You never know when you'll have a lucky break. Up until recently, I never knew what my mother's grandfather looked like. Given the timeframe when he lived, cameras weren't as abundant as they are today.
David Wesley Shinn, my maternal great-grandfather, was born on 6 December 1852 in Noble County, Ohio. He would marry Sarah Jane Parr (1865-1955) in 1883 and together they would move to Casey, Guthrie County, Iowa in 1890; initially David would farm. By 1910 David was still farming and also used his farming expertise as a sales agent working for the Iowa Stock Food Company. He would spend a lot of time away from home visiting farms in rural west Iowa, selling products that the farmers needed.
The following is an advertisement that I came across in papers left behind by my grandparents and it wasn't until recently that I went through these once again to scan them and discovered that I actually had a photo of Grandpa Shinn that I didn't remember having. It is the size of a standard postcard, printed on bright pink card stock with dark blue and black inks; it printed on both sides. I'll transcribe this card with my comments are surrounded by square brackets [ ].
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| IMAGE: Front of card showing photograph of David W. Shinn while at work. Card in the Brown-Shinn family files of Darlene Steffens (circa 1915). |
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| IMAGE: Back of card has products, costs and use of items sold by the Iowa Stock Food Company. Card in the Brown-Shinn family files of Darlene Steffens (circa 1915). |
-------- Transcription begins --------
[FRONT]
[photograph]
D.W. SHINN
Casey, Iowa,
District Agent Iowa, Stock Food Company.
[BACK]
ATTENTION!
Pigs should have a single feed of Iowa Worm
Powder every 30 days from the time they are six
weeks old.
They should have Iowa Stock Food with their
grain or slop ration from the time they are old
enough to eat.
Cost of Iowa Worm Powder to keep a pig clean
of worms until it is 9 months old. . . . . . 18c
Cost of feeding Iowa Stock Food until pigs are
9 months old. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42c
Total. . . . .60c
This will keep the pigs thrifty. They will be
ready for market 30 days sooner.
Is it worth the price?
For lice and chicken mites use Iowa Dip.
For roup, indigestion, commonly called chicken
cholera, Iowa Poultry Food and Roup Cure
For wire cuts old or fresh wounds use Iowa
Antiseptic Liniment.
For collar or saddle sores use Iowa Gall Cure.
For stopping the growth of horns on calves use
Iowa Calf Dehorner.
All put up and sold by the
IOWA STOCK FOOD CO.
Jefferson, Iowa.
-------- transcription ends --------
This card was given to my maternal grandmother, Inez Shinn Brown, David's daughter and she kept it until her death, then it was kept by her husband, Eugene J. Brown, until his death in 1987. That is when it came into my mother's possession. She never mentioned it to me, so I doubt she even knew she had it. I know she would have been pleased about it as she was only 6 months old with David passed away. She would have had no memories of him. When mom died in 2006, among her things, I found a small box full of odds and ends that I knew had been Eugene's and Inez's. So now I have this bright pink card with David Wesley Shinn's image on it and I am sharing it with you.
Amanuensis Monday is a weekly blog theme that was started by John Newmark, the author of TransylvanianDutch blog. John defines Amanuensis as "A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another." I also appreciate the good work and format examples of San Diego genealogist Randy Seaver of the blog Genea-musings. Thanks guys.
Transcribing helps me to learn what a document contains. I have learned over time that I have a tendency to "skim" over an item; a bad trait for a researcher who needs to learn even the smallest details documented records contain. Transcribing helps me to slow down and "smell the roses," and to capture all aspects of the paper in hand.
I am so pleased to share this with you. not only does it show what David Shinn looked like, but it also shares some of the products offered in stock treatments and feed. I hope you enjoyed this small glimpse into the past. I enjoyed presenting it to you. Hope your Monday is going well, and thank you for stopping by today.
11 January 2017: ADDENDUM -- After I posted this article, my grandson took interest in enhancing the original image. Here is the result:
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| IMAGE: David W. Shinn (ca. 1915). Photograph enhanced to black and white by my grandson Ian with my thanks. |
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The URL for this post is: http://homefolktales.blogspot.com/2017/01/amanuensis-monday-business-flyer-with.html.
Please comment regarding this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then use the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Or contact me by email at dsteff4246[at]gmail[dot]com. Thank you. I am glad you stopped by today.
Copyright (c) 2017, Darlene M. Steffens
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