Mattie's Correspondence

I have this stack of boxes of Mom's papers. They've been in my closet since she died, now six years. I been through a bunch of them, enough to know I don't want to just toss them. But I don't know what to do with them either. And maybe one of the boxes gives me a clue as to why I'm stuck.

It's a little yellow box, about 5"x 5" x 10". It's labeled, in my mother's hand, "Correspondence of Mattie Stalter Beller Jan 1, 1900 - April 16, 1929. And on one end it says "Old Valentines". When I open the box, the contents sort quickly into three piles. One pile is a set of postcards, with a few letters, addressed to my mother's mother: Mattie Stalter Beller. Postmarks, when you can read them, range from 1908 to Christmas, 1929. The post cards are completely innocuous - most are Christmas and birthday greetings. Only a few have more than a few lines of penciled text. Occasionally one is written in ink. The cards are thick by today's standards, with photos printed on them, or simple sentiments for Christmas or birthday. There is a letter from a friend dated May 15, 1918, that mentions that Mattie has been sick. There are a couple of cards and letters mentioning a hospitalization in 1922.

All this makes sense from the other things I know about my maternal grandmother. Here is her obituary (Gospel Herald):

Mattie (Stalter) Beller, wife of William Beller, and daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Saltzman) Stalter, was born in Woodford Co., Ill., Jan. 1, 1900; passed away at her late home near Graymont, Ill., April 17, 1929; aged 29 y. 3 m. 17 d. On Dec. 31, 1918, she was united in marriage to William Beller. She leaves to mourn her early departure, husband, two daughters (Carol and Doris), father, mother, four brothers and three sisters (Edward and William, Flanagan, Ill.; Mrs. Rudy Schertz, Roanoke, Ill.; Mrs. George Roszhart, Chenoa, Ill.; and Arthur, Ollie, and Ethel at home). One sister died in infancy. She accepted Christ as her personal Saviour and united with the Waldo Mennonite church in her youth, remaining a faithful member to the end. Services at the home were conducted by Bro. D. W. Slagel from Prov. 14. The sermon at the church was preached by Bro. Samuel Gerber of Tremont, Ill. Text, Rom. 5:1, 2. Burial was made in the Waldo cemetery. GH, May 9, 1929, Pgs 126, 127

What this doesn't mention is the sequence of events. She had the 1918 influenza, in May and married my grandfather on December 31, 1918. She was one day shy of turning 19. My mother was born January 3, 1920, and her sister, Doris, was born on December 20, in the same year. Here is their baby picture.



My mother told me that her grandmother (Mattie's mother) told her that she thought it was just too much and led to her death at 29. I don't know what she died of... tuberculosis? These are the only papers I can find from my grandmother. I can understand why my mother had a hard time letting them go.

The second pile is a collection of valentines addressed to my mother. They are her childhood letters. I recognize that many are from cousins - both boys and girls. They were given when they were probably 4th or 5th grade.


The odds and ends include my grandmother's perfect attendance certificates in September, 1908 and March, 1910. Oddly, there is a receipt from Geo. Miller & Son Department Store, Pontiac, Illinois for August 24, 1934 for $2.02 (4 cents tax) for a skirt. This had to be my mother's receipt from a skirt she bought when she was 14. In that same pile I find a slip of paper with a series of numbers on it in two columns. At the top of the columns are the names Edw. and Orie (I think - it might be Ollie). I'm pretty sure it is a score sheet from a game of 42. I remember many such score sheets from games I played when I was a kid. Edward might be my grandmother's brother, and if it is Ollie, and not Orie, it would be another brother.

I'm guessing my mother saved this, not my grandmother. But why did she keep this? Maybe (as my mother would say) I come by this (this inclination to hold on to these mementos and keepsakes) honestly. It's time to let this box go. I'm surprised how hard it is.