Alice Austen House Collection, 1896

Version: 12 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 5:48:41 AM

Added description

Description

Alice Austen House 1896 Correspondence and Announcements Collection

Overview

The Alice Austen House 1896 Correspondence and Announcements Collection is a digital assemblage of 43 items produced in 1896 that document the social and familial networks of photographer Alice Austen (1858‑1952) and her contemporaries. The collection comprises scanned images of handwritten letters, envelopes, postcards, and printed marriage announcements, each accompanied by OCR‑extracted text. Materials are held by the Alice Austen House Test repository and were digitized through the PINAX system. The items are all in English and collectively illustrate the breadth of Austen’s personal, professional, and civic engagements during a single calendar year.

Background

Alice Austen, a prominent New York photographer and philanthropist, lived at Rosebank on Staten Island. The 1896 collection reflects a period of extensive travel, community involvement, and correspondence with family, friends, and business associates. The Alice Austen House Test repository, a test archival institution, preserved these documents as part of a broader effort to digitize Austen’s legacy. The collection’s provenance is clear: all items were collected by the house, scanned, and catalogued under the institutional name “Alice Austen House Test.”

Contents

  • Marriage Announcements (3) – printed notices for the weddings of the Clawson, Kirtland, and Bagley families, dated April–May 1896.
  • Violet Ward Correspondence (10) – letters from Violet Ward (Cazenovia, NY) to Austen, covering travel, family health, and social events (e.g., May 21, 1896).
  • Julia Tabor Martin Correspondence (8) – travel‑focused letters from Martin (Riverdale, NY) to Austen, detailing itineraries across the United States (e.g., June 22, 1896).
  • Alice Austen Correspondence (13) – envelopes and postcards addressed to Austen, originating from Staten Island, Connecticut, California, and Ontario.
  • Carrie M. Ward Correspondence (2) – personal updates from Carrie Ward (Cazenovia, NY) to Austen, dated August 20, 1896.
  • Correspondence to Trude (5) – letters by J. Irving Goddard to Trude, composed August 30, 1896 at Mountain Rest House, Mohonk Lake.
  • Miscellaneous Correspondence (2) – two handwritten letters dated May 1896, added to the collection as part of the archival test.

Representative examples include Violet Ward’s May 21 letter, Julia Martin’s June 22 itinerary, Austen’s postcard to Mountain Rest House, Carrie Ward’s August 20 letter, and Goddard’s 2003 letter describing a musical morning at a hotel.

Scope

The collection is confined to the calendar year 1896 (with two 1894 letters in the Violet Ward set) and includes only correspondence, marriage announcements, and postal artifacts. It excludes diaries, photographs, or other non‑letter materials. The items provide a comprehensive view of 19th‑century social networks, travel, and civic life in the New York metropolitan area and beyond.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

@file_pinax:document {title: "Alice Austen House Collection, 1896", creators: [@alice_austen, @violet_ward, @julia_martin, @carrie_m_ward, @j_irving_goddard, @william_clawson, @william_hathorne_kirtland, @francis_h_bagley, @b], institution: @alice_austen_house_test, created: @date_1896, language: "en", subjects: ["Correspondence","Personal letters","Marriage announcements","Weddings","Social history","Travel","Family relations","Family visits","19th century","19th century American life","Postcards","Envelopes","Health","Family","Music"], description: "A collection of materials from 1896 related to Alice Austen and her correspondents, including marriage announcements, personal letters, postcards, and envelopes.", places: ["Staten Island","New York","Clifton","Randall Memorial Church","Cazenovia","Thompkinsville","Lancaster","Riverdale","Kingsley","Chatham","Gloucester","Albany","Los Angeles","Santa Barbara","La Porte","Chicago","Syracuse","New Canaan","Connecticut","Canada","Kingston","Ontario","Alwington","Kingsboro","Barstow","California","Mohonk Lake","Vineyard Haven"]}


@file_pinax -> documents -> @marriage_announcements_1896:collection

@file_pinax -> documents -> @violet_ward_correspondence:collection

@file_pinax -> documents -> @julia_martin_correspondence:collection

@file_pinax -> documents -> @carrie_ward_correspondence_1896:collection

@file_pinax -> documents -> @collection_1896_correspondence:collection

@file_pinax -> documents -> @alice_austen_correspondence_collection:document


@file_1896_5_21ish_1896_may_2001_nyc_violet_copy_jpg:file {ocr_text: "Miss Alice Austen\nRosebank\nStaten Island"} -> addressed to -> @alice_austen {location: @rosebank}


@alice -> same as -> @alice_austen


@carrie_m_ward -> contributed to -> @carrie_ward_correspondence_1896:collection

@violet_ward -> contributed to -> @violet_ward_correspondence:collection

@julia_martin -> contributed to -> @julia_martin_correspondence:collection

@j_irving_goddard -> contributed to -> @collection_1896_correspondence:collection


@rosebank -> featured in -> @marriage_announcements_1896:collection

@rosebank -> featured in -> @alice_austen_correspondence_collection:document


@cazenovia_ny -> featured in -> @violet_ward_correspondence:collection

@cazenovia_ny -> featured in -> @carrie_ward_correspondence_1896:collection


@mountain_rest_house -> featured in -> @collection_1896_correspondence:collection

@mountain_rest_house -> featured in -> @alice_austen_correspondence_collection:document


@b:person {initials: "B.", role: "Correspondent"} -> authored -> @letter_father_health:document

@b -> authored -> @letter_address:document


@alice_austen -> appears in -> @marriage_announcements_1896:collection

@alice_austen -> appears in -> @violet_ward_correspondence:collection

@alice_austen -> appears in -> @julia_martin_correspondence:collection

@alice_austen -> appears in -> @carrie_ward_correspondence_1896:collection

@alice_austen -> appears in -> @collection_1896_correspondence:collection

@alice_austen -> appears in -> @alice_austen_correspondence_collection:document


@william_clawson -> announced -> @marriage_clawson_1896_04_06:event

@william_hathorne_kirtland -> announced -> @marriage_kirtland_1896_05_12:event

@francis_h_bagley -> announced -> @marriage_bagley_1896_05_26:event


@marriage_clawson_1896_04_06:event -> took place at -> @saint_johns_church

@marriage_kirtland_1896_05_12:event -> took place at -> @address_503_boulevard

@marriage_bagley_1896_05_26:event -> took place at -> @randall_memorial_church


@letter_may_21_1896 -> mentions -> @alice_austen

@letter_aug_16_1896_1 -> mentions -> [@pater, @wilson]

@letter_aug_26_1896_2 -> mentions -> [@lancaster, @larrie, @daisy, @harpers_chest]

@letter_aug_29_1896_2 -> mentions -> @thompkinsville


@letter_may_30_1896_4002 -> mentions -> [@walton, @king, @aunt_addie]

@letter_june_22_1896 -> mentions -> [@gertrude, @miss_williams, @riverdale, @kingsley, @aunt_addie]

@letter_june_23_1896 -> mentions -> [@new_york, @syracuse, @miss_williams]

@letter_july_15_1896 -> mentions -> [@la_porte_in, @chicago, @king]

@letter_july_07_1896_1002 -> mentions -> [@harlem_depot, @mrs_miller, @king]


@letter_2001 -> mentions -> @alice_austen

@letter_2002 -> mentions -> @papa

@letter_2003 -> mentions -> [@emily, @mrs_vinally]

@letter_2004 -> mentions -> [@edith, @papa, @vineyard_haven, @mother, @kejoy]

@letter_2005 -> mentions -> [@mother, @barnetts, @vineyard_haven, @mountain_rest_house, @trude, @papa, @kejoy]

Metadata

Version History (10 versions)

  • ✓ v12 (current) · 12/4/2025, 5:48:41 AM
    "Added description"
  • v11 · 12/4/2025, 5:46:12 AM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v10 · 12/4/2025, 5:41:53 AM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v9 · 12/4/2025, 5:40:20 AM · View this version
    "Reorganized into 7 groups"
  • v8 · 12/4/2025, 5:40:19 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBKY0ABKW65DENF0YPXZ3KT2"
  • v7 · 12/4/2025, 5:40:18 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBKY091Y4015RC4VFHX3DNWP"
  • v6 · 12/4/2025, 5:40:16 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBKY07N0F8DRPJ0B96VFRMBX"
  • v5 · 12/4/2025, 5:40:15 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBKY06AH0X0QQ9B33ZC3TS6R"
  • v4 · 12/4/2025, 5:40:14 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBKY05069JFMZW8SZ32N2G6P"
  • v3 · 12/4/2025, 5:40:12 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBKY03NEG1RNFXYTBZSJ83VZ"

More versions available (pagination not yet implemented)

Additional Components

reorganization-description.txt
# Reorganization Summary

Files were organized primarily by year (1896) and then by correspondence type (letters, postcards/envelopes, announcements). Within correspondence, files were grouped by sender where identifiable (Violet Ward, Julia Martin, Carrie Ward, Trude). Marriage announcements formed their own distinct group. Envelopes and postcards were grouped separately from letter content. The one ungrouped file appeared to be a duplicate reference.

## Groups Created

- **1896_marriage_announcements**: Formal announcements of marriages in 1896
- **1896_violet_ward_correspondence**: Letters and postcards from Violet Ward to Alice Austen in 1896
- **1896_julia_martin_correspondence**: Letters and postcards from Julia Martin to Alice Austen in 1896
- **1896_envelopes_postcards**: Envelopes and postcards addressed to Alice Austen in 1896
- **1896_carrie_ward_correspondence**: Letters from Carrie Ward to Alice Austen in 1896
- **1896_trude_correspondence**: Letters from Trude to Alice Austen in 1896
- **1896_misc_correspondence**: Miscellaneous letters to Alice Austen in 1896

Parent

01KBKXV3Z4YBVNHH5M4KCJN90A

Children (7)