The perils of rabbit holes …
I’m taking a break momentarily. I have spent half of my day in a rabbit hole.
Unsuccessfully so far, I might add.
Rabbit holes—as anyone who has tackled deep research into history, particularly family history knows—rabbit holes are occupational hazards and can be maddeningly frustrating tasks AND amazing adventures. (When successful, they warrant a loud ‘Eureka!’)
I’ve spent hours trying to figure out who wrote this letter. It’s old, unsigned, and I am determined to discover the author. As with most rabbit holes, it contains tantalizing clues.
The letter is written in pencil on lined notebook paper to “Dear Mama and Daddy.” That’s one clue because on one side of my family my great grandparents were called “Mama and Daddy.” The letter writer, likely a student, has received a bushel of apples, thus it was written in the fall—apple season in Virginia. The writer also mentions a “big mistake” the sender made: “Some one did a mighty foolish thing by putting Jack’s handkerchiefs in that ?? (probably ‘bag‘). Every day some one has to pay from $3 to $5 on account of notes being found in packages. They look in about half of the college packages for notes.”
I had a great aunt whose nickname was “Jack,” however, in 1920, she was only 4 years old and likely didn’t have handkerchiefs to send. It was not likely a reference to her.
The writer also says he or she heard Billy Sunday preach in “the old jim (sic)” and that “the College paid $800 to get him up from Newport News.”
Aha. Since I learned that Billy Sunday, the baseball evangelist, preached in Virginia in 1920, I can fairly deduce that the writer was a college student or was somehow associated with a college.
“Up from Newport News” is a significant clue since William and Mary College, the alma mater of numerous aunts, uncles and cousins, lies just north of Newport News. Thus, the letter was likely written in the early 1920s. There is also the possibility, however, that “up” didn’t mean north. I live in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, and here to go “up the valley” is to go south since the terrain rises from north to south. Yes, confusing!
The most telling clue, however, is the handwriting—which, sadly, future generations will only vaguely understand. It can be as revealing as a photograph. In the case of my letter, it’s distinctive. To match it, I’m combing through scads of other letters from family members who left behind their “written fingerprints.”
So far I’ve come up empty, but I am also relentless!
Writers, especially writers of history and historical fiction, must be forensic scientists and detectives. Getting to the source, finding the answers, and drilling down is tremendously frustrating—until you find your answer, and then it becomes enormously SATISFYING and you can shout, “Eureka!”
Satisfying!…..thus I persist. Back to work.
