Oscar Herbert Rixford lived in East Highgate, a town on the Canadian border in Franklin County of northwest Vermont.
The Post Office in East Highgate, established in 1834, closed in 1963.
The town is now within the postal district of Highgate, Vermont.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highgate,_Vermont
On December 24, 1909, Oscar received a Christmas greeting from his Aunt Frinda.
Aunt Frinda mailed the postcard from Camden, a prosperous mill town and ship-building center on the Megunticook River in Knox County of south-central Maine.
Camden is now renowned as a summer colony of wealthy New England residents.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camden,_Maine
The face of the postcard is a simple design of a blue banner declaring “Christmas Greetings”.
A large bunch of white holly berries adorns the banner.
The postcard was “Printed in Germany”.
On the reverse, Aunt Frinda inscribed a brief message – “Merry Christmas”.
When he received the postcard, Oscar was almost 49 years old -his birthday was December 27.
Aunt Frinda was 76 years old; she had lived an eventful life and out-lived two husbands.
In the Genealogical Note (below), other details of Frinda’s life are shared.
It is difficult to know if this was a colorful and exciting life, or one of scandal and sorrow.
GENEALOGY NOTE
On December 27, 1859, Oscar Herbert Rixford was born in East Highgate, Vermont.
Oscar was the son of Oscar Stephen Rixford (1828-1911) and Mary Cutting Flint (1838-1909).
Oscar was the oldest child; he had a younger brother and two younger sisters.
In September of 1889, when he was 30 years old, Oscar married Elizabeth May Leach (1866-1956).
The marriage was recorded in Franklin County, Vermont.
The couple had one child, Oscar Adelbert Rixford (1890-1967).
Oscar, Sr. is buried with numerous descendants over several generations in a family plot in East Highgate, Vermont.
Oscar Stephen Rixford, father of the postcard recipient, had nine siblings – two brothers and seven sisters.
The youngest sibling was a sister, Frinda M. Rixford (1832-1915).
The genealogical data can be confusing because one of the sisters, who died in childhood, had also been named “Frinda” – Frinda Rixford (1826-1830).
Whereas the lives of all the other Rixford children orbited around Franklin County, Vermont, Frinda ventured further afield.
In 1854, Frinda married Octavius Jones (1831-deceased) in Essex County, Vermont.
The couple had one child, Eva Marian Rixford (1856-deceased), but the marriage ended about the time the child was born (hence the mother’s maiden name.)
Eva was born in New York City, and mother and child were living there at least until 1870.
By that time, Frinda had married Louie Phillip Beers (1817-1886) and had a second daughter, Lula Beers (1867-1950).
In 1880, Frinda and her daughters were back in Franklin County, Vermont, but in 1900, Frinda and Lula were in Boston.
Sometime after 1900, Frinda moved to Camden, Maine -she is listed there in the US Census of 1910.
Frinda mailed this Christmas greeting to her nephew, Oscar, in 1908.
Frinda died in Camden, Maine in 1915, aged 82 years.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/173243108/frinda_rexford-beers
