Treasure Chest Thursday: Two of Jean La Forêt's Letters Go around the World

We're going to take a step back in time — otherwise known as I just discovered that I have earlier documents relating to Jean La Forêt that were hiding in the folder, probably because they're smaller items.  So I have rearranged everything in what I hope is now chronological order again.

These are two empty envelopes that are covered with postmarks on front and back.  I cannot read them all clearly, so I'm not sure I can trace the complete path of either envelope.

The first envelope is dirty white and is 5 1/4" x 4".  The original postmark seems to be June 23, 1906, when Jean mailed it from Cavite, Philippines.  His return address at the time was Headquarters, First Brigade, USMC, Depot Quartermaster's Office, Cavite.  The envelope was addressed to Mrs. and Mr. Edward Briam, General Delivery, Post Office, San Francisco, California, U.S.A.  The cost of postage was 2c.

The second envelope is a muddy buff and measures 5 7/8" x 3 1/2".  It was originally mailed on August 20, 1906, from the same address.  This envelope was addressed to Monsieur Edouard Briam, Poste Restante, Lyon, (Rhone), France. Europe.  Postage for this letter cost 5c.

Trying to follow the travels of the first letter, it has a second postmark on the front from December in Manila.  It indicates it was forwarded to Paris, France at some point.  It also has "Retour a l'envoyeur par" (Return to Sender), "ret Cavite", "Returned to Writer", and "From Dead Letter Bureau / Manila P. I."  At the top, in red, "Mare Island Cal." is written and the original return address in Cavite has been crossed through.

On the back I can read one on the 20th of an unreadable month in 1906, probably in Cavite; July 1906 somewhere; July 28, 1906, San Francisco, California; July 30, 1906, San Francisco; October 20, 1906, Dead Letter Office, F. D. U.S.A.; December 13(?), 1906 in another Dead Letter Office; December 19, 1906, Cavite; December 25, 1906, Cavite; December 25, 1906, Manila; February 7, 1907 in (I think) Vallejo, California; and a stamp in the middle that has "NON RECLAMÉ" (unclaimed).

So my best guess is that after Jean mailed this letter from Cavite to Edward Briam in San Francisco on June 23, 1906, it transited another post office in July, then arrived in San Francisco at the General Delivery office on July 28.  From there it acquired another San Francisco postmark on July 30, perhaps on its way out of the city to the forwarded address in Paris.  It was not claimed there by Briam.  On October 20 it was postmarked in a Dead Letter Office in the United States, then went to a second Dead Letter Office, which sent it out on December 13.  This is probably when it wended its way back to the Philippines.  It was postmarked in Cavite once on December 19 and then again on December 25, which I think came before the December 25 postmark in Manila.  The Manila postmark on the back has "1130 A", as does the second postmark on the front, although I don't understand why it needed to be franked on both sides.  The final postmark, February 7, 1907, would seem to be when the poor letter finally made its way back to Jean, who had transferred to Mare Island from Cavite.  This also matches the information from Jean's journal, where he wrote that he was in Mare Island from November 1906 to December 1907.

Sometime between when Jean wrote the first letter in June and the second letter in August, he apparently learned that Mr. Briam had moved from San Francisco, and so the second letter was mailed to France.  It has a second postmark on the front, January 7, presumably 1907, from Manila.  It also has markings of "OVER", "Returned to Writer",  "From Dead Letter Bureau / Manila P. I.", "Retour a l'Envoyeur" twice, and "Mare Island Cal."

The back has Jean's return address in Cavite at the top and bottom, which has been crossed through in both places and "Mare Island Cal." written beneath it.  Above the address is something in pencil.  I can read "100" and a word after it that starts with a "G", but the rest is very light.  It kind of looks like Guam, but that doesn't make sense.  The postmarks are August 20, 1906, Manila; August (probably) 22, 1906, Rhone; November 20, 1906, Dead Letter Office, F. D. U.S.A.; January 4, 1907, Dead Letter Office, Manila; January 8, 1907, Cavite; January 9, 1907, Cavite; January 9, 1907, Manila; and another "NON RECLAMÉ" stamp in the middle.

This letter didn't have as many postmarks because it didn't take a detour through San Francisco before it went to France.  Otherwise its travels were similar to the first letter's.  Jean mailed it on August 20, 1906 to his friend, whom he thought was in Lyon, France.  It went through Manila on the same day, then arrived in a Rhone post office on August 22.  As with the first letter, it was not claimed.  It went to a U.S. Dead Letter office, which postmarked it on November 20.  From there it traveled back to the Philippines, where it was received January 4, 1907.  It went back to Cavite on January 8, was sent back to Manila on January 9, and probably that same day was routed to Jean in Mare Island, although this envelope does not have a postmark indicating when it was received in California.

Even more impressive than these letters' international travels, at least in my mind, is the fact that Jean kept the envelopes.  Both envelopes are empty, so the letters themselves might have eventually made it to Edward Briam.  But why did Jean consider the empty envelopes important enough to keep?  He not only kept them, he had them in their own envelope:

This envelope is off-white and measures 6" x 4".  I realize the handwriting didn't scan well, because the words are written in blue pencil:  "Briam letters around the world."  Maybe Jean and Mr. Briam laughed about the letters following Jean back to California.

Briam is not mentioned anywhere in Jean's journal:  no stories about him, not included in the birthday list, no address or other notes about him.  How could Briam be so important that Jean kept these envelopes, yet this is the only memento of him?

An interesting side note that occurred to me is that Jean mailed the first letter in June 1906, only two months after the earthquake and fire in San Francisco.  I wonder if the quake is the reason Mr. Briam was no longer living in San Francisco?

Treasure Chest Thursday: The Last Pages from Jean La Forêt's Journal

We've reached the end of the pages in Jean La Forêt's journal that have entries on them.  These pages seem to be notes rather than something organized.  Maybe these were just pieces of information Jean wanted to remember and keep track of.  None of this writing requires translation.

-- >< -- >< -- >< -- >< --

Marie Josephine Leonie Adrienne – 1 fevr. 74

Pauline – Eugen Stein
Eugen Messein.

Fred Frantz & Joe
Endert – Crescent City

63 – rue Ramey, Paris

Mabel Cornwell – Vaughan – Gallegly
Mrs. Harve A. Gallegly.
Dazey – North Dakota

Henry Pelissier – Sonoma
Lawrence Villa —

John Steiner — " —

Mrs. Curdt Elizabeth
Wellston, Mo.

Mr. Otto Villamarin
Calle Real, Paris Saloon
Cavite,

Major General Tom Barry, comdt
West-Point Military Academy

Marie Robert
rue le Regratier #8

Elisa Dudot
rue St Bernard #11

Tony Kaul
Sablon(?) – Pont-à-Mousson
Elsie Fachette

Wilson B. Morse
Athlone, St Joaquin Valley

Marion P. Mauss [sic], Gen'l

Louis Soudieux – Salonns[?]

Les Messeins  — " —

Oscar & Ferdinand Levy

-- >< -- >< -- >< -- >< --

As with the list of birthdays last week, some of these are names we've seen before, but most are totally new.  Adrienne's full name is very pretty.  About halfway down the list is Emma's mother, Elizabeth Curdt, in Wellston, Missouri.  And near the end of the list is Wilson B. Morse.  He's the man Jean visited May 14 to June 14, 1890.

Jean had a Pauline in his birthday list, but her last name was Cohen.  Maybe Pauline Cohen married Eugen Stein?  But is Eugen Stein the same man as Eugen Messein?

Some names appear to be people Jean met on his travels bu didn't mention previously.  We know he was in Crescent City and Cavite.  Considering the problems he had in Crescent City, I'm surprised he cared to remember anyone there.

The Paris address might have been Adrienne's, since the photograph of her has Paris written on it.  With no context for the other names, I have no idea who they were.  I'm sure many cities have a rue St Bernard, but maybe not as many have a rue le Regratier.  Jean has left me another mystery to work on.

Treasure Chest Thursday: Jean La Forêt's Diary, section cinq

Jean La Forêt's diary holds yet more treasures to explore.  When last we left Jean, he had arrived in Valparaiso, Chile while serving with the U.S. Marines.

-- >< -- >< -- >< -- >< --

Febr. 11 – 02 – Callao again

Feb. 26 – 02 – Acapulco

Mrch 5 – 02 – Pichili[n]gue Bay and La Paz –

Mrch 12 – 02 – Madalena Bay

Mrch 26 – 02 – San Diego

April 5 – 02 – San Francisco

April 7 – 02 – Mare Island à l'hopital.

Juillet 8, 02 – Quitte l'hopital

Novembre 15 – 02, A Yerba Buena ——

Nove Oct. 20, 1903  Quartermaster Sgt.

February 1 – 1905  Left Yerba Buena for Philipine Islands –

Manila – March 2 – 1905

Cavite — same day —

Olongapo — March 6 – 05

Leave Olongapo May 19 – 1906

Arrive at Cavite May 19 – 1906

Quitte Cavite Oct. 7 – 1906 – 4 ½ P.M.

Quitte Manila Oct. 9, 1906 – 2 P.M.

Quitte Mariveles Oct. 10 – 1906, 4 P.M.

Arrive à Nagasaki, Japan, lundi, Oct. 15 3. P.M.

Quitte Nagasaki, Japan Oct. 17 – 6 AM.

Arrive à Honolulu, Hawaii on Monday Oct. 30 – 9 AM.

Quitte Honolulu Samedi Nov. 3 – 5 P.M.

Arrive à San Francisco dimanche Nov. 11 –

Arrive à Mare Island Nov. 12 –

-- >< -- >< -- >< -- >< --

February 11, 1902 – Callao [Peru] again

February 26, 1902 – Acapulco

March 5, 1902 – Pichilingue Bay and La Paz

March 12, 1902 – Magdalena Bay

March 26, 1902 – San Diego

April 5, 1902 – San Francisco

April 7, 1902 – Mare Island in the hospital.

Juillet 8, 1902 – Left the hospital

November 15, 1902 – At Yerba Buena

Nove October 20, 1903  Quartermaster Sergeant

February 1, 1905 – Left Yerba Buena for Philippine Islands

March 2, 1905 – Manila

same day – Cavite

March 6, 1905 – Olongapo

May 19, 1906  Leave Olongapo

May 19, 1906  Arrive at Cavite

October 7, 1906  Leave Cavite 4:30 p.m.

October 9, 1906  Leave Manila 2:00 p.m.

October 10, 1906  Leave Mariveles 4:00 p.m.

October 15  Arrive in Nagasaki, Japan, Monday, 3:00 p.m.

October 17  Leave Nagasaki, Japan 6:00 p.m.

October 30  Arrive in Honolulu, Hawaii, Monday, 9:00 a.m.

November 3  Leave Honolulu Saturday 5:00 p.m.

November 11  Arrive in San Francisco Sunday

November 12  Arrive at Mare Island

-- >< -- >< -- >< -- >< --

Nothing in these pages was difficult to translate, not only because a lot was written in English.  These entries are almost entirely a list of locations and when Jean arrived and left.  He appears to have become fluent in "franglais", that mish-mash of French and English.  He goes back and forth between the two languages and sometimes uses both in the same entry.  I took a small amount of liberty with the translations by making the format consistent for each entry:  date, then location, then day and/or time if included.

In this part of Jean's travelogue, I think the item that caught my attention the most was his three-month stay in the hospital at Mare Island, from April 7–July 8, 1902.  After all of his travels up and down the Pacific coast, he comes back to California and goes into the hospital.  Maybe it was a bug he picked up on the trip.  Obviously, another item that I hope shows up in his service file.

I'm guessing that the entry for October 20, 1903 — "Quartermaster Sgt" — means he was working in that position.  He tends to write little about his accomplishments.  I am pretty sure that Yerba Buena refers to the island in the middle of San Francisco Bay, which currently is a U.S. Coast Guard installation.  The Wikipedia page about Yerba Buena does mention that a U.S. Navy training station was established there before the turn of the 20th century.

Several of the locations Jean mentions I had not heard of previously.  I now know, however, that Pichilingue Bay (with some spelling variation) is in Baja California, as is Magdalena Bay. I guessed correctly that Cavite, Olongapo, and Mariveles are in the Philippines because of their apparent proximity to Manila based on Jean's notes.

There are additional significant gaps in time in these pages.  Between November 1902 and February 1905, Jean made only one entry, the one that says "Quartermaster Sgt."  And it seems that Jean had nothing to write about during his stay in Olongapo.  He arrived on March 6, 1905, and the next entry records his departure on May 19, 1906.  I wonder if that means he had a quiet tour there.

From May 19, 1906 through the last page shown here, the entries were written first in pencil and later copied over in ink.  I wonder if Jean was the person who wrote over the entries to make them darker, or if that was the work of Emma.

More Newspapers Listed on the Wikipedia Newspaper Archives Page

Maybe because of the holiday season, I didn't find many new links for newspaper databases over the past couple of months.  On the other hand, all of the new additions are free!  You can find all of these links added to the Wikipedia newspaper archives page.

• British Columbia:  The Herald (under various names over time) for 1900–2013 has been made available through the Terrace Public Library.
• Philippines:  The Manila Standard from 1984–2003 is online.
• Scotland:  The South Ayrshire Libraries now have an online index of births, marriages, and deaths that appeared in the Ayr Advertiser from 1801–1835.
• Connecticut:  The Wilton Public Library has searchable indices for obituaries (1937–2005) and articles (1997–2005) published in the Wilton Bulletin.
• Montana:  The Big Timber Pioneer (1893–1949) and Saco Independent (1912–1922) have been added to the Montana Memory Project.
• Ohio:  The Warren County Genealogical Society has lists of names of obituaries published in county newspapers, covering 1810–2010.  New names are added regularly.
• Ohio:  The Williams County Public Library has a searchable obituary index that covers 1862–2013, with gaps in coverage for years and newspapers.  The library will also send copies of the obituaries.
• Washington:  The Ellensburg Daily Record from 1885–2005 is online.
• Washington:  The North Olympic Library System has an obituary index that covers 1916–present.  It isn't clear from the site whether the obituaries are only for Port Angeles.
• Multistate:  The Bill Lane Center for the American West at Stanford University has a map plotting the growth of newspapers across the U.S., created using data from the Library of Congress Chronicling America database.  The map also works as an alternative way to search for newspapers from the Chronicling America collection.
• Multistate:  The Library of Congress has a page with links to directories from 1869–1920 listing American newspapers that were being published.
• Worldwide:  The Handwritten Newspapers Project is really interesting.  It lists items from around the world, with dates ranging from 59 B.C. to A.D. 2011.  One handwritten Indian newspaper has been published in Urdu since 1927.

Have you found anything interesting in a historical newspaper recently?