A short biography of Paul Weed is attached.
Mr. Paul Weed lived in Edinboro, a borough on Edinboro Lake in Erie County of northwest Pennsylvania.
Once a farming community near the city of Erie, the town grew with the completion of a plank turnpike in 1852 and the coming of railroad lines in subsequent years.
A college was established in 1857, and trolley lines connected to Erie by the end of the 19th century.
In 1915, Edinboro had a population of about 750 and was being rebuilt in brick after a series of disastrous fires destroyed many structures between 1902-1909.
Today, Edinboro is a college town during the school year and a lakeside resort in the summer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edinboro,_Pennsylvania
In February of 1915, Paul received a romantic postcard from Mildred.
Mildred mailed the postcard from Westfield, a town on Lake Erie in Chautauqua County of southwest New York.
Once the site of milling operations, the lakeside area came to supports extensive viniculture.
The Welch Company moved to the area in 1897 to take advantage of the favorable conditions for growing grapes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westfield,_New_York
Westfield, about 52 miles northeast of Edinboro, is renowned today for numerous historical buildings and a dramatic landscape of hills and gorges.
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The face of the postcard is a light-hearted drawing of a couple seated on a rustic bench.
The young lady leans against her beau who is holding her hand.
While the lady displays a demure downward gaze, the swain gazes fondly at her as his arm loosely embraces her shoulders.
A pair of colorful turtledoves are perched on the back of the bench, and a single dove stands at the end of the bench.
Above the scene, a title describes the courtship” “Whose little turtle “dove” is oo ?“
The postcard was printed and published in the United States.
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On the reverse, Mildred begins her message without a greeting.
She reports, “Received letter O.K.”
Mildred appears to be very busy as she adds, “Will write when I have more spare time.”
Knowing how difficult life could be for many folks of the early 20th century, I do not make any interpretation about the brusque tone.
One hopes that Mildred soon enjoyed a break, that she was able to compose a letter to Paul, and that the two enjoyed a long correspondence.
RESEARCH NOTE
On New Year’s Eve of 1895, Paul Sylvester Weed was born in Lincolnville, PA.
Lincolnville is in Crawford County, PA, abutting Erie County.
Paul was the son of James Eli Weed (1851-1926) and Ida Jane Shreve (1866-1961)
James and Ida were married in 1886 and had three sons – Paul was the youngest.
https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/L2QC-ZQL
In 1915, when Paul received this postcard, he was a student at the Edinboro Normal School.
Paul registered for the Draft in Erie PA in 1917, when he was 21 years old.
In February of 1918, Paul married Mary L. Murdock (1894-1987) in Union City of Erie County.
Paul completed a stint of military service in 1919 in St, Louis, Missouri – he may have been called for the draft before his marriage.
Paul and Mary had two daughters, born in 1919 and 1921 – the daughters both married and lived to be 99 years old.
In 1942, when Paul registered for the Draft in Erie, PA, his occupation is noted as “dentist”.
Just before his 71st birthday, Paul died at his winter home in St. Petersburg, Florida – in December of 1966.
Mary lived as a widow for 21 years before dying at the age of 93 in 1987.
Paul and Mary are buried in the Union Cemetery in Erie County, PA.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/68933762/paul-s-weed
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/74822272/mary_l-weed
