This postcard suffered significant fading and discoloration, and the postmark is largely obscured. Nevertheless, I am including it this anthology of postcard humor.
Mr. Vern Huntley lived in Meadville, a city on the French Creek in Crawford County of northwest Pennsylvania.
This forested area was settled after the American Revolution – when Continental soldiers received land grants here (as in neighboring Ohio).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meadville,_Pennsylvania
In 1910, Meadville had a population circa 12,700 – a bit larger than the estimated population of 12,360 in 2023.
Last year, we saw a photograph of Meadville in the postcard story, “A Photograph of Meadville for Julia”.
Mr. Huntley’ s residence at 983 Front Street no longer exists – Meadville no longer has a “Front Street”.
I was unable to determine if the street still exists with another name.
Sometime around 1910 (possibly in the month of October), Vern received a comic postcard from an unidentified friend.
The detached postage stamp has removed most of the postmark – it is not clear where the postcard was mailed.
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The face of the postcard is a motto enclosed in simple frame of red lines.
In a mixture of boldface and capitalized words, we read:
“No GENTLEMAN will swear BEFORE a Lady.
ALWAYS let the LADY swear first.”
Two heraldic emblems adorn the the motto.
The postcard was printed in the United States.
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Although there is a place for a written message on the reverse, no words, names, or initials have been inscribed.
We assume that Vern was familiar with the sender.
The postcard was preserved throughout Vern’s life.
One hopes that the correspondents exchanged many more postcards.
RESEARCH NOTE
On January 17, 1880, Verne Eugene Huntley was born in Crawford County, PA.
He was the son of Charles A. Huntley (1849-1902) and Ellen Beardsley (1861-1926).
Charles and Ellen were married sometime around 1879 when Ellen was 18 years old (Charles was 30).
The couple had three boys and one daughter; Verne was the first child.
All the siblings lived to adulthood.
There is no marriage record for Verne; he appears in census records in Crawford County through the early 20th century, with gaps in the record.
A 1910 Census Record shows a “Vern Huntley” in Elyria, Ohio with a wife (Ethel) in 1910.
A 1920 Census shows a “Vern Huntley” in Erie, PA – he is single and living as a boarder.
In 1940, Verne Huntley is living as a boarder in Erie, PA and is listed as “Divorced”.
Due to the similarities of these records (similar birth dates, parents, and geographical closeness), some genealogical sites present these as the same person.
I am not fully persuaded of this; although it is possible that Vern married a girl from Ohio, moved back to Erie, and was divorced sometime in this sequence.
We know certainly that Verne Huntley died in Crawford County on March 27, 1947.
He was 67 years old.
Verne is buried in the Linesville Cemetery (Crawford County) near the family graves of one brother and of his sister.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/128192805/verne_e-huntley
