When someone researching bygone eras within a family’s
history stops seeking names and dates and takes the opportunity to look around
real life in those times, what a different world may appear. The compare-and-contrast
mechanism is not something we pursue, but when we stop to smell those
genealogical roses on our research journey, there is much that we can’t help but
notice.
Having freshly passed by Christmas, I couldn’t help notice
the relative simplicity of this Christmas greeting I found from among the Tully family possessions. Not focused on What-I’m-Gonna-Get—or
even dwelling on the traditional trappings of the season—this card found a way
to put the “Christ back in Christmas” in a most unobtrusive way.
The greeting card was given by Agnes Tully Stevens’ older
sister, Lily, to their mother, Catherine Malloy Tully. No date was marked on
the card. Since Lily was born in 1880, and Catherine passed away in 1922, that
leaves quite a wide span for the date parameters of this item.
In size, this card is
not much bigger than an index card, and other than the embossed framework, in
shape is not much different than an index card, either. A single sheet of
cardstock, it has no markings on the reverse, nor any envelope.
This simple token reminds me that, even in the hustle of
city life in places such as the Tully family’s Chicago home, the Christmas holiday itself
was once a quieter, more sedate observance.
When we tend to assume that Life has always been just as we’ve
known it, a little family history research serves us well to remind us that
things were not always the way we’ve grown accustomed to being.
With Christmas Greetings
to Mother
The noblest thoughts my soul can claim
The holiest words my tongue can frame
Unworthy are to praise the name
More sacred than all other
Quiet and sedate..oh that sounds perfect to me! What a lovely verse:)
ReplyDeleteI thought it was a little gem, too--actually, almost too little. I kept looking for more of the verse...
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