Tonight I have been thinking about a book that my Grandma gave me about 18 years ago.

The book is Poems of the Farm and Fireside by Eugene J. Hall.

The book is not in very good shape, but it is special to me for another reason.

The inside cover of the book has my Great, Great Grandfather’s signature. He acquired this book in 1879 when he was 21 years old.

He also added that he lived in Hamburg, IA, Fremont County. It is a little hard to see in this picture.

My Grandma also included a short note with the book. She mentioned that when she found the book that it was very wet, but that she dried it out and had had it for about 30 years.

It is fairly well torn up – yes, but be careful, as you can still read it.

She also mentions that my Grandpa remembered his Grandpa, but he died when he was only a little boy.

You can see from the title page that the book is not in very good condition. I did find a copy of the book on Google Play, and I have it downloaded so that I can read it some time.

The book was published in 1879, which was the year that Joseph wrote in the cover.

I did a little research on Eugene J. Hall and found out that he not only wrote poetry and stories, but he was also a hymn writer. Now the challenge is to find some of his hymns.

The book has quite a few illustrations and they are all beautifully drawn. You can see the illustration of the fireside on the title page.

There is a lot of interesting detail in this illustration of a farmyard.

The woodpile, ax, birds, etc.. All make for an interesting scene.

I was trying to get the text of the illustration to align horizontally, until I realized that it was crooked on the page in the book. I decided to show it the way it is.

I am really thankful for the family treasures that my Grandma left for me.

You may remember another post about books that belonged to my ancestors. You can find it at: Old School Books

Steven