Ancestorville

<---Continued from Page 1 of ephemera at Ancestorville

Rewards of Merit
1700-1900's

Reward of merits were given by teachers to students and are a wonderful look into the history of education. Most are family identified with a child and teacher name, but rarely as to location of school, area of the country, or age. Many beautiful early merits are hand colored and tinted, as this Kate Fuller family reward to the right. Read an article on Rewards.

c. 1820-40's beautiful hand colored or hand tinted early American Reward of Merit Card to Marion E. Andrew, from Teacher, Kate L. Fuller. Found near Livingston, Ontario and Monroe Counties of NY New York State NYS. Find this piece at Ancestorville.

1839 Certificate of Citizenship for Henry Ferguson from Scotland to NY, Orleans County. We have found a cemetery record of Henry Ferguson, who married Margaret Eckert with both buried at Boxwood Cemetery, Orleans County. Find this at Ancestorville.

Memorial, Rememberance or Mourning Funeral Cards
1800's-1920's

Memorial, funeral or mourning, cards gained popularity during the Victorian era as symbols of remembrance. Usually in a 4" x 6" cabinet card type format, they went out of fashion in the early 1900-20's. Often they can provide wonderful genealogy clues to age, date of death, cemetary, relatives, and areas in which ancestors settled. The memorial card at right is for Reuben S. Juckett of the Whitehall and Adirondack Mountain area of NYS, with much info on him available online.

font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">

1895 Mourning Memorial Card for Reuben Juckett, NY. Connected to the Sardis Mitchell family in the Whitehall New York NY area of the Adirondack Mountains. We have found his grave with info. Find this mourning card at Ancestorville.

Lost Family Bibles
c. 1700's-1900's

Family bibles can be invaluable for genealogy research. Many have family record pages, which are usually found on pages in the bible middle. Generations of names, births, marriage and death dates may be found handwritten in these handed down treasures. The family bible at right is from the Cox Family of NYS. Read an article on Ancestral Migration.

1849 small early Cox Family Bible with Genealogy, Newark NY Wayne County area of New York State. Find this lost Cox family bible at Ancestorville.

Grave, Plots, Cemetery Records & Photographs
c. 1800-1900's

We search for early photographs of grave markers, cemetery records, billheads, receipts, and graveyard stone records, post mortem and funeral ephemera. Cemeteries are museums of time. In many cases, they provide the only remaining clues to lost families. We feel strongly about historic preservation of cemetaries. Benjamin Franklin said "Show me your cemeteries, and I will tell you what kind of people you have." Read an article on Ancestral Migration.

1870's Albumen photograph of an early Monument at Rockport Cemetary, cabinet card photograph found in New England. We do not know the actual location of the monument and would love your help. Find this item at Ancestorville.

School Primers & Books owned by Identified Ancestors 1800-1900's

We search for 19th Century schoolbooks in the United States From America's colonial days to the 20th century. Many primers have children's names written inside and areas, as the child was first learning to write. We also look for clearly identified family books with bookplates and inscriptions. Read an article on Ancestral Migration.

c. 1850-60's Warren's Class Speller Primer Book, Property of Russel Walrath, Steuben County NY. Search Ancestorville for this lost Warren family primer.

Letters, Diaries and Journals
1800's-1950's
Letters, journals and diaries provide rich clues as to whereabouts, times, occupations, schedules, movement, deaths, marriages, births, migration, health, medical, family surnames and general thinking of the times. We are ever on the lookout for the "handwritten word." Many civil war era letters still exist on early heavy cotton rag paper, which has good lasting stability. Read an article on Ancestral Migration.

1923 Letter to Louise Galligan from Reverend Charles Seifert, Illinois IL and NY New York. Find this  lost family letter at Ancestorville.

Antique Advertising Billheads with Family Names
1860's-1900
The classically beautiful typogra phy and litho and engraving printing methods of the late 1870-1900's began to alter the look and feel of advertising used in letterheads and invoices. Billheads are now collectible on their own, and we specialize in finding family names. You may find extensive graphics that take up 1/4 of a page in early advertising style. Our focus is on the buyer's and sellers names, as they offer clues to the early proprietor, agent, city, wares, customer, coworkers and business partners. We are ever on the lookout for family run business genealogy clues. Read an article on Ancestral Migration.

1875 J. Straub Advertising Billhead, Monroe County, Rochester, NY. Rochester Gas Light Company, office corner Mumford St. and Genesee River. Stamped Paid on July 7, 1875 with the signature on the stamp of Henry P. Rogers, Treasurer. Find this lost Straub family billhead at Ancestorville.

Victorian Calling Cards
99966; font-size: x-small;">1820-1890's
In the Victorian Era, visiting and social calls were of the upmost importance. The calling card was used to let people know that they had been "called" on. These cards were carried in fancy cases made of a variety of materials, including silver, ivory and papier-mache. They were often left in baskets or on ornate silver trays in the doorway upon arrival. Calling cards provide a wonderful resource for our family names. Read an article on Victorian Calling Cards

May Whitney Family 1870-80's Victorian calling card with beautiful litho bird, early chromolithography. See our article on Victorian Calling cards and customs. Found in Oneida County, NY. Find old lost Whitney family calling card at Ancestorville.

Advertising trade cards with Family Business Names 1870-1890's

A trade card is about 3 x 5 inches in size. It generally has a lithographed scene with advertising slogan on the front, and full advertising text on the reverse. Local merchants and their hired street walkers would hand them out for free, as a way to tout their products and services. The American public was afforded many new items of luxury and production increased in the industrial period after the Civil War. Small local stores might stamp their names on the back of national product cards, providing family names and locations clues. Read an article on Advertising Trade Cards

A. Hinck Grocery, 1881 humorous chromolithographed early Advertising Trade Card. A. Hinck, Dealer in Fine Groceries, 182 Bedford Avenue, Corner of Penn Street., Brooklyn E.D. NYC area. Find this lost Hinck family business advertising trade card at Ancestorville.

Genealogy Books, Pamphlets and Family History Antiques 1800-1900's

Our ancestors were as much into genealogy as we are, but not with the luxury of the internet. We search for early genealogy books, family histories, handwritten letters about genealogy, and records written from one family to another naming and referring to their family lines. Read an article on Ancestral Migration.

Click to see Page 1 of ephemera for sale at Ancestorville

Old Genealogy Record of Oliver Hastings Family, NY, KY, MA, OH, FL, IN, and CA. Find this lost Hastings family record at Ancestorville.