Treasure Chest Thursday: Another Insurance Policy, Another Trip for Rosita?

This 9" x 6" piece of off-white paper is a carbon copy of another insurance policy for Rosita E. La Foret.  As with last week's policy, the cost was $1.00, noted as paid in the upper left corner.  The date on the form is October 18, 1929, and Rosita was 20 years old.  Her birthdate is noted as September 4, 1909, and she again responded "no" to the questions asking whether she was totally blind or deaf, or crippled to the extent she could not travel safely in public places.

The beneficiary was Rosita's mother, Emma M. La Foret.  They both resided at 615 Indiana Street, Vallejo, California.

This form indicates that Rosita was a present reader or subscriber of the San Francisco Examiner, whereas the previous year she had been a new subscriber.  The "solicitor" (salesman, I presume) who sold the policy was Alf Harrison.

The insurance policy paper, while similar to that from last week, is not as detailed.  It is only 11 7/8" x 18 3/4", about half the size of the previous two policies, so designed to be folded in half and then thirds.  It varies between off-white and yellowish and has some greasy-looking stains.  This is a "SPECIAL Automobile Travel and Pedestrian Accident Policy."  I wonder how "special" differs from "federalized."

Again, almost everything on this policy is preprinted, including the signatures on the back page.  The date; Rosita's name, age, and address; and Emma's name and relationship as beneficiary are typed.  This policy doesn't even have the added contact information that last week's example did.

The compensation amounts in this policy don't have as much detail or variety as those in the 1928 policy, and the payment amounts have generally decreased.  Now there are six categories of injuries, with the top payments being $10,000 and $4,000 (instead of 1928's $5,000 for the lower payment).  These were for an injury in a railroad or steamboat accident.  The lowest payments, $750 and $375 (down in amount from $1,000 and $500 in 1928), were for injuries during a pedestrian or miscellaneous accident.

This is another policy from the Federal Life Insurance Company of Chicago, so the Examiner had not changed its affiliation during the past year.

The policy came with the standard acknowedgment letter, on an 8 1/2" x 11" off-white piece of paper, about 20# bond in weight, no watermark.  It is word for word exactly the same as that from 1928; even the sentence lengths are the same.  It's the same letter.  The only difference is the year in the upper right of the page.  Even the signature of the circulation manager looks the same, but this one has no texture and appears to have been printed.  Since it looks exactly the same as the one from 1928, I now suspect the earlier one was probably printed; I don't know where the texture came from.

Because this is the same letter, the Examiner still doesn't trust its salesman.  There's also the same conflicting information about being able to hold a policy as a reader but the admonition to keep one's subscription paid up.

This policy was written on October 19, 1929.  Less than a week later, on October 24, came the Stock Market Crash of 1929, which marked the beginning of the Great Depression in the United States.  I wonder how much the policy was worth at that point?  At least the company survived.

Surprisingly, this is the last document I have for Emma.  The only items pertaining strictly to her were three insurance policies.  Now I have to decide who to look at next.  Yes, I still have lots of documents left!

Treasure Chest Thursday: Rosita La Forêt Is Insured Again

This is a 9" x 6" off-white piece of paper.  It is a carbon copy of an application for a $10,000 insurance policy for Rosita La Forêt.  The policy cost $1.00, indicated as paid.  Rosita was 18 years old and still living at 615 Indiana Street, Vallejo, California.  Her birth date was given as September 4, 1909, which matches that on the emergency passport application her mother filled out in 1917.  The application included questions asking whether Rosita was totally blind or deaf (no), or crippled to the extent that she could not travel safely in public places (no).

The application was dated July 7, 1928.  This time the only beneficiary named was Rosita's mother, Emma La Forêt.  Jean La Forêt had died shortly after the date of the insurance policy I posted last week.

Now that this has surfaced, one item that Emma saved makes a little more sense.  On July 17, 1928, Emma bought a subscription to the San Francisco Examiner.  When I posted about that, I wondered why she would have bothered to keep such an apparently inconsequential item.  Even though this insurance policy was available to readers of the Examiner, as was last week's policy through the Chronicle, the fact that the subscription and the policy are dated on the same day may mean that Emma had simply kept the paperwork together.

The insurance policy itself is similar to that in last week's post.  It is again 22" x 17", designed to be folded into quarters and then thirds.  The scan is close to the paper's true colors, an off-white with some color on it.  It is labeled as a "Federalized Readers Service Travel Accident Policy."

Almost everything on this policy is preprinted.  The exceptions are the stamped contact information on the front in red; and the date, Rosita's name, age, and address, and Emma's name as beneficiary on the "title" page.  On this policy the signatures on the the third page appear to have been printed with the policy, not stamped on it later.

As with last week's insurance policy, no specific reason or travel is indicated, so we don't know why Rosita was being insured.  The details about compensation are similar to those in the previous policy.  Payment amounts are higher than those from 1926 — $10,000 and $5,000, as opposed to $7,000 and $3,500 — at least for the first classification of injuries.  This policy has four different levels, however.  The distinctions are based on how the injuries were sustained.  The lowest payments went down to $1,000 and $500.  So if Rosita had been injured during the "wrecking or disablement of a railroad passenger car" while she was traveling on it as a "fare-paying passenger", she would have been eligible for the highest category.  On the other hand, an injury via lightning, cyclone, or tornado fell into the lowest category.

This policy was from the Federal Life Insurance Company of Chicago.  The company is still in business today, unlike good old Eureka Casualty Company from last week, although it is now in Riverwoods, Illinois.

The policy also came with a formulaic acknowledgment letter.  It is on an 8 1/2" x 11" off-white piece of paper, about 20# bond in weight, with no watermark.  It was printed.  The signature has some texture and is significantly darker than the typed letter; it might be real.  The letter was not glued into the policy but was loose.

This is another fairly standard letter, but the Examiner doesn't seem to have entirely trusted its salesmen.  Why else would it be necessary to include the disclaimer that it could not "assume responsibility of verbal promises made by them"?

There's a slight conflict in some of the information in the letter.  The first paragraph states that a regular reader was entitled to a policy, and the application form includes readers as a category, but the next-to-last paragraph has "Be sure and pay your subscription regularly and do not allow your paper to stop and this policy will cover you for one year . . . ."  Maybe that was just a marketing tactic to try to keep subscribers?

Treasure Chest Thursday: An Insurance Policy for Rosita La Forêt

Two weeks ago I posted the last document I have that is directly associated with Jean La Forêt, a letter from his daughter Adrienne.  After going through the files I created for the other individuals in my "treasure chest", I decided the next logical person to work on is Jean's younger daughter, Rosita.  She has been discussed in some posts previously, but always as a secondary person in a document or photograph.  These documents are really about her, although I don't have many.

This is a "Travel and Pedestrian Accident Policy" for Rosita E. La Foret.  The full sheet of paper is 22" x 17", designed to be folded into quarters and then thirds, of a size to fit into a standard business letter envelope.  It's currently off-white in color with some stains that look like grease.  It's about the weight of 20# bond and has no watermarks.

Almost everything on this policy is preprinted, with the exceptions of Rosita's name, age, and address on the first full, "title", page and the date, signatures, location, and beneficiary information on the third full page.  All nonprinted information except the signatures has been typed.  The signatures appear to be stamped; they have no texture and do not appear to have been signed by hand.  Geo. A. Fisher's name has been stamped twice, with one instance offset from the other.

There's no indication of any specific event for which this insurance was bought.  Rosita was 17; maybe she was going on a trip?  It is a travel policy, after all.  The address for her and her parents is the one we have seen before, 615 Indiana Street in Vallejo.

The policy is dated July 31, 1926, less than two months before Jean passed away.

The policy itself goes into a lot of detail about how much it pays and under what circumstances.  On the first full page, I find it surprising that the amount for loss of life of the insured is the same as loss of two body parts.  You'd think it would be more if the entire body was out of commission.

And the circumstances which are covered are specifically described:  "wrecking of a railroad passenger car or street, elevated or underground railway car", "being struck by lightning or a cyclone or tornado", "collapse of the outer walls of a building Insured is therein" (but apparently not the inner walls?), "result of accidental drowning at a Public Bathing Beach during the time that a Life-Saver is on duty, and not otherwise", for a few examples.  The policy cost only $1, plus $0.25 to register it, and also depended on the insured being a "regular reader" of the San Francisco Chronicle.  I had no idea that newsapers sold insurance policies.  Since it did not specify the insured needed to be a subscriber, I wonder if I could go to the library and read the Chronicle and still qualify.

The Chronicle was pretty proud of its building.  It included an image of the building on the back of the policy.

The insurance was through Eureka Casualty Company of Los Angeles, which had a local office in San Francisco on Sansome Street.  I didn't find much information about the company online, but several of the hits from my Google search were for lawsuits against Eureka.  I guess it's a good thing that it doesn't look as though Rosita had to try to collect on the policy.

This letter is on a sheet of 8 1/2" x 11" paper.  It's a grayish white; it might have been white originally.  It is about 20# and has no watermark.  It is glued into the policy over the signature page.  It was printed, not typed.  I'm not sure if Geo. A. Fisher's signature was printed or stamped.  This version of his signature looks different from the one on the policy.  I wonder if either version was actually signed by him.

This is a pretty standard cover letter.  (Apparently not much has changed in 90 years.)  I am amused by the second paragraph:  "We are confident you will experience an increasing measure of satisfaction in possession of this policy."  That's funny, I would have thought policy-holders should experience greater security or maybe safety.  I never thought about being satisfied that I had an insurance policy.

This envelope is 6 1/2" x 3 5/8".  It scanned much yellower than it is; the true color is a medium grayish-white.  It has "Medical Matters" written on it twice, once in pencil and once in what looks like blue crayon.  This was tipped into the folded insurance policy.  It's too small for the policy to have been in it at any point, because there would be more fold marks on the policy.  I don't know what its relevance is to the policy.  Maybe it just ended up there over the years.

Treasure Chest Thursday: Emma Petit Takes Out an Insurance Policy

The second document I have chronologically for Emma (Schafer) Petit is an insurance policy from 1901.  This is an 11"x17" piece of paper, designed to be folded in half and then as a trifold.  The writing is faint but legible.  The signatures are strong and dark.  I've underlined the parts that were handwritten on the policy.

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

THE ORDER OF
The Fraternal Brotherhood
Benefit Certificate
No. 11588, $2000
Emma Petit
Trinity Lodge No. 121
Age Thirty-four, Years
Class Ordinary
Rate of Assessment $1.50
——
NOTICE
This Certificate must not be delivered until the person above named has been admitted to membership and has paid the first assessment.

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

No. 11588, $2000

This Certifies that Sister Emma Petit of Vallejo, Cal.
has been admitted a member of the FRATERNAL BROTHERHOOD, and that in consideration of the statements made in the application for membership, medical examination papers, and the provisions of the Constitution and Laws of the Order now in force, or that may hereafter be made by the Supreme Lodge of The Fraternal Brotherhood, which are hereby referred to and made a part of this contract, upon the faith of which the Supreme Lodge of The Fraternal Brotherhood agrees to pay at its head office in Los Angeles, California, not to exceed
Two Thousand Dollars
for total and permanent disability, and death benefits combined as follows:
     FIRST:—In the event that said member becomes Totally and Permanently disabled from either accident or disease and is thereby prevented from following any business or occupation, it agrees to pay to said member upon satisfactory proof thereof the sum of
Two Thousand Dollars
in ten equal annual payments.  Arriving at the age of Seventy Years is hereby construed to be total and permanent disability.
     SECOND:—In the event of the death of said member within two years from the date of this certificate it agrees to pay to
Mary, Camilla, and Eugene, Petit
children of said member the sum of
One Thousand Dollars
and in addition thereto, the total amount of assessments paid on this certificate, less the amount of all claims paid to said member for total and permanent disability benefits.
     THIRD:—In the event of the death of said member after two years from the date of this certificate it agrees to pay to the above named beneficiary or beneficiaries, the sum of
Two Thousand Dollars
less the amount of all claims paid to said member for total and permanent disability benefits.
     FOURTH:—Upon satisfactory proof being furnished that said member has become totally disabled, through external violent and accidental means, and is thereby entirely prevented from attending to or performing any business or occupation, it agrees to pay to said member an Accident Benefit at the rate of Ten Dollars per week, after the first week, while thus totally disabled, not to exceed twelve weeks for any one accident, provided a written notice is given to the Supreme Lodge within ten days after the occurrence of the accident.
     It is further expressly understood and agreed that no claim shall accrue under this certificate unless said member is in good standing in the Order, and not disqualified according to the Constitution and Laws prescribed from time to time by the Supreme Lodge of The Fraternal Brotherhood.
     In Witness Whereof the Supreme Lodge of The Fraternal Brotherhood has issued this certificate and has caused the same to be signed by its President and Secretary and attested by its Corporate Seal, this 15th day of March A.D. 1901.
          C. P. Dandy
          Supreme President
E. A. Beck
Supreme Secretary

I hereby accept this certificate subject to all the conditions therein named, this 2nd day of
May A.D. 1901.                     Mrs. Emma Petit.
                                                             Member
Robt. O. Burns Witness

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

The remaining leaf of the insurance policy has sections for "Application for Change of Beneficiary" and "Application for Decrease", both of which have not been filled out.

Emma mentioned three children in her handwritten narrative but didn't name them.  Now we know who they are!  It will be interesting to see whether Mary, Camilla, and Eugene show up in later documents.

We learn here that Emma had returned to the United States.  The last we heard from her, she was in Dieuze with her husband's parents.  She had mentioned Florida but not California, so it was surprising to find her in Vallejo.

There's no indication of why Emma took out an insurance policy at this time.  I don't know if she was going to be traveling, if she was worried about a situation with her husband (Emile Petit), or if she was just thinking about the welfare of her children.  I'd like to think that she was simply being a good mother.  I did notice that Emile's name doesn't appear anywhere on the document.

I was amused to see that reaching the age of 70 was considered "total and permanent disability."  Some things have changed over the years.

I tried to find information about the Fraternal Brotherhood, but not much seems to exist online.  A 1905 photograph of their offices in Los Angeles is online on Wikimedia and USC's digital library.  A small feature piece about the organization appeared in the Los Angeles Financier of October 3, 1906, and a short article about the organization's history was published in the Los Angeles Herald on March 29, 1908.  And it is included in a listing of fraternal benefit orders on Wikipedia; it existed from 1896 to at least 1923 and apparently had a "secret ritual, passwords, grips and signs."  The Brotherhood seems to have had a decent reputation, at least.  Well, if you ignore the secret ritual stuff.