Nancy’s handwriting is extremely hard to read, especially names.
Scan of 1901 Diary of Nancy Brown
Apr 10 – Lou & Mildred[1] to Pas[2] to day.
Apr 11 – Aaron[3] came to Jims[4] to day.
Apr 13 – Pedro club[5] met at Eda.[6] Lela[7] got pencil, H.A.[8] & Bess[9] booties (Pigs).
Apr 14 – Aaron here to day also Fannie Chandler.
Apr 15 – I went to Claudes.[10] Fannie C– here this P.M.
Apr 16 – Came home this P.M. Eda & I called at Mr Randalls. Lela & I to Mr Davis this Eve to get syrup.
Apr 17 – I went to Mrs La Rues this A.M.
Apr 18 – Julius[11] took us all to Ringling Bros circus this eving.
Apr 19 – H.A., Lela & I to Wills this eve to see Mrs Gifford. She goes next to line.
Apr 20 – Julius took girls & I to T– Concerts[12] the last of the season.
Apr 21 – Bess & Lela helped at gallery. Mrs & Mrs Alexander called.
Apr 22 – Bess here Lela at Hillmans made curtains. Eda & Claude here. Bess gave Eda _____ doll[?] for Harold.[13]
Apr 23 – Lela at Hill–s. Jim & Aaron here to lunch. Jim bought 14½ lbs maple sugar 12 pr pound.
Apr 25 – Fannie C– came this P.M. brought a friend Miss Haven. Bess & Mary to Lills to supper.
Apr 26 – Mary & Julius stayed all night. They & Bess went fishing[?] this A.M. Got a letter from Ma.[14]
Apr 27 – Claude moved to Prairie Ave yesterday from 53rd St.
Apr 28 – Lela & Bess to Will Clarks[15] to day.
Apr 29 – Lela got a new hat – a Gains brough[16]
Apr 30 – Jay Harris[17] called is on his way to California.
May 1 – Uncle D. C. Crawford died in Denver Colorado.[18]
May 2 – Lizzie, Coraline, Edna & Clara here. Also Jim & Aaron. Aaron begins work on west side trains.
May 3 – Lela down town all day with Edna & Clara. They stay here tonight.
May 4 – I went down town with Clara & Edna. We went to Claudes to supper.
May 5 – Clara & Edna went to North side this A.M.
May 6 – Clara & Edna went home this p.m.
May 9 – Lela & Bess had picture this A.M. Bess goes to Mich[19] to night. H.A. & I went to boat with her.
May 11 – Pedro club at Mr ____. H.A. got scarf prise. Cora said Ina had gone to Mich been sent for.
May 12 – I went to Will Clarks had dinner at Jims. Uncle Hi[20] here said Uncle D.C. was dead.
May 13 – Lizzie & Coraline here. Said Will had been sent for. I bought me a silk waist.[21]
May 14 – Eda & Claude here.
May 15 – H.A. sick all night. Had Dr Burwash this A.M.
May 17 – H.A. very sick could not lay down.
May 18 – Claude & Eda here also Aaron.
May 19 – H.A. some better. Jims folks over a while. Mr Field & Grace[22] came to see Roy.[23]
May 20 – Julius started for Mich via S.H.[24] Dr fearful H.A. will have run of fever.[25]
MEMORANDUM
Minnie Crandall died sometime in November 1900
Mary Harris Hipp died sometime in October 1900[26]
——-
[1] Her sister and niece, Louese (Keith) Harris and Mildred Harris
[2] Charles Luke Keith Jr.
[3] Aaron Hogeboom, the future husband of Cora Harris, who was Louese’s sister-in-law
[4] Her brother, James Keith
[5] Pedreaux (pronounced “peedro”) was an American trick-taking card game of the All Fours family. Developed in Denver, Colorado, in the 1880s, it was soon regarded as the most important member of the All Fours family although it went out of fashion with the rise of Auction Bridge
[6] Her daughter-in-law, Edith (Neumaier) Brown
[7] Her daughter, Lela Brown
[8] Her husband, Henry Brown
[9] Her daughter, Bess Brown
[10] Her son, Claude Brown
[11] Bess’ boyfriend, Julius Recoschewitz
[12] Believe this is referring to the Thomas concerts, named after the first conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Theodore Thomas
[13] Eda’s nephew, Harold Doyen
[14] Sarah (Crawford) Keith
[15] Her half-nephew, William Clark
[16] A Gainsborough hat was first popularized at the turn of the nineteenth century based on the hats often seen on the ladies painted by famous British portrait artist Thomas Gainsborough (1727–1788). It had a wide brim and was trimmed with feathers, ribbons, and flowers
[17] Her sister Louese’s brother-in-law
[18] Her mother’s brother, David Caleb Crawford
[19] Michigan
[20] Her mother’s brother, Hiram Crawford Jr.
[21] The bodice of a dress, or a blouse
[22] Loren Field and his daughter, Grace (Field) Carlton
[23] Loren Field’s son, Leroy, who was ill and staying with Jim & Cora Keith, and was the boyfriend of Cora’s sister, Josephine Meredith. He died August 10, 1901 from pneumonia
[24] South Haven, Michigan
[25] He died May 22, 1901
[26] Michigan death records reveal that Mary (Harris) Hipp died in Comstock, Michigan, on November 1, 1900
The Diaries of Charles Luke Keith Jr 