Southwest Sierra Then & Now - #28

Merle Bradbury, born 9/9/1895 in Alleghany

From a historical preservation perspective, the 1907 Admission Day article shared over the last few weeks is extremely valuable thanks to the reporter’s listing of so many names! One of the school children mentioned is Merle Bradbury. For this week’s article I contacted a known relative of Merle’s to get her date of birth only to discover that September 9, 1907 (Admission Day) was Merle’s 12th birthday! I have a granddaughter who was also born on September 9th. The coincidences keep piling up.

On Nov. 7, 2019, the museum got an email from a woman named Jane Proctor. Jane explained that she has deep family roots in Alleghany and that she had a “friendship book” that belonged to Merle Bradbury [her first cousin twice removed]. Jane wanted to donate the book and some pictures to the museum. These types of contacts are so exciting and would not happen without the museum!

That same week, I received a package in the mail from my Aunt Polly. In it I found an “autograph book” that belonged to my great-grandmother Mattie Bell of Denver Colorado. Mattie's name causes confusion for the family because Bell was her maiden name. She was an Irish Bell. Later Mattie’s oldest daughter, my paternal grandmother (maiden name Engel), married Francis Henry Bell, an English Bell.

I had never seen an early 1900s “autograph book” before my great-grandmother’s arrived in the mail. It wasn’t until Merle's book arrived a few days later that I discovered what Jane referred to as a “friendship book” and what Aunt Polly referred to as an “autograph book” were in fact the same thing. Not only are they the same thing, but they appear to have been made by the same manufacturer. What are the odds of them both arriving in Alleghany the same week?Top: Mattie Bell’s book
Bottom: Merle Bradbury’s book

The books have (or in the case of my great-grandma’s had) velvet back covers and the front covers are made of a plastic-like material. I did some research and found out that bakelite (the first plastic) was invented in 1907 and patented in 1909. My great-grandmother’s book was given to her on December 25, 1901, by her Aunt Dottie Bell, too early for bakelite. I discovered that another plastic-like material called Crystalate was patented in the late 1800s. This must be what the front covers are made of.

Merle’s book is in good condition with its beautiful purple velvet back cover and white pages. Mattie’s is in poor condition, the once dark blue velvet back cover retains only a few tiny fibers of blue. The pages are tattered and yellowed and no longer bound or in order. Oddly, Merle tore all the dates from the otherwise perfectly preserved pages in her book. Even the front page where her Aunt Annie wrote “To Merle from Aunt Annie” has the bottom edge torn off where no-doubt there was a date! “Aunt Annie” was her mother’s sister Rosanna (Nihill) Bennett. Annie is the great-grandmother of Jane Proctor, the woman who donated Merle’s book to Underground Gold Miners Museum in 2019. ~ Story to be continued next week.

About the author: As a kid in 1975, Rae Bell (aka Pauline) moved with her family to the Ruby Mine area located between Alleghany and Downieville. She and her husband have lived in Alleghany proper since 1992. If you have news or suggestions to share, please send an email to: raebell44@gmail.com