Last week, we had to have our forty-year-old water meter replaced. The appointment was for 5 p.m., and being the busy working parents that we are, Josh and I had neglected to clean out the water closet beforehand as instructed. So at 4:50, I toted my two kids to the basement and set them up with some toys while I dragged musty cardboard boxes and homebrewing supplies out of the closet, discovering several shudder-worthy spiders along the way.
My tired eyes lit up when I discovered a lost box of mementos in the corner of the closet. It contained my childhood photo album and scrapbooks, but unfortunately, I could see that the box had been damaged by a burst pipe several winters back. I lugged the soggy box upstairs, and once the baby was down for the night, I carefully went through its contents. Thankfully, all of my irreplaceable treasures were salvageable.
Among my photographs, newspaper clippings, and greeting cards were several old books that had succumbed to mold. Before tossing the books, I shook each one gently, and sure enough, one last treasure slipped onto the floor. It was a very old postcard—dated September 11, 1911—addressed to one Miss Della Doak of Vernon, Texas. Apparently, no street address was required at that time. It was a casual note from her cousin in Milan, Missouri—perhaps the 1911 equivalent of the occasional text messages I exchange with my cousin in California. Here’s what it said:
Dear Cousin,
We are well as usual and hope you are the same. It has been raining today. Grover is in Okla. City now. I don’t know how long he will stay there. Write soon.
Alice Doak
Milan, Missouri
This is all I know. They were female cousins living in small towns more than one hundred years ago. Della was a “Miss,” and thus presumably unmarried. Alice was somehow connected to a Grover, though whether he was her suitor, husband, brother, or friend is unclear. Were these cousins high-spirited young ladies who rode fast horses and dreamed of leaving their small towns? Or well-behaved churchgoers with neatly pressed dresses and practical footwear?
The possibilities are endless, and since finding this postcard almost a week ago, I’ve been daydreaming about what their lives were like in 1911. I suspect that a descendant of Della and Alice might like to receive this postcard in the mail, so let’s see if we can make that happen, shall we?
If you are reading this (yes, you), please do two things: 1) share the URL for this post via Facebook and/or twitter, and 2) leave a comment below.
Let’s see how quickly we can find some Doaks! I want to hear more about Della and Alice. Go.
*****
I Want to Know
- Your name
- Your city/state
- How you found this post
Find me on twitter @emmasota, look up emmasota on Facebook, and visit me at my other blog, Divorced Before 30.
Hi, Emma
I have a subscription to Ancestry.com so was able to look up Della and Alice in the 1910 census. Della was 24 years old and lived with her parents in Vernon, Texas at that time. Alice was 27 and lived with her parents in Polk, Missouri. They were both born in Missouri. I can do some further checking to see if anyone has listed these women in their family trees as a way of possibly finding a descendent who would be interested in this lovely little postcard.
(I am married to a first cousin-once removed of Chris McChalicher and, in a small world kind of moment, one of my daughters was in Cecily’s high school class, and Cecily’s uncle was in my high school class in Northfield. I think I sat next to you at Cecily’s baby shower last summer.)
Rynda
That’s fantastic, Rynda! Thank you for checking the genealogy site. I love that I already know more about Della and Alice so soon after posting this!
I love small-world connections. I don’t remember if we talked about Northfield when we met, but I also went to NHS. Cool!
Let me know if you find any more info on the postcard.
Go Raiders!
I should be able to get a chance to do some more Doak-checking tomorrow. I’ll let you know what I find out.
r
one of my good friends is a doak, emma! her in-laws (the elder doaks) live in woodland, on lake minnetonka. her husband went to minnetonka and graduated 2 years ahead of me & josh.
Very cool! I hope you’ll share this w/ her in case she has any info. Thanks!
i did!
Did a little more Ancestry.com sleuthing and found that Della’s father (Alexander) and Alice’s father (Samuel) were brothers. So Alice and Della were first cousins. Alexander and Samuel’s parents were Samuel Doak (born in Virginia or Ireland (sources vary) about 1773) and Margaret Shields (born in 1775 about Kentucky). Grover was Alice’s younger (by about two years) brother. Both Alice and Della are still unmarried at the time of the 1930 census. Alice lived in Milan, MO with her mother and a brother. Della lived in Hollister, OK with her sister Grace, Grace’s husband and two young children. Alexander and Samuel are mentioned on a couple posted family trees but don’t seem to be the lines that the tree “owners” are most interested in (more limited info on these families). They still would be happy to have the postcard, I’d guess. It would be fun to see if you can find connections to the family via Facebook. Let me know if you want me to contact them or want anything else looked up on Ancestry — even non-Doak people.
Thanks again, Rynda! I can’t believe how much info you’re able to find. It sounds unlikely that Alice or Della had children themselves. I’ll be interested to see whether anyone from the Alexander and Samuel clans finds my post. If nothing turns up organically, I would love for you to pursue it as you have time!
I posted it to Twitter and FB. Hopefully it gets some traction!
Melissa
EP, MN
Um, because we’re friends.
Thanks, Melissa! You are such a good networker!
This is awesome! How did you get the book with the postcard? My mom has recently gotten into genealogy and has traced our family back to 1777 so far. It will be fun to see if you can find the family. I live in Virginia and I found this post because your blog is in my Reader. I really enjoy your blog but am sad to say that I almost never comment because I don’t click through to the actual blog page.
Yay! I am so happy to hear from you, Kathi. It’s funny to write a blog and have no idea who’s really reading it. I just discovered last night after I posted this that my dear cousin Laurel gave me the postcard as a gift years back. She said that she went through a phase where she gave old postcards to friends and family just because she thought they were cool. She bought this one for me because of the cousin connection. I had NO recollection of where I got the postcard, so I was glad she remembered!
Emma, I agree with the whole point that you never know who is reading your blog. When I look at my stats on my blog I am always blown away by where these people are coming from.
Hi, Emma!
Have you heard from any Doaks? If not, I’ll send an Ancestry.com message to the likely folks.
Rynda
Think I know a dau of Della, which is kinda weird ‘cos I’m in Ireland trying to track down a different lot of Doaks
Hi Emma,
My mom was Della Doak but she is not the one you are trying to find.
Her line goes like this:
Norman Doak b. 1903 m. to Lottie Lee Stiles
James Henry Clay Doak b. 1848 m. to Malissa Basham
John “Nathaniel” b. 1814 in Tennessee m. to Harriet Roark
William Hugh Doak b. 1794 m. to Sarah Catherine Wilson
Below may not be correct but is in my family history.
John Doak b. NC m. to Mary Foster
William Doak b. 1747 m. to Ann Stuart.
David Doak b. abt 1718 m. to Mary UNKNOWN
Good luck to you in your Della Doak conquest.