My grandmother Alice Maude Ryder was a collector. Not of expensive items but of newspaper clippings, cards and photos all clipped into various sizes. Now you say, that is not a bad thing. I agree but it would have been nice if she had rather than just amassed the stuff, put some meaning to it and actually put it into a book chronologically as opposed to a bunch of small envelopes. I guess she probably though that once she left this world so would her collection. Not so. She died in the 1960’s and I have at least some of the stuff.
Now everything she did have related to her in some way but sometimes it is difficult to figure out. Other times, almost impossible.
Clippings about remedies while trivial, peek the interest as it is fun to see what was the cure of the day. I found a newspaper clipping about an estate in which my grandmother was named. Unfortunately the date of the clipping is missing. Strangely enough the legacy of $200 was left to my her by some strange name that does not figure into my ancestry. It turns out that the woman who died was my grandparent’s landlady. She owned several houses on Logan Avenue in Toronto. Checking the city directory for the year 1908 I know that my grandparents lived in number 205 which is the address mentioned in the newspaper. This gives me a clue that it must have been around that time.
I happened upon another envelope several days ago and inside I found a collection of funeral invitations. Wow. What a find.
In the early part of the 20th century it was popular to send out invitations to funerals. It is impressive to think that these could be prepared, printed and sent within the short amount of time the family would have.
Each one was chosen with care to suit the person it was written for. Kind of like the Hallmark card, but a little more spiritual.
In certain cases it was not possible to send the card in time so instead, a card would still be sent announcing the death and all the particulars regarding the burial.
I do not imagine that my family was much different than any others but there were several of them that died away from their childhood home and would be buried not where they now resided but instead, at home, in a family plot.
The Ryder family did this with James my great grandfather as well as several of his sons that had left to make their lives elsewhere but when they died they returned “home”. Most of the bodies were shipped on the Grand Trunk Railway.
On my father’s side it seemed more that it had to do with husband and wife. Should a spouse die, the living partner might go to live with other family somewhere else until their time, and then return to the resting place of their mate.
This would make a lot of sense since quite often people bought family plots. These plots were quite often sold boasting eternal care for the loved one.
Today much has changed and invitations are either given orally or over the internet. The placement of an obituary is still quite popular in newspapers but not as it once was. Again the internet reaches far and wide for all to see. Somewhat less personal and I surmise, not so collectible. I must give it credit for how easy it is to document though. I am continually scanning and saving bits and pieces of my ancestors lives to give access to my family and others interested, for generations to come. Our glimpse of days gone by.
I decided to share these wonderful cards. Hope you enjoy.
*New info on Alice Maude Ryder
Now everything she did have related to her in some way but sometimes it is difficult to figure out. Other times, almost impossible.
Clippings about remedies while trivial, peek the interest as it is fun to see what was the cure of the day. I found a newspaper clipping about an estate in which my grandmother was named. Unfortunately the date of the clipping is missing. Strangely enough the legacy of $200 was left to my her by some strange name that does not figure into my ancestry. It turns out that the woman who died was my grandparent’s landlady. She owned several houses on Logan Avenue in Toronto. Checking the city directory for the year 1908 I know that my grandparents lived in number 205 which is the address mentioned in the newspaper. This gives me a clue that it must have been around that time.
I happened upon another envelope several days ago and inside I found a collection of funeral invitations. Wow. What a find.
In the early part of the 20th century it was popular to send out invitations to funerals. It is impressive to think that these could be prepared, printed and sent within the short amount of time the family would have.
Each one was chosen with care to suit the person it was written for. Kind of like the Hallmark card, but a little more spiritual.
In certain cases it was not possible to send the card in time so instead, a card would still be sent announcing the death and all the particulars regarding the burial.
I do not imagine that my family was much different than any others but there were several of them that died away from their childhood home and would be buried not where they now resided but instead, at home, in a family plot.
The Ryder family did this with James my great grandfather as well as several of his sons that had left to make their lives elsewhere but when they died they returned “home”. Most of the bodies were shipped on the Grand Trunk Railway.
On my father’s side it seemed more that it had to do with husband and wife. Should a spouse die, the living partner might go to live with other family somewhere else until their time, and then return to the resting place of their mate.
This would make a lot of sense since quite often people bought family plots. These plots were quite often sold boasting eternal care for the loved one.
Today much has changed and invitations are either given orally or over the internet. The placement of an obituary is still quite popular in newspapers but not as it once was. Again the internet reaches far and wide for all to see. Somewhat less personal and I surmise, not so collectible. I must give it credit for how easy it is to document though. I am continually scanning and saving bits and pieces of my ancestors lives to give access to my family and others interested, for generations to come. Our glimpse of days gone by.
I decided to share these wonderful cards. Hope you enjoy.
*New info on Alice Maude Ryder
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