THE VIOLINS

Some time in early 2016, Mark's mom gave us two violins. Now I will give some context that both Mark and I are musicians, as well as all of my children. It's quite natural that people give us instruments, as we proudly display several - Mark plays guitar and sings, I play flute. Margo plays violin, piano, some guitar and sings. Anna plays guitar and sings. Calvin plays any instrument he picks up, and he sings. So, for her to give us these violins was not unusual. She told us they belonged to her great-aunt, and that she didn't really know much about her. Her name had been Lucille, and she was a violinist near the turn of the 20th century. So, at that point, that's what we knew about Lucille. When we opened the case, it contained two very old violins. They were no longer strung, and there were two bows. There were also several scraps of paper. We started examining the papers, hoping we'd get some clues as to who Lucille was. I've inventoried the contents of the case (below). It's a lot of items, but in reality it was just several pieces of paper, and was the starting place for our quest to find out who Lucille was, and where she fit into the family. 

What I can tell you was that it was enough to get us started. The rest of this site will detail what we've learned about her, and what tools we utilized to find the information. It's been fascinating, and it's sobering to go back and think about how little we actually knew when we started. At the bottom of this post, I'll summarize the facts. 

• Two violins
• Two bows
• Rosin
• Bank Book: First National Bank of Warren, Ohio, in account with Lucille Billingsley
• The bank book was used like a notebook, containing practice notes, dated 1901
• 4 handwritten pages containing practice notes, written on stationary from "Hotel Ransford, Brainerd, Minnesota". Stationary is stamped 1908, Thos. Beare, Proprieter
• A small envelope which likely was originally a container for violin strings
• The envelope is completely covered in handwritten practice notes
• The envelope is stamped, "Victor S. Fletcher, violins, cellos, bows, boxes, rosin, Italian strings; restoring and repairing unequalled, 23 Union Square, New York
• Another set of notes, this time a list of songs to practice
• The handwriting is more mature on this one - I thought it might have been written by someone else, but this one is signed, "Lucille Kidder". 
• An addressed envelope with not post, also covered in handwritten practice notes
• The address on the envelope is "Mrs. Roy Durand Herrick, 35 Eight Street, South" (no city)
• Newspaper clippings
• "A small cause of big trouble", by Joel B. Sweet: Cautionary article of what to do if the violin develops a buzzing or rattling tone
• More practice notes
• One piece of stationary with different signatures of Lucille Kidder, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Letter, dated March 13, 1908, from Julius W. Schradiek, Violin Maker & Repairer
• Dear Mrs. Kidder, Enclosed please find the strings which Mr. Kidder ordered in his note of March 1st. I must ask you to pardon the delay. I was a good deal upset here making some alterations, and could not use my machine for making G strings. I wish you could see the place now. I put in a case with glass doors, and keep my violins and music in this. Hoping you find everything alright and are in the best of health, Julius, with best regards to Mr. Kidder, Truly yours, Julius W. Schradiek. P.S. I have never thanked you for many orders sent about Christmas. Also received postal from >>> announcing your wanting to get bow rehaired but you did not come. Sent to Madalin a souvenir card sent by Lucille Townsend (I didn't know her married name) to Papa to forward. Hope you received it. J.S.
• a small wax envelope for violin strings
• Two handwritten receipts from Dr. Julius W. Schradieck, Violin maker and repairer
• August 9, 1907, addressed to Lucille Kidder - violin repair - $1.50; bow rehaired - $.50, E string - $.60. Total $2.60, $1.10 paid on account and $1.50 balance
• March 13, 1908, addressed to Mrs. H. H. Kidder - 5 strings, $1.70
• Train ticket - May 7-8 (no year) from New York to Tivoli, Seat 24, $1.75
• Small name card: Mrs. Homer Huntington Kidder
• Small piece of paper with address on it: W. P. Murray Co., 919-921 New York Life Bldg, Dr. Kellogg's Modern Medicine, Dr. Bennett
• Safety Deposit Box bill - May 30, 1909, Metropolitan National Bank, addressed to Mr. H.H. Kidder, Metropolitan Life Building, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Programme of Concert, White Star Line, R.M.S. Baltic, dated July 4, 1907
• Handwritten list written on stationary from Brown-Burt Logging Company, 204 Guaranty Building, 4680 Main, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Homer H. Kidder, Secretary
• My Musical Life and Musical Memories, Haines
• The Wrong Box, Robert Louis Stevenson
• Tales, Edgar Allen Poe
• The Cloister and The Hearth, Charles Reade
• Books by Max Pemberton, Stanley Newman
• Funny Books by Frank Stockton, J.K. Jerome, Nonesens Rhymes & Mark Twain
• Robinson Crusoe, Jane Eyre, First Violin, Books of travel
• Success Magazine - Hypnotic Therapeutics
• Violin Talks
• The Technique of the Violin
• The Art of Violin Bowing
• The Secrets of Violin Playing
• Biographical Notice of Niccolo Paganini
• Playing cards, checker board, chess board
• book on playing cards
• kerosene
• boiled linseed oil & 1/3 of turpentine
• napkins & napkin rings
• cheesecloth for dusting, cotton flannel
• arbolic acid for moths
• violin string - accompanist
• asbestos table mats
• inquire about buttermilk at at exchange, and cottage cheese
• Power of Attorney, written by Homer Huntington Kidder, granting POA to Lucille Billingsley Kidder, July 31, 1909, filed in New Orleans, Louisiana, two witnesses: George E. Bent, and illegible name
• More lists
• Order black gloves
• have patterns for dresses made at pattern place on 23rd street
• find out about dressmakers
• look at fashions in french fashion plate
• buy little summer hat with pink .....
• buy black girdle
• tan silk - or cloth for jumper dress over tan chiffon waist
• brass chain for beads
• get patterns for underclothing
• match embroidery for waist at Simpson & Crawford. Buy waists
• silk ...silk waist
• stein's cold cream
• have velvet dress dyed
• buy velvet to match for waist (black)
• white silk underskirt dyed
• have white gloves cleaned
• feathers made into long black plume
• grocery list on torn paper
• list of china pattern & items
• list of furniture wanted:
• have chest of drawers made and stained in mahogany color
• have box couch with empty space inside, cover with green 
• make bookcase & cover the shelves with green denim, tacked with gold headed nails
• make low dressing table out of a box with xxx or muslin. Drape over a mirror.
• buy wicker chairs & matting & low wicker table
• use shelac to varnish
• Smith's magazine contains article on health
• Stoddard Books on travel, book on banking & fnancing
• small note on torn paper: toilet paper, olive oil, sheets & pillow case
• recipe for cold cream
• recipe for shampoo
• magazine article on how to remove ink stains and paint spots
• Articles from "The Singer Almanac", 1906: Wedding Lore, The Feminine Wardrobe, The Dainty Woman
• Article from "the Christian Advocate, (unk. year) How to Get Thin

What we were able to deduce only from the items in the case:

1. Lucille Billingsley was a violinist who was very serious about her craft, noting practice techniques and songs to learn
2. Lucille Billingsley married Homer Huntington Kidder sometime between 1907 and 1908
3. Lucille spent time in New York and was comfortably acquainted with Dr. Henry Schradiek
4. Lucille was preparing a home - and wrote many lists of items she wanted in her home
5. Homer worked for Brown-Burt Logging Company in Minneapolis 
6. In 1909, Homer was physically in New Orleans to prepare the power of attorney
7. Lucille was interested in health and beauty 
8. Lucille was presumably an avid reader

We also knew that Billingsley was Mark's mom's maiden name, and we understood from her that Lucille was her grandfather's sister, making Lucille Mark's great-aunt. Mark's mom did not have any more details on her. So, from there, we turned to the internet and Ancestry.com.

I will detail our quest in posts to come. 

Why this story is important

"Diary of a Dead Woman" was born several years ago when I stopped into an estate sale in my town and picked up an old diary. The diary belonged to the woman who had died in order for this estate sale to happen.

The diary wasn't significant; in fact it was probably boring to the organizer of the sale. The writing was from the early 1940s and captured the time when her two children were infants. It chronicled her daily life, detailing everything from diaper changes to visits with friends.

What was significant to me was that this wasn't important to anyone anymore. A person had lived. She had given life to two human beings. She had loved them and wrote about how much she cared for them. She thoroughly thought out why she was doing the things she did, and found them significant enough herself to write it out. She had kept this diary with her throughout the years, even moving it with her across the country more than once.

When she died, her family hired an outside firm to come to the house and help them sort through her things. The family took what they felt was important to them, and put the rest on display to be purchased for a dollar here, ten dollars there. Family heirlooms, photographs, diaries. None of these things were important to her children, her grandchildren, or their children.

I'm sure they have things that were important to them. But, for some reason, her earliest thoughts on what it was like to be a young mother in rural New York were not interesting to her family.

Later, my husband inherited two old violins, which were fabled to have belonged to a famous violinist from the turn of the 19th century. In the double case were enough handwritten notes to give us some clues as to who she was. Unfortunately, it wasn't a lot.

With the help of the few effects from inside the case and the internet, we were able to piece together an outline of her life. Unfortunately, once she got married, she ceased to be. She then became "Mrs." and all information about her was tied directly to how she reflected her husband's presence in the world.

In my quest to find her, I found her mother, her sisters, her sisters-in-law. Once again, their lives were only shadows of who their husbands were. They had dreams and hopes and desires, but all were shelved when the title "Mrs." replaced their first names. In some cases, divorce or death took even that title away and they were ever more lost to the history books.

(Update 07/21/2023)
While philosophically, it has been frustrating to not know a lot about women from previous generations, there are several tools available to search genealogy. This site aims to share the progress I've made in learning more about the violinist and her family, and to understand her life. I also intend to share tricks on researching as well as certain pitfalls to avoid when practicing genealogy and learning about your own ancestry.

We've been on this journey for about seven years, and it's been slow going. Over time, we've been able to unearth more clues to help us understand where to look, and additionally genealogy tools have become more sophisticated. I've subscribed to websites only to find out that I was duplicating my efforts. I've spent weeks going down the wrong rabbit holes, but I've also hit the jackpot a few times.

Over time, I thought I wanted to write a fictional account of who I thought the violinist was, but realized that there are living people who are also distantly related, and they might either be hurt by the fictionalized version I created, or even worse - I could unintentionally create a life that never happened and it could be misconstrued as truth to attach to a genealogical record.

So, after many years of pondering how to write the story, my husband and I have decided to tell the story as it's unfolded through our search. It may take a while, and I'm certain I will uncover new information that I can share in the future.