Real-Life Mystery: A Name in My Vintage Book
I’ve always been drawn to vintage items, but the story of Miss Beulah S. has connected me to our past in a way I can’t shake. The mystery of Miss Beulah, a presumably bad-ass “spinster” 30-year-old from Toledo, Ohio, all started as just a name scrawled in an old book jacket.
First, the Vintage Book
The book in question is a vintage hardcover edition of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables, published between 1938 and 1940. Though not an antique (it’s not quite 100 years old just yet), it adds a ton of character to my collection. My copy is a Books, Inc. Art-Type Edition, one of many inexpensive reprints of copyright-free classics made by publishers in the early 20th century. It’s not worth much on the market, but for me, it’s a treasure.
Who Was Miss Beulah S.?
Miss Buelah S. (last name withheld) is written in flowing, now almost forgotten cursive on the inside cover of my vintage book. Here’s what I knew about her when I started my journey:
She lived in Toledo, Ohio
She was unmarried at almost 30 years old (gasp!)
Her handwriting was more elegant than mine, and probably unreadable to today’s kids
She procured said book on January 20, 1941, a very loaded moment in history
The Signature That Started It All
Here’s an image of her signature, with personal details hidden for privacy (photo by me).
According to the 1940 U.S. Census, Miss Beulah was born in 1912, although I’ve found other sources that say 1913. She lived on Woodruff Avenue in Toledo, Ohio. In 1941, she was old AF to be unmarried and, as far as I can tell from census records, she lived with her parents, Max and Ida, immigrants from Russia and Poland.
Miss Beulah’s World: A Glimpse Into 1941
January 1941 was a pivotal time. World War II had been raging in Europe for over a year, though the U.S. had not yet joined the fight. We were about eleven months from Pearl Harbor, which would change everything. Much of Europe had fallen to the Axis Powers, and the world was watching in fear.
On the same day Miss Beulah wrote her name in what was to become my book, Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn in for his third (yup, third) term as president. Meanwhile, Americans were enjoying the recent debuts of Tom and Jerry and Bugs Bunny, as well as the opening of the first McDonald's in California. Fantasia had just been released a few months earlier. It was a quiet world on the verge of unbelievably monumental change.
A Look at Life in '40s Toledo
Miss Beulah was part of a large Jewish community in Toledo, which was the largest Jewish community in Ohio. By 1940, Jews made up more than 1% of Ohio’s population, giving Miss Beulah and her family a strong support network during seriously challenging times.
As the war in Europe intensified, Toledo’s Board of Education began preparing for the possibility of war, focusing on vocational training. Many of Toledo’s factories went into overdrive, working 24/7 to support the war effort. By 1942, with the war in full swing, women like Miss Beulah were stepping into new roles, working to support the war effort. I’m talking full-on Rosie the Riveter. The first daycare centers were established to allow women to work in factories. Women everywhere thank them for this innovation today (even if our bank accounts don’t).
I have to wonder if Miss Beulah joined the workforce. While I haven’t been able to confirm the details of her life after 1941, I imagine she, like many other women, contributed to the war effort in some way. It may have been easier for her, given that she wasn’t married with children.
Maybe she was the model for Miss Rosie herself.
The Meaning of Beulah’s Name
In Hebrew, "Beulah" translates to "married" or "bride." I can only guess that, at the old AF age of 30 and unmarried, she may have been haunted by the meaning behind her own name. Did she feel societal pressures weighing on her? How did her Jewish heritage shape her experiences during this time of growing tension and fear, both at home and abroad?
I wish I knew.
In addition to census information, I’ve found obituaries for a few women with the same name and who are of roughly the same age, including one who passed away in 1993 and is buried in New York. If that’s her, then it seems she may have never married.
But ultimately, I haven’t been able to verify which, if any, of the Beulahs I found might be my Miss Beulah.
A Call to Action
This is why I collect antiques. I love touching pieces of history and wondering about the stories they contain. I love tumbling down the up-all-night rabbit hole of research. Through a simple name penned into an old book, I’ve learned so much about a woman I’ve never met and the circumstances surrounding her life.
If anyone reading this can offer more information or knows Miss Beulah’s descendants, I would love to hear from you.
NOTE: If you do happen to know more about Miss Beulah’s story, please respect her family’s privacy. Don’t post identifying details publicly; reach out to me via the contact form.
An earlier version of this article can be found here: https://medium.com/history-detective/the-story-of-miss-beulah-it-started-as-a-vintage-book-but-didnt-end-there-f9932338184f
