Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1087

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

1 volume

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Mary C. Brown diary, 1877, Ms. Coll. 1087, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1877 (inclusive)

Creator:

Brown, Mary C. (Mary Cornelia)

Form:

Manuscripts, American -- 19th century, Recipes, and Diaries

Abstract:

Diary kept by Mary C. Brown in 1877 with daily entries and eighteen leaves of recipes at the end of the volume.

Mary Cornelia was one of at least five children born to Mary Caroline Browning Brown (1830-1881) and Charles Dennison Brown (born 1822) at Pharsalia, Chenango, New York. Siblings of Mary Cornelia included Orcelia Frances born in 1848, Charles L. born in 1851, Truman H. born in 1855, and Frank born in 1856. The family owned and worked on their farm in Pharsalia. Mary Cornelia is the aunt of Frank and Bessie Minerva Brown's daughter Grace Mae born in 1886 who died at the hands of Chester Gillette in 1906. Grace Mae was the murder victim fictionalized in Theodore Dreiser's novel American tragedy.

A calendar entitled "Excelsior diary for 1877," with printed front matter bound in brown leather. Each page is ruled and divided into two days. Mary Cornelia Brown kept faithful daily entries and recorded the day-to-day life of the Brown family farm in Pharsalia, New York. In 1877 Mary was the only child still living at home with her parents, Charles and Mary. Each day begins with a record of the weather followed by the daily arrivals of family and friends from adjacent farms. Most of the visitors are her brothers and sisters, chiefly Truman referred to as True, Frank, and Orcelia. Frank sometimes arrives with the new baby and his wife Minerva. Mary's Uncle Rob and her grandmother are also frequent guests. Entries record the chores performed that day, trips to post office, and to Norwich. Mary noted her thirtieth birthday on June 18. She discussed the work her brothers perform with their father such as chopping wood, bagging potatoes, and drawing hay. Mary recorded her chores in the house, cooking, cleaning, and sewing and mentions her exhaustion in the evening. Mary often writes of loneliness and sometimes sadness. At the end of some days Mary writes "I wish I could see my boy," possibly referring to a boyfriend. At the end of the volume are eighteen leaves of recipes. A majority of them are for cakes. The back cover is lacking.