Very recently, IÂ posted the story of Mrs. Jennie Sweigart and her mysterious correspondent, "guess".
"Nothing Can Beat the Fivepointville Girls" - 1922
Shortly thereafter, I recalled seeing another card with an anonymous signature. I went in search of it, and found it among a collection of 'comic cards".
Here is the card from "Friend X".
________________________________
 Nellie Mattax lived in Sharon, Pennsylvaia, a small city northwest of Pittsburgh and very near the Ohio border.
It was October of 1911 when Nellie recieved a postcard bearing the picture of a soldier and his girlfriend.
The card bore the comic legend, "Shoulder Arms".
The card is cheaply printed, and the surface has many scratches and tears -some of which have been repaired digitally.
The message on the reverse included information about the correspondent's health, and wishes for Nellie's well-being.
The card was signed, "Friend X".
*
*
Postmark
The date is Octobe 23 or 28 of 1911.
The location is blurred.
*
Address
Mrs. Nellie Mattax
69 Logan Ave.
Sharon
 Pa
*
MessageÂ
I am well and hoping
this card will find
you all the same.
Friend X
*
 
 *
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Comments: 73
I think the card is lame, Kate, but I have never been highly-impressed with Hallmark, either.
Sharon is in the historic steel region of northern PA; it's not a surprise that Nellie's husband might work in that industry.
Cards related to soldiers were popular throughout the war years of 1914-1918.
So Howard Mattax died before he reached the age of 57.
Steel mills were often dangerous and difficult places to work.
The Nellie/Ellen confusion now embraces Jennie!
She lived to be 84 years old. I wonder what led her to kentucky at the end of her life?
This is interesting, Kate.
Do we know if Nellie/Ellen/ Ella/ Jennie had children by the first husband?
I wonder what happened to him.
So they brought her back to Pennsylania for burial.
So, the Widow Mattox, now 42, has some young men boarding in her home.
Hmmm.
I can see how he might be hard to find.
My interest in him is focused on knowing more about the history of Nellie.
Jeanella/Ellie/Nellie/Jennie of the many names reminds me of when I was transcribing records of previous graduates into the OU (U of OK) Physics Department alumni database. I was working from handwritten records, the incomplete University alumni lists, and some other records that were poorly done before. The oldest and earliest records (from the early 1900s) were on cardstock and were scribbled on, but had such "latest contact information) as three digit phone numbers.
Anyway, one of the firsts female graduates was from the late forties or maybe fifties. She took eleven years to graduate, but, during her time there, she remarried six times and had gone through no less than seven last names. By an incredible coincidence, she came into the physics office while I was working there some time later, asking for her records. She was still on that same last name, so her remarrying spree was over.
Too bad that we don't have a picture of Nellie/Ella. Ellen/Jennie/ Janelle, either.
Hold on there, Stephanie. What do you have against badly-printed cards featuring sappy romantic pictures and atrocious puns?
Because every record seems to have a different name, it suggests that Nellie liked to try out different names - or perhaps had a speech impediment that made her responses difficult to understand.
I am not fond of the card, either, but loved the "Friend X" signature.
Because the woman was a student during the years of her sequential relationships, we have to consider that this may have been a "research project".
:-)
Ron, I love where your mind goes when it's just twisting in the wind.
Kate, I found out a great great great uncle of mine was an uncle by marriage to Abe Lincoln. Kewl Beenz, that ancestry place!
I haven't found a lot of background information on this mysterious organization, Ron, but the reference to "rabbits" and "squerrals" is an improtant clue.
I have referred the matter to the Department of Homeland Security, which is what I do whenever something is puzzling me.
I chuckled at this, and then began to wonder about the origin of this phrase.
Do you have any idea where "Whoa, Nellie" originated?
The Amish are not forbidden to use the mail. I have a postcard from a family in Ohio that I believe is Amish (story to come).
I was glad to see this exchange between Beaker and Kate, because I saw the "Mounts" name on the mattox family picture, too.
I did a quick web search -and there are many speculative references to horses and mules.
I haven't found any citations about historical uses, or earliest uses of the phrase.
The Oxford Dictionary is the likeliest source for these -I'll check to see if I can get access to it.
I will ask Dannielle to check from the Library
Another illustration of shared community resources that individual cannot afford to acquire.
~k
Closed for the Season C., Nov 22, 2008, 7:12am EST
Closed for the Season C., Nov 22, 2008, 7:17am EST
Jennie Mounts
Born: 14 Jan 1878 in S Franklin, Washington, Pennsylvania, USA
Died: 23 Feb 1962 in Carroll Town, [county], Kentucky, USA
Here is Howard's info:
Howard L Mattax
Born: 25 Mar 1874 [city], Greene, Pennsylvania, USA
Died: 21 Dec 1917, [city], Greene, Pennsylvania, USA
~k
Closed for the Season C., Nov 22, 2008, 7:21am EST
Nellie/Ellen/Ella/Jennie was the daughter of James A. Mounts.
~k
Closed for the Season C., Nov 22, 2008, 7:24am EST
I thought maybe she was visiting family at the time of her death, but I'm not finding a Kentucky connection yet.
~k
Closed for the Season C., Nov 22, 2008, 7:27am EST
Closed for the Season C., Nov 22, 2008, 7:28am EST
Closed for the Season C., Nov 22, 2008, 7:29am EST
Closed for the Season C., Nov 22, 2008, 7:30am EST
The family now lives on Loraine St. and they have taken in boarders.
Ella L Mattox 44, widow
Gertrude Mattox 19, saleslady, confectionary
James Mattox 15
Thomas Shillinger 22, clerical, gas co.
Sherill Master 23, clerical, gas co.
~k
Closed for the Season C., Nov 22, 2008, 7:36am EST
Closed for the Season C., Nov 22, 2008, 7:40am EST
Jennie/Nellie was a Mounts. She married Howard Mattax, son of Oliver John Mattax, MD. and his wife Phoebe Jane (Conger) Mattax. Apparently, Howard's brother John Henry Mattax had a daughter Helen Lorena who also married a Mounts. (Helen Lorena would have been Howard's niece.) There are probably some "double cousins" in this family tree.
Clear as mud?
~k
Closed for the Season C., Nov 22, 2008, 3:19pm EST