Autograph Book Reveals Friends, Family, and Travel Spots of Joseph Norman Gorrell

An heirloom we have is the autograph book belonging to Joseph Norman Gorrell. It appears the book was signed between 1893 and 1898.[1] Joseph was born on 9 March 1869 to Amos Gorrell, Jr, and Catherine E Shotts in Blackwater, Cooper County, Missouri.[2] He was the third child of six and the first son.[3]

Autograph books back then were not about collecting signatures of famous people. But rather, friends, family, and classmates wrote sentimental sayings, along with their signatures. Autograph books have been around a long time. In Germany, they were called Stammbuch, Töpferalbum, or Album Amicorum (book of friends).[4] They were often used by university students, much as yearbooks are used today.

This autograph book has a lovely cover with the letters “Autographs” embossed along with flowers. The pages inside have yellowed, but might have been buff colored.

What would have been the occasion of Joseph receiving or purchasing the book? There is no title page, or a page that might have indicated it was a gift from someone. The first page seems to have been torn out. In 1893, Joseph would have been twenty-four, so he wasn’t a student at school or university. From reading some of the passages, it seemed he was making his way in the world, finding work in far-off places.

The treasure in reading through the pages is that his parents and sisters signed the book, so I have their signatures. I am getting a sense of Joseph’s FAN club, his friends, associates, and neighbors.

The notes were not written in chronological order. A signer likely just selected an empty page and wrote their message. As the book filled up, a new scriber found the first empty page they could find. Some drew pictures. Some wrote the date and place. Some wrote poems or ditties. I remember those from my yearbooks during junior high school days.

His sister, Linnie, wrote from Stony Point on 9 January 1893, 

“My Dear Little Bro’ Always remember your middle sis.”

A friend, Hilda Johansen, wrote on 10 Aug 1898 from Pasadena, California. She had beautiful handwriting.

Friend Joe!

When the golden sun is setting

And your mind from care is free

When of others you are thinking

Will you sometimes think of me?

From a Pasadena True Friend

What is wonderful about these entries is that I can place Joseph in places I never knew he was in. He was a telephone lineman and worked wherever there was work putting in new lines.

He must have visited his half-brother, May Sayre, as his sister-in-law, Belle M. Sayre, wrote,

“Dear Joe. Remember. Friendship is the holiest of gifts. Your loving sister, Belle M. Sayre. The Dalles. Jan. 8th.”

His father wrote on 6 Sep 1893:

"Be Kind to all they fellows

Be intimate only with a well chosen few

Always save up a portion of your earnings

No telling what may happen to you

Shun every temptation to do evil

Improve every opportunity to do good

Don’t be let astray by the Devil

But always honor they God

Your Pa Pa. A. Gorrell

Be thou strong therefore

And show thyself a man."

His mother wrote on 30 Aug (year unknown)

“Dear Joe. May he who hath penciled the leaves with beauty, and gave the flowers their sweet fragrance,

guide thy erring footsteps and at last lead thee to that blessed home in Heaven.

This is the prayer of your loving mother. E.E.G.”

He certainly traveled far, as the last entry in the book was from Edward Field, Oak Lake, Manitoba.

“I wish you health

I wish you wealth

I wish you friends in store

I wish you Heaven after Death

What could I wish you more.”

This autograph book is a treasure. I should research who each person is and include their entry among their papers. I should also create a timeline from the dates and places of the entries to further figure out the places Joe may have worked.

#52Ancestors: Week 50: Family Heirloom

This is my eighth year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow (https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/) at Generations Cafe. I write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’sSouthern Family or My Trails into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.

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[1] The autograph book was given to Norman Gorrelll by his father, George J Gorrell, who was Joseph Gorrell’s son.

[2] He appears on the 1870 census of Amos and Cath E. Gorrell. See 1870 US census, Cooper Co, Missouri, LaMine Twp, p 441a, fam 3, Amos Gorrell.

[3] “Amos Gorrell,” History of Cooper County, Missouri (Historical Publishing Co, 1919), 788-89.

[4] Antje Petty, “This is written to you as a reminder…” From Album Amicorum to Autograph Book (https://web.archive.org/web/20090207045136/http://mki.wisc.edu/virtualex/Stammbuecher/Stammbuecher.htm : viewed 9 Dec 2025); archived at the WayBack Machine on 5 Nov 2007.

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