“A Plump Turkey for Myrtle” – Montgomery County, Kansas (circa 1910)

This postcard image of a plump turkey, standing proudly before a pleasing rural landscape, was printed in Germany circa 1910.

At the feet of the turkey is a mound of Autumn fruits and vegetables – the shocks standing in the field proclaim that the harvest is done.

The pretty postcard was not mailed, but did provide sufficient information to sketch the likely story of its presentation.

On the reverse, the name of he recipient is given as “Myrtle Randolph”.

There is no other address information.

The senders are identified as “Louella, Bertha, and John Billings”.

I guessed that the three names were siblings, and not yet adults.

Consequently, I started looking for John Billings – male names are sometimes easier to find because a women’s name often changed in marriage.

However, after looking through 6 pages of records for various persons named “John Billings” (out of 500+ pages), I gave up and turned to “Louella Billings”.

Anna Louella Billings was born on September 10, 1898 in Montgomery County, Kansas.

Her parents were Lewis Billings (1846-1933) and Anna Electa Rowland (1865-1931)

Louella had an older brother and two older sisters, but there was a 12- year gap between these siblings and Louella.

After Louella, her parents gave birth to Bertha Mae Billings (1900-194) and John Henry Billings (1901-1955).

Because the postcard was presented circa 1910, it seems the older siblings are no longer living with the parents – and the message is addressed from Louella, Bertha, and John.

The 1910 US Census shows the Billings family in Montgomery County, Kansas- so I searched there for Myrtle Randolph.

Stella Myrtle Randolph was born in Butler County, Iowa on February 5, 1889.

Her parents were Owen Thomas Randolph (1845-1927) and Sarah Jane Haskins (1851-1921).

Myrtle had ten siblings, she was the tenth child and had six sisters and four brothers.

After 1900, the Randolph family lived in Montgomery County, Kansas.

On February 3, 1915, Myrtle married Claude Burnham Redburn (1888-1969).

The couple had four children – two boys and two girls.

Myrtle died at the age of 63 in Montgomery County, Kansas on the day after Christmas in 1952. 

Montgomery County is a sparsely-populated area of the Great Plains in southeast Kansas.

The largest city is Coffeyville.

Montgomery County was a “dry” county until 1998.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_County,_Kansas

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