Since the World Began

     This postcard was sent from Boston, Mass. on 8 May 1907. It gives no space for a message, so the sender has written the words “Since the world began” wrapped around the portrait of CTR. There follows one last word: Auntie? Until? Any suggestions anyone?

     The card was sent to:

     Mrs Ethel Fairfield

     North Isleboro

     Maine

     Ethel Bolton (1885-1976) was born in Massachusetts, but her family originally came from Scotland and Ireland. She married widower Lllewellyn Fairfield on 25 December 1906. That might suggest a working class background, where the groom chose to use holiday time to get married. (Ethel’s obituary incorrectly gives the year as 1907). But she was not long married when she received this postcard. Her obituary also says she made her home in Isleboro in 1915, but she and Llewellyn are living there in the 1910 census.

     The paper trail for Llewellyn and Ethel’s life is quite uneventful. They had no children. Although both could read and write the census returns state that neither attended school nor college, other than elementary school. In 1910 Llewellyn was a merchant seaman, in 1920 and 1930 a general laborer, in 1940 a caretaker and finally in 1950 (at a different address to Ethel) a caretaker of a number of small summer cottages. He was in his mid-70s by then and died aged 86 in 1960. Other than keeping house Ethel appears to have had no other occupation.  She lived to be 90 years old. Her obituary below gives no indication of any religious affiliation. We don’t know if she responded to the convention invitation.