Carlton Receives an Invitation to the Dance

Carlton Henry was living in Plattsburgh, a small community within Clark County – in west central Ohio.

(The post office in Plattsburgh was closed in 1968).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plattsburgh,_Ohio

In December of 1911, Carlton received a postcard invitation to two dances, one on Christmas night and the other on New Year’s night (January 1, 1912).

The invitations were offered by the “Patriarch Dancing Club” and were mailed from London, Ohio.

The Society of Patriarchs was founded in New York City in 1872 and was later described as the, “epitome of conspicuous display and upper-class ritual and etiquette” during the Gilded Age.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_Patriarchs

London, Ohio, the county seat of Madison County, is a much bigger town than Plattsburgh; clearly, it afforded more social opportunities, including a dance club.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London,_Ohio

Carlton would have to travel eastward nine miles to reach the dance.

The postcard, apparently printed in the US by an unidentified company, features a drawing of a pretty young woman with a very large hat amid sprigs of holly.

Members of the committee that issued the invitation are identified only by initials; one cannot know if the club was true to the “Patriarch” name and admitted only male members.

Carlton was invited to attend with “ladies”, so the club may have been trying to ensure that there were female partners for the male dancers.

Sadly, we do not know if Carlton was able to participate in these festive events of 110 years ago.

Someone did preserve the invitation for more than a century.

Addendum:

I searched for “Carlton Henry” and found an abundance of similar names in Ohio.

The “Carlton Henry” who was known to be living in Clark County in 1911 was a prominent citizen about

40 years old who became the Superintendent of Schools.

Sadly, Carlton (who was married) died unexpectedly at home, in March of 1918.

The on-line resource does not note if his death was related to the Influenza epidemic.

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