Cousin Connection - 100 Years Ago

In the spirit of this blog I thought that I'd share a Cousin Connection from 100 years ago give or take a couple of years.

In June of 1907 Matthew McAdam returned to the United States from visiting family in Scotland. On his return Matthew brought with him a nephew, Alexander Jarvie, the 5th child of his sister, Cecilia McAdam Jarvie. The two travelled on the "S.S. Victorian" sailing from Liverpool to Quebec. They then travelled down to Blooming Prairie, Minnesota where Matthew resided with several of his adult children, including our Great-grandmother, Janet McAdam Waning.
Alexander Jarvie's visit was a MOMENTOUS event in McAdam family history! It is not every day, after all, that a cousin comes from Scotland to visit. Some stories of the visit were passed down. Alexander brought his own tea with him fearing the quantity and quality of the beverage in America might leave something to be desired! He was taken aback at the "waste" of the unplanted verges along the edge of the roads before the fence lines began. In Scotland fields were planted right to the very edge of the road. And in a cultural faux pas, Alexander left his boots out to be "blacked" (shined) the first evening of his visit. His McAdam female cousins informed him that they would be glad to provide him with blacking, but if he wanted it done, he needed to do it himself!

Happily our Great-grandmother and Alexander stayed in contact after his visit though the cultural divide remained! Alexander sent this postcard in 1909 when Janet McAdam had moved out west to Billings, Montana. He comments, "Why have you gone so far away from home?...I wish you success in your new sphere and hope you will not be lonely...Are you near Matt?". (Janet's brother Matt had moved to Montana years previously - I know it is confusing she had a brother and a father both named Matthew!).
FYI Alexander Jarvie was born in 1859; he was almost 48 when he travelled to Minnesota. Our Great-grandmother, born in 1875 was 32 years old the summer of 1907 when her cousin visited. According to Janet McAdam Waning, Alexander was called Alex and the name was pronounced "Alick" with a hard "C" sound.
That is your history lesson for today - special thanks to Sandie for sharing the postcard.