What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

I have some vague memories of a series I never finished reading and it focused around a young girl with curly dark hair from a wealthy family

I think her mother may have been dead but her father was definitely not around for much of the beginning (possibly away at war?)

two main things I remember:
-that in the first book in the series, she lets a friend cut a curl from her hair to make a bracelet and her father was angry with her about it (I think she might have been afraid of her father in the beginning?)

-in a later book, she's out of town/spending a season somewhere, and she's v young and innocent and some dude decides to play her for her money (i think there was a reason like he had gambling debts or something?) and she fell very much in love with him and then was heartbroken because he was bad

I read these books prior to 2010

Elsie Dinsmore by Martha Finley maybe?

This definitely sounds like the Elsie Dinsmore series by Martha Finley. There are 28 books in the series.

Jaycie, I see this thread is marked Solved. Just to confirm, is Elsie Dinsmore your book?

Kris wrote: "Jaycie, I see this thread is marked Solved. Just to confirm, is Elsie Dinsmore your book?"
Yes! Thanks so much!

Glad you found your book, Jaycie. Thanks for the update.