“When this you see, remember me” — an autograph book from nineteenth-century Texas

Tucked away in an envelope, in a box, on a shelf in the basement of Carroll Library is a tiny book embossed with a picture of a rabbit.  Smaller than a smart phone, this wonderful little object is an autograph book that once belonged to Ida Ainsworth of Liberty Hill, Texas.  It’s dated 1888 (though a few pages seem to be from 1887), and is signed by her friends and family, and by her teacher.

If you’ve never seen one, an autograph book is meant to be a keepsake.  They were customarily filled with rhymes and memorable sayings, each signer choosing a page and trying to come up with a poem that no one else had used.  Autograph books’ popularity has declined in recent years, but you can still purchase one for graduation or your next trip to a Disney theme park, and there is even a book of autograph rhymes if you haven’t had a chance to memorize anything beyond “Roses are red, violets are blue….”

Though autograph books may still be found, with a few exceptions, the messages in Ida’s book are strikingly different from those a modern student would write.  They are often touching and sober, recalling the passage of time, the parting of friends, and the inevitability of death.   They reminded me a bit of memento mori, and I thought of all of Ida’s friends who have long since passed. 

Yet, even as it brings to mind the dead, this little book also stands against time’s stream, as each page becomes not only a memento mori but also a memento mei—“Remember me!” Dear Ida,  Dear Reader,  remember my youth, my laughter, our friendship.  Remember me as I was in this moment.

Dust to dust…the saying applies to people and to books.  Those of us who work in libraries and archives are in the memory business.  Though we do not know who Ida was, or anything of her friends and family, we preserve the memento they have left behind, and hold it for the researcher who may someday come to recreate the story of these lives, and others, that make up the story of Texas.

My Friend Ida A. When this you see remember me.  Henry T.  Jan 2 [?] 88

July 5th 1888  Dear Ida. Speak of me kindly When life drems are ore.  Speak of me gently when I am no more  Tinae Gillaspy

Dear Ida A line is enough to Ask rememberance  Your Schoolmate  Emm H.  Liberty Hill Nov. 28 1888

Dear Ida, Poor ink  Poor pen  poor writer  Amen.   Your Nephew Walter Lasseberger  

Dear Ida- Think often and always kindly of your true friend.  Francis

Dear Ida Remember a beautiful life ends not in death.

Little Friend:  In the golden chain of friendship regard me as a link.  Your friend Hollie Cates  Liberty Hill Jan 21 1888

Dear Ida.   Will you sometimes think Of me with kindness and Love. Liberty Hill, Jan. 19 1888  Your friend  Nora Gillaspy

Dear Ida.  Love many trust Few and Always paddle your own canoe.  Is the wish of your friend Elie

To Ida  If you wish that happiness  Your coming day and years may bless  And virtues crown your brow;  Remain as as you are wont to be  Faultless as you’ve been knon to me  Remain as pure as you are now.   Is the wish of—   Sister Mattie

My little student.  Always remember with true affection.  Your teacher Jean S. Fry. –19, ‘87

To Ida  Love me little  Love me long  Do not flirt for that is wrong.

Dear Ida  When you get old and canot see put on your specks and think of me  Your friend and Schoolmate Marine

Dear Little Ida,  Who does the best his circumstance allows, Does well;  Acts nobly; Angels could do no more.  Lovingly,  Mother  Liberty Hill  Feb 10th 88

The Paper Republic: The Struggle for Money, Credit, and Independence in the Republic of Texas

On Thursday, October 20th at 6:30 p.m. in Bennett Auditorium, James P. Bevill will tell the little-known story of financing the Texas Revolution and the sovereign nation of Texas (1835-1845).  A gifted storyteller, Bevill’s powerful 50 minute visual presentation relays the history of Texas from an economic point of view rather than a political one. In the forward to The Paper Republic, Dr. Richard Bruce Winders, Historian and Curator at the Alamo poses the following questions: “How did a credit system based on a man’s word operate? Where did the funds come from to finance the Texas Revolution? What role did Texas’ lack of solvency play in her ultimate annexation to the United States?” Bevill expertly answers these questions and many others as he presents the history of money and finance in Texas—a history that is in some ways eerily similar to the current U.S. debt crisis.

James Bevill’s book, The Paper Republic, was named the 2009 winner of the Summerfield G. Roberts Literary Award by the Sons of the Republic of Texas, and the Best Specialized Book on U.S. Paper Money by the Numismatic Literary Guild at the ANA’s World’s Fair of Money in Boston, August 2010.

Come hear James Bevill tell the captivating tale of economic struggle in the Texas Revolution; ask questions at the end of his talk. Meet the author at a book signing and reception at The Texas Collection following the lecture. This program is free and open to the public.

For more information about James Bevill and The Paper Republic, click here.