Miss Annabelle Deatrick lived in Martinsburg, the largest city in the West Virginia panhandle that extends eastward toward Hagerstown, Maryland.
This gateway to the Shenandoah Valley was established in 1797 – when Virginia still included the area that became West Virginia.
The coming of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (1842) led to the construction of engine works in Martinsburg in 1849.
Rebuilt after their destruction in the Civil War, the railroad works were the foundation of industrial growth in the city.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martinsburg,_West_Virginia
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In December of 1909, Annabelle received a postcard from Mrs. Ely.
The postcard was mailed from Morgantown, a city on the Monongahela River in north-central West Virginia, not far from the Pennsylvania border (and 75 miles south of Pittsburgh).
This mountainous area was the scene of decades of conflict between French and British forces and with indigenous people.
Morgantown grew from settlements around a series of forts.
By 1910, foundries and other industry was established in Morgantown,
Martinsburg is more than 150 miles east of Morgantown, although the cities were connected by rail.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgantown,_West_Virginia
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The face of the postcard is a drawing of a smiling, dimpled young lady wearing an enormous bonnet.
The presence of the large ribbons does not inspire confidence that the hat is positioned securely.
These “fashion plate” postcards were important communicators of clothing styes and ideals in the years before World War I.
I am confident that the postcard was printed in the United States, but I cannot distinguish a publisher’s mark.
On the reverse, Mrs. Ely sends wishes for “a Graced and Elegant Xmas”.
Annabelle also learns that “J. M. is okay, although misses you dreadfully”.
It is not clear from the context if J. M. is a friend, a child, a pet, or a suitor.
Mrs. Ely reports that “new house is not finished yet, but hope it will be soon.”
Annabelle preserved the postcard throughout her life – although it was stored poorly at some time in the century after it was received.
I made a cursory attempt to airbrush digitally the worst blotches of foxing.
One hopes that Annabelle enjoyed a graced and elegant Christmas, that Mrs. Ely soon moved into the new house, and that J. M recovered from despondency.
RESEARCH MOTE
In June of 1868, Annabell Deatrick was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia.
(Annabell was 41 when she received the postcard.)
She was the daughter of Howard Nicholas Deatrick (1838-1892) and Elizabeth Frances Snook (1843-1880).
Annabell was the first of four children; she had two sisters and one brother.
One sister, Frances, may have died in childhood as there are no records of her after her birth.
The brother, Parvin Deatrick (born 1872) died in 1905 at age 34.
Annabell never married, and she lived in Martinsburg until her death in 1927 at age 58.
She is buried in the Green Hill Cemetery in Martinsburg.
