[Michlib-l] Historical Question

[Elizabeth Campion]

Wow! Thank you so much. I got a lot of responses in a very short amount of
time. The consensus is that it is an abbreviation for debtor, which also
makes sense in context in the rest of the document. The writer feels
cheated by Maria and much of the composition book is citing all the ways in
which Maria transgressed. Much of it is financial so the debtor word seems
most accurate.
Thanks so  much for everyone who helped me solve this little mystery.
Elizabeth

Elizabeth Campion, Librarian
Shelby Township Library
52610 Van Dyke
Shelby Township, MI 48316
586-739-7414

On Fri, Apr 19, 2024 at 1:52 PM Elizabeth Campion <campiee4 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Hi! This is perhaps slightly off-topic but seems a great place to likely
> find an answer.
> A woman in California recently sent a very old composition book to our
> library because there is writing in the book referencing the village that
> was once where our library now stands. I have been transcribing and
> digitizing the book for historical records. There is an abbreviation used
> frequently throughout the book that I can not interpret.
>
> It is 'Dr.' but it is not used in a common usage like Doctor or Drive. I'm
> including a picture of a page in the book where the abbreviation appears
> frequently. The transcription is as follows:
>
> M. J. Monfore                            Dr.
> Mary D. Monfore for pasture of horses + cow. Sometimes more cows + horses.
> M. J. Monfore                            Dr.
> To A. J. M. Gillespie + Mary Amelia Monfore for pasture of horse + cow
> M.J. Monfore                             Dr.
> to Amelia Monfore + A. J.M. Gillespie for pasture of horses + cow.
>
> Maria wants but never worked like us. She has been stronger than we but
> did not want to work. Amelia has a lame arm from infancy.
> Judson lost money in machinery and she knew it before marriage.
>
> She is very deceitful.
>
> If anyone has any thoughts about the meaning of Dr. in this context, I
> would love to hear them.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Elizabeth Campion, Librarian
> Shelby Township Library
> 52610 Van Dyke
> Shelby Township, MI 48316
> 586-739-7414
>
>
>


-- 
A library is a miracle. A place where you can learn just about anything for
free. A place where your mind can come alive."  Josh Hanagarne, *The
World's Strongest Librarian*
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail3.mcls.org/pipermail/michlib-l/attachments/20240419/5a63b16d/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: IMG_3853.JPG
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 4760478 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://mail3.mcls.org/pipermail/michlib-l/attachments/20240419/5a63b16d/attachment.jpe>