Master Daniel Taylor lived in Holly Oak, an unincorporated town on the Delaware River in New Castle County of northern Delaware.
The community, about six miles northwest of Wilmington, was once served by the “Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holly_Oak,_Delaware
Sometime around 1920, Daniel received a postcard from his Aunt Elsie and Uncle James.
The postcard was mailed from Wilmington, the largest city and center of commerce, business, and transportation in the State of Delaware.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilmington,_Delaware
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The face of the postcard is dominated by a Christmas greeting printed in an ornamental script.
Entitled, “Greetings at Christmas”, the message expresses:
“My Greetings most sincere for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year”.
Beneath the verse is a drawing of snow-draped evergreen trees with a pheasant standing nearby.
In the distance, one sees the snow-covered eaves of two cottages, behind a rail fence that may mark a lane.
The winter scene is illuminated by the multi-colored colors of the sky as the sun sets.
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On the reverse, there is a message of a single sentence:
“Aunt Elsie and Uncle James wishes (sic) you a Merry Xmas”
The postcard was preserved throughout Daniel’s long life.
There is considerable foxing on the face of the postcard, which bleeds into the yellow and orange tones of the original coloring.
I was unable make significant digital repairs – perhaps someone with better skills in color tone matching can restore the appearance!
One hopes that Daniel and all his extended family had a wonderful Christmas.
RESEARCH NOTE
On April 19, 1910 Daniel Voshell Taylor was born in New Castle County, Delaware.
He was the son of Paul Wooley Taylor (1876-1963) and Elva Roberts Blackiston (1879-1966).
Paul and Elva had been married in Delaware in 1898, and lived in New Castle County through the US Census of 1940.
Daniel was the fourth son, and he had two younger brothers – all six boys lived to adulthood,
In May of 1940, Daniel married Margaret A. Mink (1915-1995) in New Castle County.
The couple lived in New Castle County through the 1940 census; they had two daughters and one son.
Daniel’s mother, Elva Roberts Blackiston, came from a large family of thirteen children – seven girls and six boys, although two girls and three boys died in infancy or before reaching age 15.
Elva had a brother, James V. Roberts Blackiston (1887-1961) who married Elsie Webster (1888-1968) in Delaware in 1906.
This is the “Aunt Elsie and Uncle James” who mailed a Christmas postcard to Daniel.
In his obituary, we learn that Daniel was a Trustee for the Delaware March of Dimes, the founder of a postcard club, Superintendent of the Holly Oak Methodist Church, and a long-time employee of Acme Markets.
Daniel died at age 89 in a rehabilitation center in Brandywine, Pennsylvania in 1999 – Margaret had died four years earlier.
Daniel and Margaret are buried in the Union Hill Cemetery in Kennett Square, PA – Margaret was from Chester County, PA.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/379479
