book-reviews – Hipstory

A 1907 Postcard and the Short Life of Tillie Seedorf

To: Miss Tillie Seedorf. From: Stella Ford. 1907

Dear Friend.

I received your postal O.K. It was very pretty.

Yours truly,

Stella Ford

As you know, 1907 and 1908 are some of my favorite years to collect postcards. I’m particularly drawn to period in history that are transition years — where rules are not yet fully written on how to deal with a changing landscape. It’s small, but the switch from un-divided back postcards to divided-back postcards feels like a space where rules aren’t quite clear yet. This particular card notes that if it’s to be sent abroad, it can only be used as the address to the sender. Even though a place like England got rid of the divided back earlier than the United States.

The theme for this week seems to be “young friends,” which I’m perfectly content with. I think so many of us forget that young children and teens have ALWAYS been young children and teens throughout history. Their brains developed roughly the same as ours (not accounting for environment). They struggled with adults and loved their friends, even when those friends were far away.

In something that’s close to a miracle, I’m pretty sure I found both girls, though I’m a little dicey on Tillie. I don’t have a lot of information for either of them, though. It’s one of those situations where the trail runs cold because I won’t pay my way past an information wall. But, allow me to introduce them to you.

Stella Ford was born on June 10, 1892, the third child of four children born to Benjamin Ford and Hulda Wells. When she sent her postcard, she would have been 15 years old. In 1916, she married Charles Kinney. I don’t have record of children between the two, so I’m unsure if the record is true, or if the children simply aren’t attached.

Tillie was a bit of a more difficult find. There were Seedorf’s living in Kanakee in 1907 and beyond, and I had to do some family tree digging. However, I finally found (what I think is) a match.

Mathilda S. Seedorf was born on March 25, 1885 to Friedrich Seedorf and Mary Mueller. She was the third child, but first daughter to the couple, and one of 8 children. She doesn’t appear to have married, and died relatively young: October of 1931 at the age of 46.

What’s interesting about her record, is that there’s a probate document attached. When her father died in 1920, she received an $8000 inheritance. The inheritance is one of those cold, black and white facts that carries a lot of weight. I can’t possibly know exactly what was going through her mind, but we can know that there was grief, possibly loneliness, and maybe even anger.

What is clear, however, is that Stella Ford and Tillie Seedorf cared for each other. This card is beautiful, with colors that are vibrant and descriptive over a hundred years later. I hope Tillie and Stella maintained a friendship for the rest of their lives.

“Strengthening rows prone from the mountain run. The flocks–their fleeces glistening in the sun.”

The Scarlet Letter: Women’s Names and Identity in 1908

To: Mrs. Oscar Lee Masters, From: Anna 1908

Dear Sadie,

Rec’d Oscars card and am sorry to hear you were so sick. Hope you are better ere this reaches you. Am coming home Saturday and will see you then. Weill try and write you this week. With love,

I am,

Anna

In 1908, Teddy Roosevelt was president, the ball dropped in Times Square for the first time, and Henry Ford launched the Model T, pricing the car at $850. The Progressives were in power, and despite their work dismantling monopolies and establishing national parks — they also came from a strict moral backdrop. “Reform” often came from religious motivations.

There are two things I find especially unique about this postcard. The first is that it seems to have been written in red ink. Now, I did not expect my research to lead me down an ink-enthusiast rabbit hole…but this did. Why? Because I wasn’t sure if the ink used started out black, and dried red over the century+ it’s been exposed to air, or, if it could have been written in actual red ink. Spoiler…I still don’t know. I found an advertisement in 1908 for a red inked fountain pen…perhaps that’s what Anna had? On the physical postcard the ink is a vibrant red–not rusted or brown. So, I lean toward the thought that it was written in red ink. If this is the case…it’s a style choice by Anna that I sort of love.

The second think I find unique about this postcard is that Anna uses Sadie’s name. In a time where so many women’s names hid underneath their husbands, here we have a situation where Anna specifically addresses the letter as “Dear Sadie.” If you’ve followed along with me for a while, you’ll know this actually rarely happens. Once a woman is married, it’s almost like her name totally disappears from the record. This is from the laws of “coverture” in which a woman is literally “covered” by her husband. So, not only did Anna defy convention by using black ink, she provided us with Sadie’s name.

So, starting out my research I felt I was already in a good position. I had a date, a place, and two names: Oscar Lee Masters (or master) and Sadie Master(s). It felt easy.

That was my first mistake.

I got lucky with my postcard yesterday, but today I had no luck at all. There were a few hits on Oscar Masters, but none that showed me his wife or family. I had nearly nothing on Sadie Masters…this tells me Sadie was probably a nickname for something (maybe Saundra?).

Here’s what I suspect: Anna was likely a sister or maybe a close cousin, and a flamboyant one at that. I’d like to think she was like one of the Aunt’s in Practical Magic. Of course, I don’t know for sure. But her use of the red pen has me thinking that she was definitely someone who stood out in a crowd. As for Sadie, I hope she felt better by the time Anna arrived. I imagine the two of them strolling down a spring street arm and arm catching up on life.

Center Street, Ashland, Ohio