This letter accompanied the 1852 picture of the Hope Corner Store.

June 18, 2008

This 1852 picture of the Hope Store is a copy of one I found among Bill's things. I know at one time he had copies made and probably sent one to the Hope Historical Society but in case the historical society did not receive one I am sending a copy along. I had sent one to Andrew Stewart since he owns the store and might find it interesting, and then thought that I should check with the historical society to see if they had one. I have also sent one to Tim and other family members.
To me, the names written in the margin are the real value of this picture, along with the fact that it was taken in 1852. The people and their possible ages corroborate this date. Note how dressed up they are. Is this an everyday occurrence or are they dressed up for the picture? Probably it was the latter as picture taking was rare in the 1850's.
The original owner of the store, Edward True, is the blurred image standing in the doorway. In front of him, the small boy is LaForest Payson True (Foss). John True near the front, another son of Edward, died when he was fifteen, so this is probably the only picture of him. I always feel sad when I look at him as he had no idea that he would die young.
According to Anna Hardy's book (The History of Hope, Maine) there were two unrelated Bartlett families in Hope, one from Newbury, MA, the other from Newton, MA. I am uncertain if the Ephraim Bartlett in the picture was the son of Hon. Thomas Bartlett (family originally from Newbury, MA). That Ephraim Bartlett went to California during the Gold Rush, but did come back to Hope for a short time, although he returned to live in California. I am uncertain as to his travel dates, or I could identify him. On the other hand, Ephraim could just be a similar name in the other family. The rest of the Bartletts in the picture are from the other family (originally from Newton, MA), which makes me think the image is not that of the forty-niner. By the way, out here in California it is a real plus to be related to a forty-niner.
John Henry Hewitt (sic) may be the son or grandson of William Hewett who walked away from the British army and eventually ended up in Hope (Anna's book p. 4-5). William Hewett was the grandfather of Olive King Payson who married Edward True, the first owner of the store.
King Pierce, is referred to as Kingsbury Pierce in Anna's book. She says that the Pierce name was later changed to Pearse, so King Pierce is probably related to the Pearse family. There is also Ira Bills in the picture. Alice True once gave me a small Jack-in-the-Pulpit vase that she said came from the Bills family.
The names are really great. I have a box that Carol sent of family snapshots with no names and therefore are useless. I can't bring myself to throw them away.
As you can see, I find the history of the Hope families fascinating.

Regards.

Betsy True