This vintage postcard shows a photo of Olcott Square in Bernardsville, NJ, with the old fountain. Manker Hall and the Boylan House are on the right–both of which are now headed toward demolition. The postmark is hard to read, but may be 1908. The image is well known[1], but this postcard is special because of the enormous amount of microhistory written in just a few words on the back:
Mrs. J. Boyle
Basking Ridge, NJ
Wesley did get the Box of Fruit and he thanks grandmother for it he was so pleased with it he has eaten it all, Elmer is in central market no 31
Mrs. C. W. Hill
#96-10
The card is addressed to Mrs. J. Boyle by Mrs. C. W. Hill. Mrs. John Boyle (Sarah B. Faulkner Boyle) and Mrs. Charles W. Hill (Mary Buck Hill) were the two grandmothers of Wesley Hill (b. 1903) who received the box of fruit mentioned in the note. Elmer B. Hill (1879-1958), was the father of Wesley and son of Mary Buck Hill.
On the surface, the message appears a simple thank you from one grandmother to another, but why is the grandmother writing the thank you? Where was Wesley’s mother?
Wesley Hill was the son of Elmer B. Hill and Zillah Boyle and was about 5 years old in 1908. The 1905 Census enumerated Wesley and his parents in June 1905.
Zillah Boyle Hill unfortunately died Sept. 14, 1905 of septicemia, probably after childbirth.[2]
One interpretation is that by 1908 when the postcard was sent, Wesley was living with his widowed father and his Hill grandparents. That was why his Hill grandmother sent the thank you note.
Elmer B. Hill went on to marry again and died in 1958. His son Wesley died in Florida in 1988.
How did THSSH get to preserve this sad story? A clue is in the number “#96-10” written on the postcard. It’s an accession number meaning that the card was received in 1996 and was the 10th accession of the year. THSSH records show that the card was a gift from Harold Koechlein (1913-1998). Koechlein was a grandson of Sarah Faulkner Boyle, the recipient of the postcard, which was likely handed down in the family.
For full catalog record of this postcard click HERE.
[1] The image was used in 2017 on the cover of the Historic Downtown Walking Tour brochure https://bernardsville.gov/government/forms/historic-preservation-documents/149-downtown-bernardsville-walking-tour/file
[2] Bernards Township, Return of Deaths, 1866-1917, Bernardsville Library Local History Room.
Roy, you put a Great amount of effort into that article. Well, done!!
So interesting how you put all that together. I enjoyed it thoroughly.