Wednesday, October 2, 2013

1897 Teacher's Notebook of Flora Hanscom at a School in Machiasport, Maine


"Sky Rocket" notebook that belonged to teacher Flora Hanscom at a school at Machiasport, Maine, and started on April 26, 1897.


Flora was from East Machias, Maine, but my research shows that most of the students lived at Machiasport.  Though the towns abut, it's possible that Flora boarded with a Machiasport family.

The notebook is approximately 8-1/4" x 6-3/4" and contains nearly 100 pages, though some are unmarked.  Two pages were removed before the notebook came into my possession.  A scrap of paper with musical notation is tucked inside.

Some of the writing spreads over two facing pages.

The pages contain students' names, lesson plans, deportment marks, a list of visitors and several pages of weather for September through November 1897.

If you'd like to see images of all of the pages, click here.  

An alphabetical list of the students and visitors appears at the end of this post.

Below are images of pages with names of students and, on one page, visitors to the school.










Below are four pages with weather observations from September through November 1897.





From online research, hopefully correct: [corrections requested!]

Flora L. Hanscom (1869-1936) was born 27 March 1869 at East Machias, Maine, the daughter of Simon Otis Hanscom and Julia Raymond (White) Hanscom, who were born at Machias, Maine, and East Machias, Maine, respectively.

On 3 August 1898, at East Machias, Maine, not long after this notebook was used, Flora married Austin H. Pettigrew (1865-1936), son of Obed and Margaret (Ingalls) Pettigrew.  Austin was born in February 1865 at Machiasport, Maine.

Flora and Austin were at Revere, Massachusetts, at the time the 1900 Census was enumerated.  At that time their daughter Margaret Louise Pettigrew was an infant; Austin was working as a traveling salesman.   

By 1910, the family was back in East Machias, now with two children, son Raymond Otis Pettigrew having been born in Rhode Island about 1902.  Austin was working as the manager of a tea company.

The 1920 Census found the family of four at Collingswood, New Jersey, where Austin was working as the manager of a tea company.  In the 1930 Census, Flora and Austin were enumerated at East Machias, Maine, where they were living with their adopted son James, who was born in New Jersey about 1923.  Austin was still working in the tea industry.

Both Flora and Austin died in 1936.  

If you have corrections and/or information to share on any of the people mentioned here, please leave a comment for the benefit of other researchers.

People Mentioned in the Notebook
Carl Carter
Gertie Carter
Annie Crocker
Mary Crocker
Blanch Foster
Cora Foster
Flora L. Hanscom, teacher
Mina Hanscom, visitor; likely the sister of teacher Flora L. Hanscom
Charlie Hill, visitor
Cyrus Holmes
Harland Holmes
Jones Holmes
Oressa Holmes
Bessie Huntley
Clara Huntley
Clara Bell Huntley
Geneva Huntley
Rosa Huntley
Bill Ingalls, visitor
Arthur Libbey
Bernard Libbey
Clayton Libbey
Mrs. Ella Libbey, visitor
Ernest Libbey
Fred Libbey
Lottie Libbey
Mattie Libbey
Milly Libbey
Mrs. Rosa Libbey, visitor
Mrs. Rosa Libbey, visitor; possibly the same person as above
Minerva Maloon, visitor
Charlie Munson
Mina Munson
Willet Munson
Eddie Palmer, visitor
Blanch Robinson, visitor
Warner Robinson, visitor
Mr. Tobey, visitor
Hattie White, visitor
George Welch, visitor
May Wilson

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