4th october 1916 a hodgson to mary ann stevenson

doncaster, yorkshire

0 miles

the message

“With love and all good wishes for a very happy Birthday

A Hodgson”

the sender

The identity of A Hodgson is completely unknown.

the recipient

Mary Ann Stevenson (1895-1992) was born in Doncaster and lived all her life there. She was the younger of two daughters and her parents were John William Stevenson (1865-1949) and Martha Cooke (1868-1946). John was a Groom and Coachman.

In both the 1901 and 1911 censuses Mary Ann was living with her parents in Harrington Street, Doncaster which was where the card was sent to in 1916. In 1920 Mary Ann married John Henry Gommersall (1896-1975) from Liversedge, Yorkshire. In 1911 John was listed as working in a mine, aged 14 but in the 1939 Register he is a Packer-Confectioner.

Mary Ann’s death was recorded in Doncaster in 1992.

the tree

the places

Doncaster, Yorkshire

Doncaster, Yorkshire showing Harrington Street

what the card says to us

This is a very simple birthday card. The sender, A Hodgson, will probably always remain a mystery.

However, note the jaunty angle of the stamp. According to the Language Of Stamps (http://www.philatelicdatabase.com/nostalgia/the-language-of-stamps/) this could be deliberate and be interpreted as “I think of you”.