Mrs. Margaret Smith lived on Madison Street in Wilmington.
In 1907, she reached her 100th birthday, and her many friends and fellow-parishioners celebrated with a postcard “shower”.
From a bundle of several dozen at a postcard exhibition, I picked out a half-dozen to purchase and scan.
(Alas, the only two that I have shared here do not contain the actual day of the celebration.)
In this section, I will post a second greeting to “Auntie Smith”.
Margaret was born in 1807 – and it would have been thrilling to hear her reminiscences of all the events of the 19th century.
If she lived her life entirely in Wilmington, she would have been born into a relatively small city still bearing the influence of its Swedish settlement.
The rise of the DuPont empire and the industrialization of Wilmington might have been observed first-hand.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilmington,_Delaware
Many of the “Founding Fathers” were alive when Margaret was born: John Adams, John Jay, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson – who was President of the US.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Founding_Fathers_of_the_United_States
What a wonder it would be to see the first paved roads, the first railroads, the first canal boats, and the considerable expansion of the city.
What did Margaret recall of The Mexican-American War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, the assassination of Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley, the various Panics and tumult that characterized the growth of the American economy?
This birthday postcard was presented by Mrs. A. Clemens.
The single rose is sparkling with applied glitter.
An inscription, “The 100th Birthday Greeting to Auntie Smith” is applied in glitter.
The postcard was published by the Douglass Post Card Co. of Philadelphia.
One hopes that Mrs. Smith enjoyed serenity and comfort in the celebration of her centenary.
