January 13th 1906 S to mary ashton walker

Oldham, Lancashire to Tuebrook, Liverpool

41 miles

the message

"My Dear M

Everything & everybody going on swimmingly. I went out the length of the street this morning. Should go to L next week. your letter just received. been in Manchester all afternoon. my spirits are A1.

Much love

S"

the sender

There are no clues as to who S is.

the recipient

Mary Ashton Walker (1877-1954) was the fifth of the six children of Thomas Dawson Walker (1839-?), a commercial traveller, and Elizabeth Bamford (1841-?). This was Thomas's second marriage, the first was to Elizabeth Barber Whitely (1841-1868). Mary was a schoolteacher. She was born in Huddersfield and by the time she was 4 the family had moved to Liverpool. She did not marry and was living in Wallasey on the Wirral peninsular when she died. She was obviously fond of travel as she made at least two trips to America in 1906 to New York and 1938 to Mobile, Alabama. Her sisters also travelled to America. Ellen Bamford Walker (1879-1972) in 1902 and Ada Walker (1874-1927) married Nelson Munson and settled in Pennsylvania. There does not seem to be anything to link these trips apart from destination.

the places

Oldham, Lancashire

Tuebrook, Liverpool

what the card says to us

The picture shows Sir Henry Irving, the actor manager, who appears to have no connection to the recipient. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Irving

Was the card saved because of the picture of Sir Henry?

The message is quite curious. What is the significance of the phrase "I went out the length of the street"? Was the sender ill? If so, how would they be able to go to L (Liverpool possibly) or Manchester?

Why are their spirits A1? Why wouldn't they be? Especially as everything is going "swimmingly".

We will never know.