When our grandfathers — Harry and Joseph Mattimore — lived with their Aunt Kate after their own mother’s death, they became close with Kate’s family living in Oswego, New York. Postcards were a quick and easy form of extending greetings between families. As our Mattimore clan prepares to celebrate Christmas, I share with you a couple of these sweet, throwback Christmas wishes.
The card above was from Kate’s cousin Nellie King in 1909: “Hope you will like my little gift — I sent it with love, & many good wishes for a very happy Christmas — Nellie”
This one above to Harry, also in 1909, was from who I believe was Marguerite O’Connor, who would have been a second cousin to Harry and Joe, on the King side of the family. Harry was about 14 at the time.
This last one was sent to Joe in 1910 from Kate’s cousin Nellie King: “Hope you will be very happy this Christmas. Nellie” Joe would have been about 12 when he received this.
These cards are from a collection that Harry kept. He was an avid collector of postcards and saved hundreds of them over the years. These were shared with my mom and me by Lorie Deacon Steinwald, who is the keeper of the cards. I’ll post more about this collection in a future post. For now, here’s wishing peace, love and joy to all of our Mattimore family. Merry Christmas!
Julie OHara says: These postcards are precious. Notice the one in the middle from Marguerite O’Connor has an address simply of “Corner of Alabama and Fulton Streets, City.” And it was successfully received! Amazing. Thanks for keeping the cards all these years, Lorie. 🙂
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