Moultrie County Postcards: Bethany

Wish you were here!
(Postcards from Bethany )

(Click on the front or back of a card to see a full-size image.)

Title	Front	Back	Transcription/Comments
Birds' eye view			Postmark: Bethany Sep 24 1912 11 AM To: Miss Daisy Shaffer Hassell, New Mex. Message: Hello Sis - How is everyone? just in town this a.m. Tho't you might like this card.come here rather often now. Are all the boys in Mex - now? Sister Daisy Shaffer was the daughter of John A. Shaffer and an unidentified first wife. John was shown in the 1910 New Mexico census living in Quay County, New Mexico with second wife Amy (whom he had married about 1899)and, among other children, Daisy, age 21. 'The boys' probably referred to twin sons Merle and Earl, both about 19 at this time, and possibly Ray, about 16. As neither the 1900 or 1910 censuses show any other daughters old enough to have left home by 1912, it is likely that the writer was an older, and as-yet unidentified, sister of Daisy by John's first wife. Neither the 1880 nor 1900 censuses throw light on her identity. This photo was taken from the window of the grain elevator (see below), and captures the view toward the northwest.
Christian Church, undated			Postally unused
Cumberland Hill Camp, 1940's			Legend on front: Cumberland Hill Camp, Bethany Illinois - Young People's Encampment Rented by Day or Week - For Rental Information Contact - B. A. McReynolds Telephone 113R3 - Bethany Ill. Postmark: Aug 10 (year unstated) To: Mr. & Mrs, L. V. Fox 311 East Jefferson Casey, Ill. Message: Dear Mom & Dad, I am just fine and having lots of fun. I have to give an oral report in class.I am studying Jesus' Teachings Love, Evelyn I've been unable to find any history of this camp or of the proprietor, B. A. McReynolds, though the name suggests that it may have been affiliated with the oldest church in the area, Cumberland Presbyterian. If you have information, I welcome it. Evelyn Marie Fox, daughter of Lawrence V. and Elsie Elkiah Livington Fox, was born in 1934. Assuming that she was in her teens when attending camp, this card probably dates from the late 1940's.
Grain Elevator, 1909			Postmark: Oct 9 1909 To: Mr. Mark Beavers Wellington, Kansas In care of Mrs. A. R. Beavers R.F.D.R _ Message: Hello Mark does this look like Bethany? have you got a post card album to keep your cards in. Inadean Mark Beavers (b. 1899) was the son of Alfred R. and Minerva Belle Kennedy Perkins Beavers. The Beavers family had previously lived in the village of Bethany, but by 1909 had moved to Kansas. The writer was Inadean Perkins (b. 1885), Mark's half sister. She was the daughter of Belle and her first husband, George Perkins, and had stayed behind in Moultrie County when the family moved west..
Main Street, looking west, 1908			Postmark: Oct 19 1908 To: Mrs. H. H. Rice 520 North Pine St. Indpls Ind Message: Oct 19 Can not get home Tues as Charles is not in can not tell which train will be in Love to all V. S. Rice The sender was Viola S. Nutterfield (born Aug 1859, IL), wife of Waverly F. Rice (May 1849, KY), and daughter of Milton (c. 1838, IL) and Mary (c. 1842, IL) Nutterfield. Married Feb 10, 1878 in Vermillion Co. Illinois. H.H. Was Harrison H., her son, born Dec 188x (6?). Both were residents of Indianapolis in 1900.Harrison's wife was Francis Y.
Main Street, undated			Postally unused.
Post Office, undated			Postally unused, but white border indicates a date of 1915 - 1930 Inscription on back: Mr. Niles P.O. Bethany, Il Leander Niles was the postmaster, and he is, of course, the gentleman standing in the foreground. The woman behind the counter may be Emma McCord, listed in the 1910 census as a clerk at the post office. The woman in front is probably Grace Riggins, listed in the same census as assistant postmaster.
Presbyterian Church, 1908			Postmark: Bethany Oct xx (day unclear) 1908 11 AM To: Miss Clo Norsworthy Keinsburg(sic) Ill Message: hello Clo what is the reason you don't wirite are you waiting for the 30 to send one of your letters. I look that up the other day & It the same as the 3 (since?) letter & wood (i.e. 'would' -- (Continued at top) give my regards to every boy as is my friends Clorinda Norsworthy, born about 1867, was the daughter of Thomas and Susan Norsworthy. The correct spelling of the town is 'Keansburg'. As of the posting date, she had lived her entire live in Wabash Co. Illinois. The author is unknown, and the text is difficult to understand in places, but the phrase 'are you waiting for the 30...' suggests that October 30 may have been the writer's birthday.
Public School; Methodist Church, undated			Postally unused
Railroad Bridge, 19xx			Postmark: Aug 22 19xx 7 PM (year unreadable) Addressed to: Mrs. Harvey Milburn 629 S. Seminary Princeton Ind Message: Hello Ethel: I belive (sic) I'll stay in Illinois. am certainly enjoying every minute of the time. Always on the go. Nina Ethel Witherspoon (b Nov 1876, Indiana) was the wife of Harvey Felix Milburn (b.Aug 1872, Missouri) and the mother of Fanny Isabelle (b. Oct 1899, Indiana) and Ethyl Lucille (Jan 1902) Nina has not been identified.
Residential Street, 1914			Postmark: Bethany Ill. Nov 28 1914 7PM Addressed to: Miss Mary Rubel Harvel Ill R.R. No. 21-16099 Message: Bethany Ill., Nov. 29, 14 Dear Friend: This is the first time I have been to town in a long while. I expect to be home about the middle of next week. Arthur Neither Mary Rubel nor Arthur have been identified.
Residential Street, undated			Postally unused
Redman and Deupree			Postally unused Note the sign on the left side that advertises the Bethany Opera House on the second floor. The store also appears in the photos of Main Street, on the north side. Joseph Edwin Deupree was born in May 1878 in Missouri. In 1900, only 22 and still in Missouri, he had already established a career as a merchant. By 1910, he and his family were living in Bethany, and he was the proprietor (or co-proprietor see below) of Redman and Deupree. He had other ambitions, however, and ten years later he was an attorney in Oklahoma City, OK, where he spent the rest of his life. He passed away in 1962. He married Laura Bell Campbell, of Iowa, in 1903, and they had children Edwin A. (1904), Harry Linnell (1908), and Margaret Belle (1910). I have been unable to identify his partner Redman as a merchant in the census, in Moultrie or any surrounding county. A possibility from the 1900 census is Elmer (?) Redman of Decatur, whose occupation was listed as 'Capitalist', and who may have invested in a promising and experienced young man.