The Autograph Book of Julia T. Bancroft Gould

"The autograph book of Julia (Bancroft) Gould (1823-1876) a resident of West Walworth, NY was brought to our attention last year when a query was posted on the Wayne county pages by Jane Lewis. Since that time Phyllis Stehm and I have been working on it trying to identify the persons who signed it (1841-1851). We hope to connect with other members of Julia's family and friends of her family in the future through this little book."

Carla Davenport
Phyllis Stehm
October 1999

The Autograph Book of Julia T. Bancroft Gould

Album published by J. C. Rinker, NY

Inscription on front inside cover

Miss Julia Bancroft

West Walworth, 1843

(The writings are dated from 1841-1851)

In 1985 the Autograph Book was found under the bottom shelf of the library in the Stanley Peacock home, 3 Miles Avenue, in Fairport, Monroe Co., New York. It was in excellent condition and is believed to have been there for a number of years. It has a black embossed cover, with a central wreath of roses decorated in gold leaf, measuring about 6" x 7-1/2". The book is filled with yellow and pale rose colored, gilt-edged pages to be written on interspersed with watercolors and drawings; each picture has a tissue page over it. The binding is the old type, held in place with string.

According to recent genealogical research, Stanley H. Peacock (1897-1979) [1] was the son of Ora J. and Mary (Hopkins) Peacock. [2] Mary A. Peacock, age 22, died February 20, 1897 [3] shortly after giving birth to Stanley on January 29, 1897. She is buried in the Hopkins cemetery plot at Ontario Village Cemetery, Ontario, Wayne Co., NY. Stanley's father, Ora J. Peacock [4] (1876-?), [5] was the son of Albertus James Peacock (1848-1915) [6] and Mercie M. Gould (1847-1936). [7] Albertus Peacock was a prominent farmer in Wayne Co. for many years. [8] In their later years, the Peacock's resided at 131 South Main Street, [9] Fairport. Mercie M. was the daughter of Joseph Gould (1819-1896) and Julia T. Bancroft (1823-1876) [10]; Julia descended from Stephen Bancroft Jr. (1780-1865) and Mercy Maria Bronson (1778-1825) of West Walworth, Wayne Co., NY. It appears that the Autograph Book was given to Mercie M. Peacock (1847-1936) by her mother, Julia Gould, and was later passed down to her grandson, Stanley H. Peacock. Stephen and Mercy Bancroft Jr., Julia and Joseph Gould, and Albertus and Mercie Peacock are all buried in the Gould Cemetery, Walworth, Wayne Co., NY. [11] Stephen Bancroft Jr. (1780-1865) is the son of Stephen Bancroft (1753-1831), [12] a Massachusetts Revolutionary War soldier, and Sarah Strong, who are buried in the Baker Cemetery, [13] Walworth, Wayne Co., NY.

1. Stanley H. Peacock tombstone, White Haven Memorial Park, Section F, Lot 455, Grave 6. Pittsford, Monroe Co., NY; photographed by Phyllis C. Stehm, researcher, July 1999.

2. Stanley Hopkins Peacock, Social Security application. Social Security Administration, Office of Central Records, Baltimore, MD. Indicates that his parents were Ora J. Peacock and Mary Hopkins. Indicates date of birth as January 29, 1897.

3. Mary Hopkins tombstone, Ontario Village Cemetery, Ontario, Wayne Co., NY; photographed by Phyllis C. Stehm, researcher, July 1999.

4. 2

5. 1880 U.S. Soundex, New York. Indicates Albertus Peacock, age 32, living with wife, Mercy, age 32, and son, Ora, age 4. Enumerated VOL 102, E.D. 192, Sheet 42, Line 111.

6. Cowles, Hon. George W., ed., assisted by H.P. Smith et al., Landmarks of Wayne Co., New York. D. Mason and Co., Syracuse, NY. 1895. p. 129.

7. Headstones of Mercie and Albertus Peacock on the south side of Gould-Peacock Monument, Gould Cemetery, Walworth, Wayne Co., NY; photographed by Phyllis C. Stehm, researcher, July 1999.

8. 6

9. 1920 U.S. Soundex NY, M15578, Roll#602. Indicates that Stanley H. Peacock, age 22 and wife, Marion S., also age 22, were living with Mercy Peacock, owner of home at 131 S. Main St., Fairport, Monroe Co., NY.

10. 6

11. Tombstone photos: Stephen & Mercie Bancroft, Julia & Joseph Gould, and Albertus & Mercie Peacock, Gould Peacock Monument with hills of Wayne Co. in background, Gould Cemetery, Walworth, Wayne Co., NY; photographed by Phyllis C. Stehm, researcher, July 1999.

12. Bancroft, C.P., Bancroft Family History. Excerpt documented by Phyllis C. Stehm, January 1999.

13. Stephen Bancroft tombstone, Baker Cemetery, Walworth, Wayne Co., NY; photographed by Phyllis C. Stehm, November 1998.

After Stanley's death in January 1979, the new owner of the 3 Miles Avenue home, Mary Bulman Lewis, found the book under the shelf in the library while cleaning. This person not having any ties to the family gave it to Jane Lewis, knowing Jane loved historical items. Jane then searched for the descendants of Julia Bancroft who later became Mrs. Joseph Gould in this little book. Julia undoubtedly has descendants from her other children, however we do not know whom they are at this time.

Without the generosity of Jane Lewis this book would not have been preserved and shared. Phyllis Stehm and I have been documenting the trail of this little book. If you have any knowledge of the persons mentioned in the Autograph Book or of the Bancroft-Gould-Peacock Families you would like to share, please contact us.

Carla Davenport - Carla104@aol.com
Phyllis C. Stehm - mrstehm@aol.com

Album, published by J. C. Rinker, NY on pastel rose and yellow papers
with watercolor/drawings
Front inside cover
Miss Julia Bancroft West Walworth [NY] 1843 (arranged in the order of dates)

Dedicated June 12, 1841

Oh..Muse to thee I dedicate this book, wilt thou guide it
through this world with a careful and prudent hand, That it may carve out
for It self an honorable and distinct path in the departments of science and
literature. May the fair daughter of fams, rest her bright and joyous
countenance upon your pages, That you may shine forth like the diadem
that encircles the brow of wisdom. may your pages be the depository of
good and virtuous minds, that you may like the Sun of a bright summer's
day send forth thy light upon every object around it and that it may be
placed in the archives of wisdom for the benefit of posterity.

(unsigned, assume it is the writing of Julia T. Bancroft)

Undated:

To Julia
    An album prethee what is it?
    A booke I always shun
    Kept to be filled by others wit
    By people who have none
        ************
Always some exceptions

    Pokeepsie, Duchess, County,    Samuel C. Weeks
        or [Wecks or Weiks]

***************************

Undated

Beneath the branches of the lofty
elm on the green mossy bank of
the stream sat a beautiful indian
maid her long dark hair hanging
in rich profussion over her neck and
shoulders. With the clear water for a
mirror she decks herself with the
wild flowers that bloom around she
views herself (no doubt) with pleasure
and well she may for she is the
fairest flower in the wild of america.

West Walworth S. C. W.

        doodle at the bottom of the page
        with "original" written in

This script faces a page of a watercolor of
        "The Indian Toilette"
        [probably Samuel C. Weeks, the doodle is almost identical to the first one]

****************************

To Julia Bancroft
    The voice of pride would bee the muse sitin (musician?)
And hush the untaught breathings of my Lyar
For where the gems of wit and genius shine
How dull must seem the offering of mine
Yet youthful friendship with resistless power
Demands the task and urges me to hoine
An [h]umble wreath for virtues beautyes shoine
O could my prayers or wishes ought avail
On life's rough waves how sweetly should saie you
no clouds of care your sky should over cast spo
No storms of sorrow beat uppon your head
Content and peace should fold their plumed wings heaven
And pleasure greet you from a thousand Friends
Nor yet would I for get to crown the whole
By twining for my friend and kindred soul
One whose affections kinde from their Kiss
Rendered him worthy of so rich a pride

Walworth  September 12th 1841
              William Miller

To Miss Julia Bancroft

Long as the purple flood shal flow,
Long as the spark of life shall glow
Long as my mem'ry holds its sway
Long as my beating hart shall play
So long will I remember you,
And pay this tribute to you due
This long will I esteem your worth
Even while I wonder o're the earth
And may the great giver of all good
Who always round thy path hath stood
Still you and yours keep from all harme
Till hush'd and calm shall be life storme.

October 12th 1841

G.

Notes: This handwriting is very similiar if not identical to that of Joseph Gould who will become her husband.

**********************************************

To Miss Julia Bancroft
    Hast thou ever loved with all thy heart,
Some cherished object dear to thee as life;
Or feel'st thou no joy, no quiet happiness;
No Soothing Sense of Satisfaction, in
Loving, and being loved? is there no wright
Removed from the heart, in knowing there is orddained one
To Share all, bear all with thee! Soothe grief,
Yet, to soften away its human pain
By a superior love, the cup to temper
With words of consolation and sweet hope,
That even its very bitterness shall seem sweet,
Forgotten in the the love that offers it.

        May 24th 1842
            A (?) oo
            os(?) oo

**********************************************

May 29th 1842

Julia
An original something
Fair maid, you would win me
To write - but how shall I begin?
For I fear I have nothing orginal in me
Excepting Original sin
H.

***********************************************

To Miss Julia Bancroft

What hour beloved one shall I name,
When this fond heart of mine,
Can urge its dearest gentle claim,
Upon that life of thine.

Tis at the calm and languid night
Sweet memory rests with thee
Oh in that lonely mystic hour,
Wilt thou not think of me,

Think of me when the sunset sky
Is melting into ev'n
When all around bespeaks the peace
Of your celestial heaven

Tis in that hushd and holy hour
My sweetest mem'ries blend
For then before my heart is brought
My dear and valued friend

Ontaro Febuary 12th 1842
PMM

*******************************************************

To Miss Julia Bancroft
If hope be dead why seek to live?
For what besides has life to give
Love; life; and youth; and beauty too
If hope be dead - say! what are you

Love with out hope it cannot be
There is vessed on yon sea
Becalmed and sailless as despair
And know this hopeless love floats there
Life with out hope, O that is not
To live! but; day by day; to not;
With feelings cold and passions dead;

To wander o're the world; and tread
Upon its beauties, and to gaze
Quite vacant over its flowing mazie
Oh think if this be life then say -
Who lives when hope is blead away?

April 4th 1842 cb n?

****************************************

To Miss Julia T. Bancroft

As this Album's presented to me
Some token of friendship inviting
This impromptu's devoted to the
Tho homely my stile and my writing.

I would not a favor deny
When virtuous merit shall ask it
Nor stain with Sycophants lie
A page in this beautiful casket

Nor would I in Flatteries loom
Weave a tale of affectionedness rare
That savors of friendships sweet boon
When in fact nothing real is there

No, I know that your sensitive mind
Would spurn such a web of deceit
For aught not of virtuous kind
Your sentiments neve[r] will greet

As I've nothing selected to write
Little else can I leave but my name
And wish you much joy and delight
And such as will ever remain

As the pages of this guilded book
So spotless, so splendid and nice
May your life in the review ere look
As free from all blemish and vice

Mary O. Strickland
Walworth
Sept 10, 1842

********************************************

To Miss Julia Bancroft
Some friends will wish thee free from care
  And others joy and wealth
And some will crave those blessings rare
  Long life and constant health

My wish for thee is better far
  Than all the've given forth
A bosom that shall ever bear
  A consciousness of worth

                C. P. Andrew
Ontario, Sept 24, 1842

************************************

To Miss Julia Bancroft

  Though our acquantance has been brief,
  I oft whall think of thee,
  When seated by thy firside,
  Dear friend remember me.

  May there thy happiest hours be passed
  And sorrows never come
  Corroding cares n'er fill thy breast
  To blight the joys of home.

  Dear girl in choice of friends,
  Take none that fortune sends,
  Untill you find by scrutiny and care
  The character that they do wear.
        Walworth, April 16th 1842
          Electa A. Camburn

Note: Seneca C. Bancroft and Caroline Camburn were married at Walworth, August 8, 1950. Seneca is Julia's first cousin, once removed, son of Jesse and Hannah (Warner) Bancroft.

Print of Annette DeLarbre

  To Miss Julia Bancroft

    What is Hope

Knowest thou, a star of brighten ray
Thous all that gem the brow of night;
That kindly lights the pilgrims way;
In clouds on darkness ever bright;
    That star is hope.
Knowest a flower; that gardens pride;
When all in fragrant beauty bloom;
When all have withered by its side;
Still lifts its head and yields perfume;
    That flower is hope.
The only star that never sets;
Though all its sister lives may fly;
The only flower that never droops;
Though all its fair companions die;
    Is fadeless hope.

        Walworth May 9th 1842
          Joseph Gould

***************************************

To Miss Julia Bancraft
    The Priceless Pearl
There is a pearl more rich and fair
Than Indian gems of value rare
    more pure than Ophir's gold;
A pearl whose beauty never declines
Whose matchless beauty ever shines
    in lands of joys untold.
A land no mortal eye hath seen,
For deaths dark waters intervene.

That Pearl no mountain care containing
No coral bed in deep domains.
    The booming ware below
Its light is not that glittering ray
Which gilded baubles oft display
With momentary glow
Its mellow rays are ever shed
Around the dying Christians bed
Tis not a pearl by avarice sought
A pearl from every region brought
    In every clime 'tis found
Religion is this Pearl divine
Which on the humble heart doth shine
    And ever doth abound;
To all who choose tis freely given
A foretaste of the joys of heaven

This Pearl will light the darkest way
Nights cheerless hour will turn to day
    And rays of hope impart;
Dispell the gloomy fears that roll
In mournful silence over the soul
    And heed the sinking heart
and wide unfold the throne of him
who dwells amid the cherubim

Undated            S. T.

******************************

Print of Katrida Schuyler

    To Miss Julia Bancroft

Long may your modest virtues shine,
Your heart with heavenly ardor glow
And peace seraphick laurels twine
To make you happy here below

Free from sorrow free from pain,
      With joy transporting ever blest
Like Venus lead the youthful train,
to realms of glory and of bliss

May happiness be ever thine
And peace thy steps attend
Receive this tribute of respect
From thee who is your friend

        Electa B. Taylor
Walworth June 16th 1842

*******************************

To Miss Julia Bancroft
  Should you ...at twilight's pensive hour,
  Ere wander to some lonely bower
  There when your mind is calm and free,
  Oh then dear friend remember me.

  Think on a friend for truly she,
  Though absent will remember thee
  Forget not her whose friendships true,
  And gives to thine a tribute due.

  And when your mind is wont to rove,
  You stray to some sequestered grove
  There as your thoughts rove wild and free
  Ah then may you remember me.
                T.[P?] Tiffany

  Walworth, August th 11, 1842

****************************************

Hope and Memory
Oh, cease being fancy to conjure up pleasures,
That of.... like bright phantoms o'er memory's glass
and teach us to yearn for the forfeited treasures
Which rise but to mock us, so sweetly they pass
Which fade and disolve into air, like a dream.
Or bubles that glitter and break on the stream.

And yet it is sweet, in our moments of sadness
To gaze on the picture of former delights
Till bounding again to the measures of gladness
His heart has forgoten the sorrow that blights
and revels a moment in joys that were past
But wakes to a bitter pang the... the loost.

Yet hope shall illuminine the gloom of our sorrows
The cherub whose smile is life-giving ........
Whose flattering promise of brightness tomorrow
With su.... tinges the clouds of today
Though memorys visions may lighten [?] our p.....
Yet Hoape's sunny smile can .......... it e..............
A. M. Curry
Martinsburgh, October 17th 1842

************************************************

To Julia
Resignation

In cold misfortunes cheerless day
When joy and peace and love depart,
When friends, decieve and hopes decay
And sorrows press the heavy heart
O Lord, thou canst relief imparte.
Tis thou canst cheer the wonded mind
Tis thou canst heal afflictions smart
And O! should changeful fortune frown,
Or those we love prove true no more
Should deaths relentless hand cast down
Those who returned the love we bore
Still let us worship and adore
And seek the peace we yet may find
Teach us, O! father, we implore
To trust in the[e] and be resigned.
selected

Walworth February 14, 1843 A. C. Denison [Sevisons]

**************************************

To Miss Julia

"Beautiful yes! those deep-blue eyes
On heave have gazed, till they caught its dyes;
Thou has been seeking the rose, to sip
it's dewy bloom for thy balmy lips;
Thou has been out in the radiant air,
Wooing the sun with thy wavy hair;
For a gleam breaks through its braids of brown,
Like a smile from Day's bright eye sent down;
Beautiful yes! but the rose will fade;
The smile grow dim which the bright eyes wear;
The gloss will vanish from curl and braid,
And the sunbeam die in the drooping hair;
Turn from the mirror! and strive to win
Treasures of loveliness still to last;
Gaather earth's glory and bloom within
They will be thine when youth is past."

Mary A. Palmer

March 6, 1843

*************************************

      To Miss B...........
The eye of virtue glistens to admire,
How memory hails the sound of friendships lyre
One tear I'll shed to form a chrystal shrine
Of all that's grand, immortal and divine.

Memory-mysterious memory! holy and blessed as
dream of Heaven to the pure in spirit, haunted
and accuser of the guilty! unescapable presence
lingering through every vicissitude and calling us
back to the past, back to the dim and sepulchired
image of departed time - opening anew the deep
fountain of early passions, the love and sympathy
of child hood, the thrilling aspirations of after years.

Where the present is dark with disappointment,
and the future gladdened only by a ray of hope
that peers above the clouds that
surround created nature - then Julia,
may I invoke the spell of memory? to unroll
before you the chart of vannished hours,
that you may gaze once more on the
Sun-bow of departed years.

W. Walworth   March the 17.. 1843.
                N. P      Jr.

***********************************

undated

To Miss Julia T. Bancroft

Is she my friend who tells me so
Perhaps some private evil to guise
Whose heart just like a gem of snow
But sparkles in its frosty reign

This she who makes no loud pretence
But like the silent dews of heaven
Can blessings all unmasked dispense
In noiseless acts of kindness given

This she who through lifes checkered ways
When sun bright scenes or clouds appear
With warm affections still displays
A heart unchanged a soul sincere

Roxsena Stickland

Note: Roxena (Bancroft) Strickland (1795-1847) married to Joseph Strickland (1789-1875). Buried in the Freewill Baptist Cemetery at Walworth.

************************************

Friendship is that bright and happy chain
Which does our wandering hearts restrain

O that we may court its mild and gentle, ray
To light us through, this dark and dreary way
Till we shall meet in heaven a brighter fairer clime
Where sorrows never come and pleasures ever shine

Walworth March the 26...1843
M. A........

*************************************

"To Mrs. Julia Gould" Walsworth, May 16th 1844

"I Went to Gather Flowers"

1. In the fragrant vale where life's trees bloom
      and marble white shows memories tomb
      Where all was green from gentle showers,
      I wandered out "to gather flowers"

2. No painful thought disturbed by breast
      and (passions?) slumbering, all had rest
      I'm youthful inocence - and joyful bowers
      Rose on high - " I went to gather flowers."

3. But gentle flowers of every hugh
      Perfume a scene, so strange and new
      My soul is filled with - sorrows-
      And, I can not "gather flowers."

4. I set me down beneath the shade
      And when a mother long has laid
      And the marble white appears,
      Profuse, I pour my mournful tears.-

5. The thought comes home that I must die
      and with a Mother, brothers, lie
      Beneath a green and using mound (unsung?)
      Till the last great "trumpets awful sound."-

6. Sorrows are the flowers of Earth
      Which must be gathered from our birth
      Untill our dying day---
      Then! how blessed is the change!

7. Comes the resurrection morning!
      And the joys of Heaven------
      To all who love the God of Truth
      And his Incarnate Son --

8. Blessed jubilee! Hail fairer flowers!
      Opened by heavenly, hapier showers
      Beneath the says of a Celestial Son
      Where plucking is no sin

          Your unknown Friend
            P. C. Dayfoot,
                Of Man. Inst.

Man. Inst. is thought to be Manlius Institute/Academy.
This faces drawing {Engraved by V. Balch} "I went to Gather Flowers" set in a graveyard with a white marble slab whith a young person weeping by a tree with a basket of flowers in his/her hand.

*****************************************************

West Walworth May 25, 1844

Stranger!

      As time rolls on these pages will be,
But as tombstones where the sorrowful lie,
To morn the once cheerful, youthful and glee,
To weep in sad silence to heave the fond sigh.
Yet not all sadness, as time rolls on,
May the erusal of these pages bring.
As thou reflects on years that gone
The days of thy youth , life's blooming spring;
But oft may the thought on swift pincone fly,
Leaving the earth with its sorrows and tears.
From the graves of friends to their mansion on high
With the hope yet to meet them in happier spears.
How cheering such prospects! Roll on thou time!
Though tossed by thy billows & clouded the sky
In grief shall be joy; & though death - knells chime
In mourning pleasure; a sweet in each sigh.

        A stranger,
          Isaac Fargo, Jr.
            Stafford

******************************************

What is Love
A soft mysterious tie that binds
Congenial spirits, kindred minds
A pure etheral heavenly way
Sent to illume lifes lonely way

To sooth the pangs of grief and woe
The balm of Love was rudely given
And he who its bright balm doth know
Hath felt on earth somewhat of heaven

This not the fancied flame that glows
For every lovely form it views
Whose space is short as summer's rose
And transient as the morning dew
Oer that diurnal damask flower
Whose blossoms change with every day
That is not Love whose fading power
That soon can fade and pass away

Oh! no true Love will last forever
And in the heart unfading dwell

Lydia D. F (Finie?)
Farmington
February 21st 1849

*************************************

To Miss Julia Bancroft

Dost thou think I do forget thee,
Though we are from each other apart,
No! no affection, will not let me,
Case to love thy generous heart.

A. Austin Ontario 15 1851

Return to Town of Walworth Section

Return to Wayne County Historical Articles Section