From Lizzie Graham to her Mother

Here's a card sent to Mrs. George Mable, Lizzie Graham's mother in 1917. I have posted a number of cards from the Graham family, some very animated, and all of them heartwarming. I have also posted a few photos, courtesy of Bernice Mable Graham Telian, Lizzie's daughter. There is something very special about the Graham family.

I wonder if the letter E was left off the word little on purpose?
Here's the back of the card.

The message reads:

Dear Mother - I got my C. yesterday and they are grand. Have been working ever since. Think they would be nice for you? ? Don't know when we will can come up, - the car isn't near ready.  We may go down to Tracy's folks awhile to morrow. I haven't done much this week, I guess it is the weather. Had a card from Aunt Jasmine (?) saying she thot (?) would come but not a word from Cooper's. I have written to them again. Lovingly, L.

On the side it says:

I want you to stop working so hard + I mean business. I'll come up next week some way.

If you want to see more cards and photos from the Graham family, go here.

Happy Birthday to Lizzie Graham

Tracy Graham's family has lived in the the Delhi, New York area for many generations. Tracy married Lizzie Mable in 1909 and they had three children. One died in a motorcycle accident as a teenager, but the other two are still alive.  I had a number of cards from the Graham and Mable families. Since I have been in contact with Tracy and Lizzie's daughter, Bernice, she has sent me copies of family photographs. It's been fun to connect the pictures with the cards.

Here's the back of the card.

Mostly, I wanted to post this card because Tracy and Lizzie's daughter sent me a few pictures of Jessie Aitken, the sender of this card. Jessie was related to Lizzie in some way. Here is a picture of Jessie with her mother! I was sure it was a sister, but this really is mother and daughter.

And here's a picture of Jessie when she was a little older, posing with a colt. I don't know what became of Jessie, but Bernice tells me she never married.

How About That Box of Huyler's?

Huyler's was a chain of candy stores in the New York City area. May had probably discussed going to one of the Manhattan stores with Lizzie Graham for a trip that would include both sightseeing and sweets. The card was sent on this day 101 years ago.  If you'd like to look at more postcards to and from the Graham family, click here.

The message reads:

Hello Lizzie:

How about that box of Huyler's? Think I smell them but I would be wiling to get them if you will only fulfill your part of the bargain. Don't forget your camera for I want one or two snap shots.

May.

Lizzie Mable Graham

Here's a card to Lizzie Mable (Graham) while she was still single. She married Tracy Graham in 1909.

Here's the back of the card, sent to Elizabeth in care of her father, George Mable.

And here are a few picture of Elizabeth Mable with Tracy Graham,  sent to me by her daughter Bernice.

Tracy and Lizzie rowing on the Lake

Tracy and Lizzie exchange hats

What fun those two must have been!

Tracy Has Changed His Color

Often, my favorite part of a postcard is the message written on the back. And sometimes, if I have a  number of postcards to and from one person or a family, I start to think I know them. But there are always so many gaps. You wonder what they looked like and what became of them. Did they have children? grandchildren? There is always an element of mystery. And so it's been with my most compelling postcard character, Tracy Graham, whose postcards really stood out with their humor and inside jokes.

If you've been following the Tracy Graham story and all of his postcards, you may be curious to know what Tracy looked like. I know I was. Thanks to his daughter, Bernice, I now have some xerox copies of photos. Please welcome Tracy Graham, born Jan 20, 1885:

This picture was taken in 1906. He looks so serious, but we know better!
Here's a card he received in 1908.

Tracy must not have been feeling well in early December of  1908.

Here's the back of the card:

The message reads:

I hear you have changed your color. But I hope you will soon be better.  W.M.

c/o L. Graham

I will be post some of the other photos Bernice sent me along with other postcards. Be sure to check out the other Sepia Saturday posts today for an interesting collection of old photos and stories.

Happy Thanksgiving

Here to wish you a happy Thanksgiving is my favorite postcard personality, Tracy Graham.

 

Note that the sender has written Tracy on the young man's forehead.  That's so typical of cards to and from Tracy Graham. They are always warm and humorous, often poking fun, and with real news.

As I mentioned last week, I was thrilled to track down Tracy's daughter, Bernice, who is alive and well and didn't know anything about about this collection of postcards I have that were sent to and from her parents. I am sending them on to her, because that's where they belong.  I know that they will reawaken childhood memories and be passed on to grandchildren and great grandchildren.

I admit it's difficult, because these are without a doubt some of my favorite postcards. At the same time, I have a real sense of satisfaction knowing that these cards are going to the family who wrote them.  I'm thankful that I got to read them and share their stories. And these cards had real stories; they followed Lizzie and Tracy through their years of courtship, marriage, and family. I feel like I knew the family. I'm even more thankful that I was able to talk to Bernice in person and that our conversation connected the postcard world with the real world.

The message to Mr. and Mrs. Tracy Graham reads:

Nov. 23 - 1917

Hope to see you all soon. I am going home Sunday and hope you can come down for a visit next week. Mary will be here after  Wednesday for the rest of the week. With Love. M.V.G.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and to the Graham family.
If you would like to look at some of the previous Tracy Graham posts, click here.

Tracy Graham Revelation!

Based on yesterday's post, I think it's fair to say that this card to Tracy Graham was from Liz Mable, the woman Tracy eventually married.

The card was sent in 1908 with a message that reads:

I passed all of my exams. Am I happy! Well just a few. So long till - .

L.M.

Guess what? I discovered something else.
Because of the fabulous Delaware County, New York, Genealogy and History Site  I now have all sorts of information on Tracy and family.

From the 1930 Census for the town of Meredith, New York:

Tracy Graham,  45 (b. 1884)
Elizabeth Graham,  39 (b.1890) Wife
Glenn Graham, 12 (b. 1917) Son
Robert Graham,  5 (b. 1924) Son
Bernice Graham, Daughter

Patrick Horgan,  37 (b. 1892) Ireland White Employee

Both Tracy and Elizabeth are buried in the Woodland cemetery in Delhi. The other thing that I discovered by chance is that Bernice Mable Graham Telian is the Historian for the town of Meredith. I wonder if she would like to have her parents' postcards.

*Update: I was thrilled to be able to talk to Bernice on the phone and she is very excited about getting the postcards. I seem to find more and more; I'm up to about 30 now. I'll post the scans, but all of the Tracy Graham cards themselves are going back home. Bernice tells me that her brother Robert is still alive, but that Glenn died in a motorcycle accident when he was a teenager.

Here's the back of the card:

Another Update - November 30, 2010
Since Bernice Graham sent me the photos of the three children (Glenn, Robert, and Bernice), I thought I'd include them here.

Glenn Graham

Robert Graham

Bernice Graham

Tracy's Girl

Slowly but surely I am piecing together the few details of Tracy Graham's life through the postcard evidence.  I have various collections of postcards sent to and from particular people, but no one has piqued my interest like Tracy Graham.  Occasionally they are standard greetings, but more often they are playful jabs, inside jokes, and just plain fun.

Here's a perfect example.

 I have not been able to find much about Tracy from the internet, but this card from 1909 solves one more puzzle. I knew that he got married and that his wife's name was Liz, but there was no indication of her last name, because the later cards are just addressed to Mrs. Tracy Graham.  This card is addressed to Miss Elizabeth Mable by a sender who added some notations to the front of the card - crossing out the word hubby and replacing it with Tracy. The sender also added Cooperstown on the front, so presumably they made a trip there.

Here's the back of the card.

The message reads:

Say Liz:

I would like to have had a snap shot of you people, when you was tumbled out into the road at William Dodd's milk house.  H. Ha.  J.B.A

If you haven't read the previous Tracy Graham posts, click here or on Tracy Graham down below in the list of topics.

Tracy Has a Son

Well, so it would appear. I have many questions for Tracy, and I wish he were alive to answer them. This card was sent to Master Graham c/o Tracy Graham. Remember when young boys were addressed as Master?  Anyway, the dates seem right for this to be his son. The earlier postcards, presumably from his bachelor years, were dated 1906 and 1910.  Then there's a card addressed to Tracy and his wife from 1913.  So, here it is 1925, and they appear to have at least one child.

More on Tracy Graham

No exciting news on these cards, except that now we know that Tracy's wife was called Lizzie - and that they had a niece named Anita. If you read the previous posts on Tracy Graham, you know that he was likely a real character.

I continue to dig through the cards, looking for more news on Tracy and his family.  The problem is that I very efficiently sorted the cards by events, holidays, and other categories. I realized, only too late, that I had separated a bunch of cards from one family or another that really should have been kept together. Many of the cards themselves are not that special; the family history and interactions are of more interest. The New Year's card was sent in 1913. There is no date on the other one.

The message reads:
Best wishes for a Happy New year to Uncle Tracy and Aunt Lizzie from their little Anita.

The message reads:
"The Season's Greetings."
Helen

Tracy Settles Down

Well, from this postcard it would appear that our favorite character, Tracy Graham, settled down and got married. Unfortunately, the date is illegible and we don't have a clue to his wife's first name. 

The message to Mrs. Tracy Graham says:

Hello! how are the measles. I don't know what will come next, twins I guess. We haven't the mumps yet but am looking for them any day. Hope you will be better of the measley things when I hear from you again. cordially  Blanche M.S.

More on Tracy Graham here and here.

Tracy the Troublemaker

Remember Tracy? No, of course you don't, but I suspect he was a real character. I  have a number of postcard addressed to him. Click here for a link to the previous one, where it appears he had been trying to fix a ballgame. And here's another one below, postmarked February, 1906.  Oh, Tracy, what have you done?

Hmmm, no indication of who sent it.

The Big Hat

 

The message scrawled on the front of the card says:

Awful sorry I could not get down last night but was at Delhi yesterday and was so tired I could scarcely dance to bed. Heard you had a big time. Am as tired and lazy today as if I had danced all night.


I assume that Molly sent the card. She appears to have lived in Lake Delaware, New York, which is just outside of Delhi, in an area of upstate NY between Binghamton and Albany.

Note: This card was sent to Elizabeth Mable, who later married Tracy Graham.

Tracy Has a Headache!

The message reads:

Hello Trace

Oh your a hot lot all right.  I suppose you lost a lot of money 16 to 1. How much did you give those Treadwell fellows? Bought the umpires too. Ha Ha but we beat you after all.

Oh, poor Trace!