About three months ago, I was contacted by a man hoping I could help track down some information about someone in my family tree.
“I found something interesting about a possible past relative of yours named Helen Elizabeth Wilson. I found her in a Cornell University magazine, and she wrote an article about Sherlock Holmes which may be the first of its kind ever written anywhere in the world. I am a Sherlock Holmes researcher and would love to know a little more about her. Is this something we can discuss? I appreciate your time.”
My time, when the request came in, was sadly in short supply. It was only a few days before Christmas, my husband is an Episcopal priest (can you say “super busy time”?), and our son who lives in the Midwest was out visiting us for the holiday. The proposed sleuthing adventure was quite intriguing, though, so I was game.
He replied: “Awesome! The part of the Sherlockian hobby I’m most invested in is the chronological side of it. The 60 original Sherlock Holmes stories contained many small errors for setting them in a proper chronological sequence, and it’s fun to be involved with. I’ve been involved in this niche for over 20 years and am constantly doing research. The earliest accepted attempt at placing the Holmes cases in a chronological order was believed to be in 1909. There’s an article in a Cornell magazine from 1898 written by (I believe) Helen Elizabeth Wilson. The article exists, and my find is being hailed as the earliest article/attempt of its kind ever. If Helen is the author, like I think, then my fellow Sherlockians want to make her known in our hobby. We have some info on her, but no photos. Do you have, or know anyone who might possess, a photo of her?”
This proved more difficult than I had hoped. Helen Elizabeth Wilson was the sister-in-law of the mother-in-law of my paternal grandmother’s first cousin, Paul Frederick Hawley (1910-1991). She was a teacher, and died unmarried at the age of 24 with no known heirs. Additionally, her two nephews and one niece all apparently died without issue …. so there didn’t even seem to be a chance that photographs of Helen could be collecting dust in some distant relative’s attic. Rats!
This proved more difficult than I had hoped.
Two days later I heard again from my correspondent. “Hello! I was contacted by the publisher of the newsletter your ancestor [sic] will be featured in, and he gave me a deadline of January 15th. I have no desire to rush you or anyone else on the picture thing, and they are aware that the article may run without one, so don’t feel any need to up your efforts. If it happens, it happens. When the published version comes out, I will get you a copy so you can read the praise we’re going to heap upon her. Have a great holiday and thank you for being on this journey with me.”
In the time I had available, I kept searching. Helen’s name appeared in a Cornell publication called The Cornellian, “The Book of the Junior Class,” in both 1898 and 1899,[1] but those volumes contained no student pictures. Sigh. I mentioned to my correspondent that it was too bad the publication didn’t have pictures, like the yearbooks of the same period in California. I had discovered pictures of three of my great-grandparents that way.
And then on New Year’s Eve, I got an exciting message. “I thought you might want to see what your relative looked like…” It turned out that another Cornell University publication contained the following information: “Helen Elizabeth Wilson was born in Addison, N. Y. She was prepared for college in Bath at the Haverling Union School. Since entering Cornell Miss Wilson has made Ithaca her home. She has specialized in English, and has been a contributor to the college periodicals. She takes the A. B. degree in June.” AND it contained her picture!
If this has piqued your curiosity, you can read more here … including Helen’s insightful attempt to put the stories of Sherlock Holmes into some sort of order. As we draw near to the end of “Women’s History Month,” it seems appropriate to celebrate the work of a brilliant young woman who died far too young.
Note
[1] Viewable in the U.S. School Yearbooks section of Ancestry.com.
Thanks for sharing this fascinating story!
My daughter & s0n graduated from the Bath Haverling school in Bath, NY, It still is a very good school. I have no idea what information from the dates you might need is available through that source. But they might be a worthy try if you do want more.
Just so folks know, the Cornell libraries are generally open to anyone and the librarians are excellent. Check COVID restrictions, but most have reopened. Olin library would be where you would want to start and Uris Library (think Harry Potter type library!) is also a good starting place. Call ahead – a week or so in advance – let them know what you are looking for, and when you can visit, and they’ll have materials waiting for you. There is so much material that a lot of items are held in a collections warehouse and have to be requested, found, and delivered to the correct library. There are over a dozen libraries on campus so do online homework and contact them first. They even tell you the best places to park! The librarians there have given talks to genealogy groups before so they may be able to direct you to other sources you weren’t aware of. In terms of photos of graduates, you’ll probably be able to turn them up even before 1900. In the main academic hall going into the vet school, DVM graduates from 1900 to the present are displayed going down both sides of that long hall with each new year of grads added. It has 99% of senior DVM grad photos for 120+ years, very few missing. I walk past them every day. You’d be amazed at how many people stop to look at them!
P.S. Avoid the libraries during exam weeks!!!
Good advice, also at Graduations times. Parking used to be a problem before the Pandemic but not sure how bad it would be presently. They have put some restrictions on concerning that again. Sometimes if you know what your want they will scan or copy materials, I have requested items when I was working in the History Room at a nearby Library through interlibrary loan and received what I needed online. Between Libraries in NY State System does work nicely to do that and have had Librarian’s help even with out of State materials.
Lots of great advice! Thanks so much.
How neat that your children attended school there. Thanks for the great tip.
In the end, elementary, my dear Filbert.