about Will.
Have you ever come across heirlooms that gave you insight into an ancestor? Comment, please!
Copyright © 2022 Nancy H. Vest All Rights Reserved
Leave a Reply