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Compiled by Kimberli Faulkner Hull
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A humorous postcard sent on 10 August 1908 from Mrs. Thomas visiting Paducah, Kentucky to Sidney Harrell of Cadiz, Kentucky was purchased in February 2023.
Transcription
August the 10 1908
[Postmarked Paducah 1908]
Dear Miss Sidney
I am here at last – took the six oclock train got here morning at 10 & have had a big time Went last nights out at the Park to a big show Mooving pictures with electric lights in them They was beautiful tomorrow is my Birthday and my Best Friend is going to take me on a nice trip.
Write me a letter the address 314 Ky Ave Paducah Ky
[Hons?]
Mrs Thomas
Addressed to:
Miss Sidney Harrell
Cadiz Ky Trigg Co
Sidney Harrell
Sidney Dixon Adams was born on 19 November 1880 in Cadiz, Trigg County, Kentucky to Pinkney B. Harrell and Adeline Dixon.1 “Sidie” attended Trigg County schools along with her siblings, Naomi, Willie, Oscar, and Mattie.2
In July 1909, Sidney visited her sister, Willie Harrell Roberts in Henderson, Kentucky.3 Sadly, Willie died two years later in 1911 at the age of 32 of Tuberculosis.4
In 1910, Sidney Harrell was single and living in Trigg County, Kentucky with her father, who was widowed, and her sister, Hattie.5 Sidney married George Henry Adams on 7 January 1912.6 Sidney Harrell Adams died at the age of 79 on 22 November 1959 in Dawson Springs, Trigg County, Kentucky.7
Mrs. Thomas
While difficult to read, the signature on the postcard appears to read “Mrs. Thomas.” Given that Mrs. Thomas knew Sidney Harrell, it is likely Mrs. Thomas was from Trigg County. However, there were numerous people with the surname of Thomas living in Trigg County, Kentucky in 1910.8
The park with the film screening mentioned on the postcard was perhaps Wallace Park in Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky, where “free moving pictures” were being shown the week of Mrs. Thomas’ visit.9
Mrs. Thomas also stated that her birthday was the following day. As the postcard is dated 10 August 1908, Mrs. Thomas’ birthday is presumed to have been 11 August. Assuming Mrs. Thomas was somewhat close to the same age as Sidney, who was 28 in 1908, only a few persons were found with a birth date of 11 August between the years 1863-1890 (age 18-45), and with either a birth or death in Trigg County. No female with the name of Thomas was identified.
- O. Warner Thomas, male, born 11 Aug 1885, died 17 April 1939.10
- Ruby Wright Flowers, female, born 11 Aug 1884, died 2 May 1918.11
- John Walter Brandon, male, born 11 Aug 1873, died 23 July 1921.12
- Leslie Blane Anderson, male, born 11 Aug 1886, died 26 Nov 1971.13
- Albert Sterling Turner, male, born 11 Aug 1888, died 14 Aug 1875.14
- Iva Pearl Ladd Pace, female, born 11 Aug 1880, died 15 Oct 1940.15
- Luther Melvin Warren, male, 11 Aug 1888, died 29 Nov 1950.16
- Tony Wilson Eidson, male, born 11 Aug 1883, died 20 May 1946. Note: Mother was Mary Harrell.17
- Harriet Knight Joiner, female, born 11 Aug 1862, died 30 Dec 1951.18
Per the postcard, Mrs. Thomas stayed at 314 Kentucky Avenue in Paducah.
At the time, Kentucky Avenue was also called Court, just down the block from City Hall.19
314 Kentucky Avenue was not found in the 1910 census, although families living at 316 and 318 Kentucky Avenue were found.20 The Gohan family at 318 appeared to be running a boarding house, with several boarders listed on the 1910 census.
Item Description and Acquisition
Item: Humorous postcard addressed to Miss Sidney Harrell, Cadiz, Trigg County, Kentucky, 1908
Item acquisition: Online purchase, February 2023.
Relationship: None known.
Endnotes
1. Dawson Springs, Hopkins County, Commonwealth of Kentucky, no. 116 59-25930, 22 Nov 1959, Sidney Dixon Adams.
Address: Wallace Ave, Cadiz, Trigg County, Kentucky. Age: 79. Birth: 19 Nov 1880. Parents: Pinkney B. Harrell and Adeline Dixon. Widowed. Burial: Lawrence Cemetery, Trigg, Kentucky.
2. Trigg County, Kentucky, Census Report of School Children 1894, p. 14, P. B. Harrell children.
Naomi Harrell, female, age 18
Willie Harrell, female, age 15
Sidie Harrell, female, age 13
Oscar Harrell, male, age 11
Mattie Harrell, female, age 6
3. “Cadiz, Miss Sidney Harrell Visits Sister,” newspaper article, The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky), 10 July 1909, p. 10, col. 2.
4. Henderson, Henderson County, Commonwealth of Kentucky, Certificate of Death, no. 1079, 10 Jan 1911, Mrs. Willie Roberts. Birth: 1878. Father: P. B. Harrell. Mother: Dixon. Occupation: School Teacher. Cause of death: Tuberculosis.
5. 1910 U.S. census, Trigg County, Kentucky, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 150, sheet 4A, dwelling 64, family 64, Pinknie Harrell household.
– Pinknie Harrell, age 74, widowed, born in Kentucky
– Sidney D., daughter, age 29, single, born in Kentucky
– Hattie C., daughter, age 22, single, born in Kentucky
6. “Funeral Held for Mrs. S. H. Adams on November 24,” obituary, The Dawson Springs Progress (Dawson Springs, Kentucky), 3 Dec 1959, p. 1, col 3.
7. Dawson Springs, Hopkins County, Commonwealth of Kentucky, no. 116 59-25930, 22 Nov 1959, Sidney Dixon Adams.
Address: Wallace Ave, Cadiz, Trigg County, Kentucky. Age: 79. Birth: 19 Nov 1880. Parents: Pinkney B. Harrell and Adeline Dixon. Widowed. Burial: Lawrence Cemetery, Trigg, Kentucky.
Also, “Mrs. Adams Funeral Today,” obituary, The Paducah Sun-Democrat (Paducah, Kentucky), 24 Nov 1959, p. 3, col. 3.
Also, “Funeral Held for Mrs. S. H. Adams on November 24,” obituary, The Dawson Springs Progress (Dawson Springs, Kentucky), 3 Dec 1959, p. 1, col 3.
8. Search for people with surname Thomas in Trigg County, Kentucky on the 1910 U.S. Census.
9. “Wallace Park,” newspaper article, Paducah Sun (Paducah, Kentucky), 10 Aug 1909, p. 4, col. 7.
10. Trigg County, Commonwealth of Kentucky, Delayed Certificate of Death, no. 18971, O. W. Thomas, 17 April 1939. Single. Male. Birth: 11 Aug 1885, Trigg County, Kentucky.
11. Cadiz, Trigg County, Commonwealth of Kentucky, Certificate of Death, no. 14576, Ruby Flowers, 2 May 1918. Married. Female. Birth: 11 Aug 1884, Kentucky. Parents: Tom Wright and Hattie Gunn.
12. Find A Grave, memorial 80777154, John Walter Brandon (1873–1921), Powell Cemetery, LaFayette, Christian County, Kentucky with headstone photo.
13. Find A Grave, memorial 83332859, Leslie Blane Anderson (1886–1971), Green Hill Memorial Gardens, Hopkinsville, Christian County, Kentucky with headstone photo.
14. Find A Grave, memorial 51333160, Albert Sterling Turner (1888–1975), Cerulean Cemetery, Cerulean, Trigg County, Kentucky with headstone photo.
15. Benton, Marshall County, Commonwealth of Kentucky, Certificate of Death, no. 24485, 15 Oct 1940, Iva Pearl Pace. Birth: 11 Aug 1880, Trigg County, Kentucky. Parents: John G. Ladd and Eliza Bush.
16. Kentucky, U.S., Death Records, 1852-1965, McCracken County, 29 Nov 1950, Luther Melvin Warren. Birth: 11 Aug 188, Trigg County, Kentucky.
17. Graves County, Commonwealth of Kentucky, Certificate of Death, no. 10854, 20 May 1946, Tony Wilson Eidson. Birth: 11 Aug 1883, Trigg County, Kentucky. Parents: James Eidson and Mary Harrell.
18. Lafayette, Christian County, Commonwealth of Kentucky, Certificate of Death, no. 26149, 30 Dec 1951, Harriett Joiner. Birth: 11 Aug 1862, Trigg County, Kentucky. Parents: Dick Knight and Bettie Smith.
19. 314 Kentucky (Court) Ave., Paducah, Kentucky, 1906.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky, Sanborn Map Company, 1906, Library of Congress.
20. Page-by-page search of 1910 U.S. Census, Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky, ED 122.
1910 U.S. census, Magisterial District 2, Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 122, sheet 4A, dwellings 75 and 76, families 76 and 77.
Citing this page: Kimberli Faulkner Hull, compiler, “Postcard addressed to Sidney Harrell, Cadiz, Kentucky, 1908,”
Cool Adventures (https://cooladventures.com/iwan-and-eva-carlson-photograph-1905-denmark/: published 2023); privately held by the Faulkner–Hull Collection.