Vintage Johnstown

Friday, July 3, 2026

The Letters - March 13, 1912 - Mrs. Anna M. Hay from Helen A. Dupont

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Anna M. (Suppes) Hays - around 1897

Letter writer - Helen (Quinn) Dupont

This was written on heavy 3x5 - card stock.

March 13, 1912

My dear Mrs. Hay,

I want to thank you for your card of love and sympathy . I am sure you are among the friends who realize what a terrible loss we have suffered. It seems more and more impossible that our dear Mother is gone, and we find it very hard to start- the new life without her. But her passing away was a grand one , words of wisdom, cheer and love and even jokes falling from her lips until she knew no more . I wish that all who loved her could have seen her in those last days-- but God was good in giving her to us. All alone , for all through life we had to give the greatest above to the public.

Love and gratitude and more,

Yours Sincerely,

Helen A. (Quinn) DuPont

MODERN NOTE: Helen's parents were James and Rose (Geis) Quinn. She is talking about her mother Rose - whose father started the Geis Store and Helen's father James - had the Quinn & Geis before he went out on his own. Helen's sister wrote a book about how most of their family survived the 1889 Flood called " Johnstown and It's Flood" by Gertrude Quinn Slattery. It's available for free online. Picture of Mrs. Rose (Geis) Quinn - left hand side - (1845-1912).

In that book - Gertrude describes the death of her mother. "In February, 1912, my mother was in New York City shopping in the interest of our store (Quinn's) when she was suddenly taken ill...Helen with some of her sisters along with eleven others in total left Johnstown for New York City and were able to be at their mother's bedside when she passed."

Five years later on July 2, 1917 - the writer of this letter - Helen A. (Quinn) Dupont died at the young age of 40. She was married to Evan DuPont. They had two children with the last one passing away in 1992.