During our visit to Cincinnati, Ohio, the weekend of March 20-22, I found this post card that interested me greatly! It was written by Ann E. Beatty and sent to Mrs. Nora May, Caledonia, Ohio, dated July 21, 1911. The note is short:
‘They like to visit better than to study or write Esperanto. Just two weeks more then I will start for Antwerp for the Esperanto Congress. After the Congress I shall visit relatives in London, Dublin, Belfast, Carrick-fergus, Glasgow and some smaller places, so good by til I see you. Yours, Ann E. Beatty’
On the other side of the card is a photo of three girls – Flossie, Iris and Inez, and some very unusual writing. The Esperanto Congress is something I had not heard of, but when in doubt go to Google! On the Wikipedia site it says Esperanto is a constructed international auxiliary language, written by the linguist L. L. Zamenhof, who in 1887 published his first book detailing Esperanto. His goal was to create an easy-to-learn, politically neutral language that would transcend nationality and foster understanding between people with different languages. My first thought was this must have been a craze during the early years of the 20th century. But no! The first Esperanto Congress was held in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, in 1905. The seventh Congress, was held in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1911, as mentioned on the postcard. And the 100th Congress will be held in Lille, France, this year – 2015!
Iris, Flossie, Inez
This photo is attached to one side of the postcard. I can’t say for sure who these three girls might be, but Ann Beatty had a niece named Iris, daughter of her brother Amos who lived with his family next door to Ann in 1910 in Morrow County, Ohio. It’s very possible the other two are also nieces, or possibly students, since Ann was a school teacher.
Ann E. Beatty was the daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Nichols) Beatty, born July 15, 1857, and died November 19, 1956. She never married. Ann’s father was born in Ireland, her mother in Ohio. Her siblings were Robert A., William J., Frank L., Amos M. and Evaline S. Beatty. A claim to fame for Ann was the publication in 1924 of the first Esperanto hymnal.
Not only did this interesting postcard lead to information about the woman who wrote it, but I learned about a language I never knew existed!
Categories: Family Stories, Genealogy Ramblings, Old Photos
Yep, Esperanto is a legitimate language few use. Purpose? Like Latin was once used, except practical purposes to help people from different languages have a common one to communicate in. Astonishing it’s still in existence. We had Esperanto dictionaries in my bookstore back in the 1970s. (esperanto-english, esperanto-spanish), We thought for sure it’s demise would HAVE to happen soon. I heard of no one in my city of Washington DC who used it. (Yet they must have since we bothered to order the dictionary)..
Interesting to know there are dictionaries!
A most interesting article about Anna Beatty. Several years ago, I was having lunch in a Greek restaurant here in Atlanta, GA and was fortunate enough to sit next to a group that were members of an Esperanto organization. I was close enough to hear them say that they were speaking Esperanto. It was a most interesting experience since I had heard many other languages spoken but never heard Esperanto before. . Marilyn
Glad you enjoyed it, Marilyn! In writing the blog I learn so many new and interesting things!