This charming cat lady has a story or two to tell. Her fragile china head, now 125 years old, has survived the love of many little girls, but like many older heads, it sometimes loses track of things. Like places. And dates. And worst of all, names.
This much she remembers:
In 1887 a little girl was born to the Cornwell family in Louisiana, and her name was Mabel Lavancha. Mabel had four older brothers and two older sisters and somewhere along the way this beautiful china-head dolly with the blue eyes became hers, a precious hand-me-down.
Mabel made a beautiful necklace of cast-off glass beads for her dolly, with two bright red beads that matched the dolly's stylishly red high-top "shoes".
Decades passed and Mabel became a mother, and then a grandmother, and she came to live in the corner room of her daughter's house. The dolly sat in a place of honor on top of the oak dresser and when little granddaughter Susie asked nicely, she was allowed to hold grandma's doll and pretend to be the little prairie girl's loving mother.
Many more decades passed and little Susie became Susan Faye and Grandma's Doll now sits in a place of honor in her home, with a little adopted Steiff cat to keep her company.
But somewhere along the decades, the dolly lost her name! Perhaps Grandma simply forgot the doll's name in her later years. Maybe Susie just never asked. To Susie, she was always referred to as "Grandma's Doll" or "The China Head Doll".
It's time for "Grandma's Doll" to have a REAL name again! What do you think her name is? Leave your suggestion in the comments section of this post. Next Sunday, July 15, I will pick my five favorites and we will put it to a vote.
Each person who suggests a name will be entered into a random drawing. On Monday, July 16, I will pick THREE names and each will receive their choice of a set of 5 bookmark/gift tags from my Etsy Shop.
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| Garden Cat Gift Tag/ Mini Bookmark Set |
Please make sure that I have a way to contact you if you are the winner, such as a link to your blog or e-mail address included in the comment.
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| Summer Garden Gift Tag/ Mini Bookmark Set |
Also, if you encounter trouble with the Comments feature, please contact me by e-mail. If you visit www.susanfaye.net , you will find an email link.
Grandma's Doll and I thank you for your help!!
38 comments:
I would call her "Sabine"; the Sabine river runs through Louisiana....
She's lovely, as is her past. Lida Rose is my suggestion.
She looks like my antique china doll, whose name is Adalina. But Flora is a great name, too. :-)
Sincerely,
Flora
Emmaline. That's the name of my great aunt's cat - a lovely old fashioned name.
Nona Mae!
Mary Rose!
It's it interesting to find history like this. I think she would suit the name Alice Lucinda.
Isadora....seeing Mabel is already associated with the dolly!
LOUISE CORNWELL since she's part of the family.
yumihamano@gmail.com
She brings to my mind the name Viola. :)
Louisa. This from Paddy the Library Cat and Katy Riley
How about in honor of Mabel,
Mae Belle
jhbalvin at gmail dot com
When I see her, I think of the name "Laura Elizabeth". She is a lovely doll.
Her name is definitely Cordelia No question about it.
My first choice was also a version of Mabel.....
May Bell
or Dolly, after Dolly Madison
I suggest the name Cora! :)
Agnes! I go with Agnes.
cheatingpiggies at hotmail dot com
Eva Marie
rierie11booger (@) yahoo.com
Ingrid
Diana
marymichelotti@gmail.com
I would name this sweet doll Beatrice. It means "blessed; she who brings happiness."
bluetwilightdew[at]hotmail[dot]com
Grace Elizabeth
I think the she should be named Antoinette, which means invaluable in French. The doll is precious and has survived many years. She is, I should say, quite irreplaceable already. Antoinette would be perfect :)
My Grandma's name was Luella Jane - a lovely old timey name for your precious doll. My Gran was precious too!
bandkgram (at) hotmail (dot) ca
Isadora!
It is of Latin and Greek origin, and the meaning of Isadora is "gift of Isis". Isis was the principal goddess of ancient Egypt. Also feminine form of Isidore, a popular name in ancient Greece.
Nury77 at live dot ca
She looks like a Dorothy.
I like the name Annette for her :D
She looks like a Greta to me.
sparmeland(at)optonline(dot)net
Estella or Adelaide...
Fun post :D
Being from Louisiana (as I am actually) she must have been named Evangeline.
margueritecore [at] gmail [dot] com
Umm... Frida, I think.
She looks like a southern lady. How abut lilly.
I'd name her Moneta, after the Roman goddess Moneta, goddess of memory...so that she may never again lose her name to a case of the fretful forgetfuls. ;)
My grandma's name was Lalie (short for Eulalia) I think it's a pretty name.
I think it's so wonderful that the doll has been so beautifully maintained. What a lovely piece of the past, and a wonderful memory of your Grandmother. I'd like to suggest Sarah as a name for the doll.
Lucy P
lupavo@yahoo.com
She's southern so she needs a double name: Ida Mae
It served my grandma well for 99 years! :)
Melinda.mamh@gmail.com
she looks like a Hilda to me
My husband suggested (ahem) Bubbee Ganoosh or Mehitabel.
I like Aggie Agate, Winifred Whistler and Julia Krenwinkel.
Jesselyn A
Jessterlyn(at)aol(dot)com
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