Friday, October 26, 2012

1878 Handmade Autograph Album of Louise Lincoln, possibly while living at Hamlet House at Foxborough, Massachusetts


Handmade autograph album that belonged to Louise Lincoln, with pages signed in 1878, possibly from people associated with the Carpenter family's straw manufacturing complex at Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Louise's name is shown on the front cover, above.  The album is approximately 4-1/2" x 2-1/4" inches and contains 26 pages signed by people who identified themselves and some who did not.  An alphabetical list of the signers appears at the end of this post.

Thanks to reader Ed [see his comment below], I believe Louise may have been Louisa Lincoln, daughter of Emerson and Patience (Hathaway) Lincoln, who were born at Raynham, Massachusetts, and Dighton, Massachusetts respectively.

Louisa was born 10 October 1846 at Raynham, Massachusetts.  She had two sisters and two brothers.  Louisa died at Dighton, Massachusetts, in 1924.  I don't believe she ever married.   

The photograph below was found with the autograph album but I have no way of knowing if the unidentified woman was Louisa Lincoln, another worker at the straw company, a Lincoln relative or a completely unrelated person.  There's nothing on the reverse of the photograph.



Many pages indicate that they were signed at the "Sewing Hall".  Fortunately, one page included "Hamlet Hall", so I was able to make the connection to the O. & W. Carpenter manufacturing facility.  Hamlet Hall was built in 1845 to serve as a combination sewing house and dormitory for the young ladies who were attracted to the employment there.

Read about the Hamlet House and see a photograph here in Foxborough: Gem of Norfolk County, by Jack Authelet of the Foxborough Historical Society, by entering "Hamlet House" in the search box.  

As shown in Ed's comment below, Louisa's sister Florence also worked at the straw shop.

Several of the women who signed pages in Louise's album gave Maine as their address.  Others came from Foxborough and other towns in Massachusetts.

Maria E. Conant of Winterport, Maine, signed a page at Foxboro, Massachusetts in 1878.



M. Louise Sawtelle of Sidney, Maine, signed a page at Foxboro, Massachusetts, in 1878.



M. Abbie Brown of Prospect Ferry, Maine, signed at page at Foxoboro, Massachusetts, in 1878.



Kate Gleason of Foxboro, Massachusetts, signed at page at the Sewing Hall in 1878.



Winnie K. Leonard of West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, signed a page at Foxboro, Massachusetts in 1878.



Hattie Lothrop of Taunton, Massachusetts, signed a page at Foxboro, Massachusetts, in 1878.  She mentioned the Hamlet House.



Leland Merrill wrote his name vertically on the page signed by Ella C. Merrill of Taunton, Massachusetts in 1878.



Albert E. Pond signed a page at the Music Hall.



If you have a theory as to the identity of Louise Lincoln or insights into the Hamlet House of the Carpenter straw manufacturing complex or into any of the signers listed below, please leave a comment or contact me directly.  Thanks!

Complete list of signers, in alphabetical order: [Note: given names within a specific surname may not be in alpha order.]


  • Myra
  • Carrie Allen
  • Maria Allen, 1878
  • Lillie S. Bassett of Foxboro, Massachusetts, 1878
  • M. Abbie Brown of Prospect Ferry, Maine
  • Carrie E. Cobb of Taunton, Massachusetts, 1878
  • Maria E. Conant of Winterport, Maine, signed at Foxboro, Massachusetts, 1878
  • Carrie E. Freeman of Foxboro, Massachusetts, 1878
  • Kate Gleason of Foxboro, Massachusetts, 1878, at the Sewing Hall
  • Elise H. at the Sewing Hall
  • Sadee H. Ham, 1878
  • Fannie D. Ham of Taunton, Massachusetts, signed at Foxboro, Massachusetts, 1878
  • Winnie K. Leonard of West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, 1878, at the Sewing Hall
  • Louise Lincoln; album owner
  • A. E. Lothrop of Taunton, Massachusetts, 178
  • Hattie F. Lothrop of Taunton, Massachusetts, signed at Foxboro, Massachusetts, 1878; Hamlet House
  • Ella C. Merrill of Taunton, Massachusetts, 1878; shared apage with Leland Merrill
  • Leland Merrill; shared a page with Ella C. Merrill
  • Albert E. Pond, Music Hall
  • Ida Prime of South Foxboro, Massachusetts, 1878, at the Sewing Hall
  • Alice Rafferty, Sewing Hall
  • M. Louise Sawtelle of Sidney, Maine, signed at Foxboro, Massachusetts, 1878; friend
  • Clara E. Tolman of South Walpole, Massachusetts, at the Sewing Hall
  • M. M. W. of Foxboro, Massachusetts, at the Sewing Hall
  • H. Florence Waite, 1878
  • Emma M. Warren, 1878, Sewing Hall; friend
Foxborough, Massachusetts


Thanks for stopping by!


2 comments:

  1. name : Louisa Lincoln
    event: Census
    event date: 1880
    event place: Foxborough, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States
    gender: Female
    age: 33
    marital status : Single
    occupation : Works In Straw Hat Shop
    race or color (original) :
    ethnicity (standardized) : American
    relationship to head : Other
    birthplace : Massachusetts, United States
    birthdate : 1847
    father's birthplace : Massachusetts, United States
    mother's birthplace : Massachusetts, United States
    page : 88
    page character : B
    entry number : 496
    nara film number : T9-0547

    https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MHX4-6GC

    You can get to the image at ancestry.com from here. Louisa, age 33, is on line 44 and her sister Florence, age 24, is on the line above her. Kate Gleason, one of the signers, is on line 15 of the same page.

    There is a Mary A [M Abbie?] Brown on the next page, as well as a Richard Carpenter family.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow - fast work, Ed! So it does appear that these gals worked for the Carpenters, and some of them likely lived at Hamlet House. When I start on these albums, I never know where they're going to take me. I first thought this was an album filled with pages signed by schoolmates, but now I've learned about the famous Foxborough straw shops that attracted live-in-workers from all over New England. Thanks for your help.

    ReplyDelete