The Acquisitions Table: Waterman Journals

Waterman, Martha Elizabeth and Walter.  Journals, 1854-1880.

Martha Elizabeth Drew was born in 1839 in Kingston, RI. She married Walter Waterman of Bridgewater, MA. This collection consists of three journals written by Martha, and one by Walter. Martha’s journal entries detail daily weather and daily activities such as calling on friends, and attending singing school and sewing circles. Walter, who appears to have been a mechanic, records each day’s work in his journal, such as working at the forge or working on furnaces. He also includes daily records of the weather. In a typical entry from May of 1870, Walter writes of a hot summer day spent with his family, “Very warm for the season the thermometer stood at 90 above at twelve o’clock in the shade.  myself and family have been to Abington today to see Mary … got home quarter past nine.”

Published by

Tracey Kry

Assistant Curator of Manuscripts and Assistant Reference Librarian, American Antiquarian Society

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