Friday, June 13, 2014

1870s/1880s+ Autograph Album of Inez C. Holcomb of Windsor Locks, Connecticut


1870s/1880s autograph album of Inez C. Holcomb of Windsor Locks, Connecticut.  Two pages were signed in a later era, in 1903 and 1904.


The album measures approximately 7-3/4" x 6" and contains the sentiments of 90 of Inez's relatives, friends and schoolmates.  An alphabetical list of the signers, complete with any residence and school information, appears at the end of this post.


From online research, hopefully correct:  [corrections and additions welcome!]

Inez C. Holcomb was born 3 April 1859 in Connecticut, the daughter of Nathan R. Holcomb and Caroline C. (Hazard) Holcomb.  Nathan R. Holcomb died in 1873, before Inez began compiling autographs, but she apparently found a paper that her father had signed in 1870 and pasted it into her album.


Inez's mother Caroline C. (Hazard) Holcomb of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, inscribed a page in the album on January 2, 1879.  She would die in 1883.


Inez's sister Ella Holcomb signed a page at Windsor Locks, Connecticut, on August 22, 1875; her middle initial was C or O or ?


The handwritten calling card of Inez's younger brother Burton Holcomb is inserted into one page.  Sadly, Burton, who was born in 1862, died in 1875.  It may not have been Burton who inserted the card, but Inez, after his death.


Inez had a brother Horace who died in infancy in 1854.

I think the Agnes C. Holcomb enumerated in 1910 with the Phillips family of Hartford, Connecticut, was actually Inez C. Holcomb.  One of the people in the household, Alice C. Phillips, was likely the Alice Phillips who called herself Inez's cousin, on the page she signed on March 10, 1903.  She included a sketch of Inez!


Alice's parents were Joseph Henry Phillips and Clara Josephine (Fiege) Phillips.  Before her marriage to Joseph Henry Phillips, Clara Josephine (Fiege) Phillips signed a page in  Inez's album.  Clara's parents were Augustus and Flora (Hazard) Fiege.  I believe that Flora and Inez's mother Caroline C. (Hazard) Holcomb were sisters.


About a month after the enumeration of the 1910 Census, Inez was badly injured in a railway accident.   Whether or not this accident contributed to her death on 11 March 1917 at Windsor Locks, Connecticut, I don't know.

Several other people named Holcomb signed pages in the album; refer to the list below.  If you have corrections and/or additions to the information above, or information on any of the signers listed below, please leave a comment or contact me directly.  Thanks!

Surnames in the album

?     [3]
Adams
Andrews
Ashley     [2]
Atkins
Bancroft
Barton     [3]
Beach     [3]
Beaumont
Beckwith
Belden
Blinn
Brooks
Brownell
Burrington
Burrows
Chapman     [5]
Chase
Childs
Collins
Comstock
Converse
Dawson
Douglas
Fellows
Fiege     [2]
Fox
Gates
Goodwin
Hanchett     [2]
Hardwick
Hayden
Hibbard
Holbrook
Holcomb     [7]
Hough
Kendall
Lamnan
Lepard
Lester
Lincoln
Little
Longden
Major
McDonald
McManamon
Merriman     [2]
Mills
Mitchell
Montgomery
Munn
Newberry
Nichols
Owen
Peck     [3]
Phelps     [2]
Phillips     [3]
Pomeroy     [2]
Rice
Shepard
Talbot
Watrous
Whang
Willson
Windsor

Signers in the album          [Note: Given names within a specific surname may not be in alphabetical order.]

?
  • Signed by ? "General Hardware", 68 Main Street, Southington, Connecticut, on "8/5/78"
  • E. L. M., signed on May 3, 1881 at Windsor Locks, Connecticut; sketched some birds learning to waltz
  • Amy, signed on August 23, 1877; "your loving sister". Not sure whether she is a full sister, half sister, step sister, sister-in-law or social or religious sister.
A
  • W. N. Adams, signed on August 6, 1875
  • D. I. Andrews of Southington, Connecticut, signed on August 5, 1878; presumably Dayton Ives Andrews
  • Frank L. Ashley of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, signed on March 3, 1880
  • Miss Katie L. Ashley of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, signed on March 8, 1880
  • Miriam Atkins, signed at Windsor Locks, Connecticut, on April 22, 1880
B
  • Nellie T. Bancroft of East Hartford, Connecticut, signed on November 17, 1875
  • Charles B. Barton of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, signed on July 14, 1877
  • Nellie Barton of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, signed on August 6, 1877
  • George F. Barton, signed on July 23, 1877; apparently a cousin of the signer on the left facing page: F. W. Brooks
  • Facing pages signed by Fannie E. Beach, signed on July 13, 1876 at Goshen, Connecticut
  • Mrs. Mary A. Beach of Goshen, Connecticut, signed on July 14, 1876
  • Annie Beach, signed at Goshen, Connecticut, on July 13, 1876; very faint and can't make out middle initial.
  • Fannie E. Beaumont of East Hartford, Connecticut, signed on April 25, 1879
  • Kate Beckwith, 27 Congress Street, signed at Hartford and Niantic, Connecticut, on February 23, 1878
  • Emma E. Belden of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, signed on June 20, 1882
  • Jennie G. Blinn of Hartford, Connecticut
  • F. W. Brooks of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, signed on July 23, 1877; apparently a cousin of the signer on the right facing page: George F. Barton
  • Grace Brownell of Hartford, Connecticut, signed on May 4, 1880
  • H. R. Burrington of Chicopee, Massachusetts, signed on September 5, 1875
  • Benjamin F. Burrows, San Frisco, Mystic River, Connecticut, signed on December 25 [no year written]
C
  • J. O. Chapman of Hartford, Connecticut, signed in February 1878
  • Nellie B. Chapman of East Hartford, Connecticut, signed on May 15, 1879
  • Mame A. Chapman of East Hartford, Connecticut, signed on May 15, 1879
  • F. H. Chapman, signed on April 3, 1879
  • Dwight W. Chapman of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, signed on December 25, 1875. "Remember Talcot Mountain"
  • M. Alice Chase of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, signed on August 21, 1876
  • F. R. Childs, signed at Hartford, Connecticut, on December 16, 1875
  • Mattie L. Collins of Plantsville, Connecticut, signed on September 6, 1878. "Remember our trip to L.L. and S.M."
  • R. T. Comstock of East Hartford, Connecticut, signed on May 14, 1879
  • Ida G. Converse of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, signed on July 9, 1875
D
  • Ida V. Dawson, signed on May 24, 1885
  • John B. Douglas, signed at Windsor Locks, Connecticut, on September 7, 1875
F
  • H. E. Fellows, signed at Hartford, Connecticut, on November 29, 1875
  • W. A. Fiege of Hartford, Connecticut, signed on September 19, 1877; presumably Wilfred A. Fiege, brother of Clara J. Fiege
  • Clara J. Fiege, sister of signer Wilfred A. Fiege
  • Charles A. Fox of Hartford, Connecticut, signed on September 20, 1878. Class of 1874 at Hartford Public High School.
G
  • George F. Gates of Mystic River, Connecticut, signed on December 25, 1875; C.L.Inst., Suffield, Connecticut
  • A. W. Goodwin of Wethersfield, Connecticut, signed on April 13, 1879; presumably Arthur W. Goodwin
H
  • James L. Hanchett of Syracuse, New York, signed at [?] Spoonsville, presumably Connecticut, on August 28, 1879
  • Juliet E. Hanchett of East Granby, Connecticut, signed on May 14, 1878
  • Jeannette T. Hardwick of Lynn, Massachusetts, signed on August 6, 1875
  • N. W. Hayden of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, signed on October 19, 1876; presumably Nathaniel W. Hayden.
  • Charles A. Hibbard of Hartford, Connecticut, signed on April 17, 1879
  • Lillie V. Holbrook of Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, signed on August 21, 1876
  • Inez C. Holcomb of Windsor Locks, Connecticut; album owner
  • Caroline C. Holcomb of Windsor Locks, Connecticut; signed on January 2, 1879; she was Inez's mother.
  • Burton Holcomb, Inez's brother. He cut slits into the page and inserted his handwritten calling card.
  • Nellie E. Holcomb of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, signed on August 22, 1877; Inez's cousin
  • Ella Holcomb, signed at Windsor Locks, Connecticut, on August 22, 1875; not sure of middle initial - could be C or O or ?. Inez's sister.
  • Mr. Nathan Holcomb of Windsor Locks, Connecticut; Inez's father. His name and address were on a paper scrap pasted on the page. The scrap has a date of 1870 and most likely predated the album; in fact, it was likely that Nathan had passed away before this scrap was found and pasted in the album.
  • Jennie M. Holcomb of Princeton, Illinois, signed on August 7, 1878. "Don't forget our visit to Plantsville."
  • Lillie M. Hough, signed on June 22, 1876 at Plantsville, presumably Connecticut.
K
  • E. M. Kendall, signed on October 9, 1876 at Windsor Locks, Connecticut; perhaps Ella M. Kendall
L
  • J. K. Lamnaw or Lamnan or ?, signed at Hartford, Connecticut, on February 3, 1878
  • Frank H. Lepard of Hartford, Connecticut, signed on February 5, 1878
  • Amy Lester of East Hartford, Connecticut
  • George William Lincoln, signed at Windsor Locks, Connecticut, on November 23, 1878; "Your Friend and Rector"
  • George Little of Hartford, Connecticut, signed on May 29, 1879; not sure of middle initial
  • Charles Longden of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, signed on March 26, 1879
M
  • Sarah F. Major, signed at Hartford, Connecticut, on October 3, 1875
  • Maggie McDonald of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, signed on August 11, 1876
  • May B. McManamon of Windsor, Connecticut, signed at Bed time on July 8, 1881. "Fire-works at W.P."
  • Charles Merriman of East Hartford, Connecticut, signed on April 23, 1879
  • Jennie E. Merriman of East Hartford, Connecticut, signed on May 16, 1879
  • Annie R. Mills of Canajoharie, New York, signed on August 6, 1876
  • ? Mitchell of Hartford, Connecticut. Initials are possibly E. V. Mitchell.
  • George M. Montgomery of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, signed in September 1875 "He pulled his red bandana and wiped his weeping eyes"
  • Marcus D. Munn of Plantsville, Connecticut, signed on June 22, 1876
N
  • S. A. Newberry; presumably Samuel Allen Newberry
  • George Nichols; wrote June 1, 1850, which was perhaps his birthday.
O
  • George E. Owen of Hartford, Connecticut, signed at Hartford Public High School on December 14, 1875; "O.D.F.S."
P
  • Clara Peck, signed at Windsor Locks, Connecticut, on July 2, 1883. She mentioned "Class Day, June 26, 1883"
  • Julia F. Peck, signed at Windsor Locks, Connecticut, on July 16, 1883
  • Marion T. Peck of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, signed on July 18, 1883; not sure of middle initial
  • Alfred C. Phelps of Cedar Rapids, Iowa
  • Gilbert H. Phelps of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, signed on May 19, 1878
  • Alice Phillips, signed on December 6, 1896; "your loving cousin"
  • Alice Phillips, signed March 10, 1903; "your everlasting cousin". She drew a sketch of Inez.
  • Alice Claire Phillips, signed on November 13, 1904
  • F. G. Pomeroy, signed on April 16, 1884; G.F.B.
  • Frank Y. Pomeroy of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, signed on May 9, 1881
R
  • Anna Rice of Hartford, Connecticut
S
  • Lewis O. Shepard of Plantsville, Connecticut, signed on June 20, 1876
T
  • M. E. Talbot of "Nowhere", Connecticut, signed on August 30, 1879
W
  • Will C. Watrous of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, signed on January 15, 1876; William C. Watrous
  • Whang Kae Kah, signed on November 19, 1875 at H.P.H. School in Connecticut; presumably a member of the Chinese Educational Mission who was attending Hartford Public High School. He may have been the Wong Kae Kah who subsequently attended Yale University.
  • Charles T. Willson, signed on January 19, 1876 at Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut; part written partly in Greek
  • George Windsor of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, signed on September 1, 1875

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