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Old Photographs, Recognition, Handwriting Deciphering => Handwriting Deciphering & Recognition => Topic started by: 001uk on Friday 07 October 16 15:56 BST (UK)
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Hello!
Any ideas please as to the location of this
Country street with James BELL General Merchant shop
The girl at left stands in the doorway of James BELL, General Merchant, Licensed Retailer of Tobacco. Last three properties also have signs above their doors but totally unreadable due to angle .
The photo is a postcard.The stamp has been removed so nothing remains but the postmark looks like that of a small village. On the message side, opposite the date (28/6/11) is possibly the location but I am unable to decipher1 Could it be "C- John"?
With thanks~001uk
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The first letter after the hyphen is almost identical to the capital I on the next line. The letter after the "o" could be a lower-case "L". I have seen many documents from the 1800s recently where, what looks like "uu" (as here) is actually the letter "m". Could this be, then, "*OLM"?
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Could this be, then, "*OLM"?
Yes indeed, I can see what you mean. The village could be something "C- HOLM" but what is the first letter I wonder?
Could the village be in Scotland?
Thanks GMCT_archivist
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"My native heath" is a piece of music relating to Yorkshire ... not sure when it was published though. :-\
EDIT: Published in 1924 :( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barwick_Green
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"My native heath" could still be an important clue: the earliest quotation found in the OED is "Do not Master or Campbell me—my foot is on my native heath, and my name is MacGregor." (Rob Roy, Walter Scott, 1817). There are a few later examples from American writers, but as far as I could tell, no English ones.
So I'd think Scotland could be quite a strong possibility.
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There was a James Bell who was a grocer in Crawfordjohn around that time
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think you have it there, ShaunJ!
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01imt/
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There was a James Bell who was a grocer in Crawfordjohn around that time
Wow nice one Shaun...I have been trawling through 1911 censuses for a while but didn't find him...nor did I find and image match on google....well done.
Carol
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Excellent, ShaunJ, and lovely photo, osprey. I wonder if any of the people are the same?
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Great detective work ShaunJ. Well done!
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There was a James Bell who was a grocer in Crawfordjohn around that time
Ding Dong ShaunJ ! You had your eyes peeled for Mr Bell. I dropped a clanger thinking it was HOLM so well done and thank you very much. Thanks also to osprey for the image link: spot on.
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The addressee must be Minnie Evaline Leslie. She was an American citizen, the daughter of businessman Alexander Leslie and his wife Minnie Blanche Inglis. The family lived in Sao Paulo for many years.
She married British merchant Robert Williamson ( the postcard sender's signature looks like an abbreviated Williamson!) at St Paul's Church in Sao Paulo on 28 August 1911. He was the son of William Fraser Williamson and his wife Helen Renton Williamson. Witnesses Alexander Leslie, William Baillie Fraser Williamson and Eleanor Leslie.
Alexander Leslie died in Ocean City, New Jersey on 25 November 1915 and was buried in his home town of Philadelphia, at West Laurel Hill cemetery.