september 9th 1912 unknown to elizabeth wilkins nee wheeler

westbury, wiltshire

0 miles

the message

“Dr Mrs W

A line to wish you a very Happy Birthday & better health

with love from

yrs sincerely

???”

the sender

The initials of the sender cannot be read clearly.

the recipient

Elizabeth Wilkins nee Wheeler (1855-1923) was the daughter of Frederick Wheeler (1825-1899) and Sarah Gingell (1830-1876). Frederick was a gardener.

Before she married, Elizabeth was in service as a domestic servant working for a farmer named William Beavon in Westbury.

In 1873 Elizabeth married James Wilkins (1852-1915). James was a farm labourer.

the tree

the places

Westbury, Wiltshire

what the card says to us

The card is a birthday card with a birthday greeting verse. There are two pictures alongside the verse. One shows a young woman with an older fisherman looking out to sea at a ship in a storm. The second picture shows the same woman walking in the countryside with a little girl. It is not clear what the narrative linking these two pictures is. They may be showing scenes from a well known story. The link to birthday greetings is not clear.

The written text on the reverse is a bit smudged. The writer has used abbreviations for “dear” and “yours” but has included both “with love from” and “yours sincerely”.

The message appears to wish Elizabeth better health. She lived a further 11 years, hopefully in good health.