Papers, 1731-1804.

ArchivalResource

Rogers family. Papers, 1731-1804.

Papers, 1731-1804.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/191259753

This collection includes two octavo volumes: Daniel Rogers' diary for the year 1731 and Patty Rogers' diary for the year 1785; and a folder containing two items: an 1804 letter from Daniel Denison Rogers to his sister, Patty, and a copy of the gravestone inscription for Daniel Rogers. Daniel Rogers' 1731 diary is interleaved in Nathaniel Ames, Jr.'s An Astronomical Diary, or an Almanack for the Year of Our Lord Christ, 1731. It records visits made, localities where he preached, the weather, and other activities. He also included accounts for the care of his horse, clothing expenses, and monies received for preaching. Patty Rogers' 1785 diary records her intimate thoughts and daily activities. In it she expresses her concern and frustration over having to care for her sickly father. Her active social life, including two romances, is also described in great detail. When her first suitor, the Reverend William Woodbridge (1755-1836), married another, Patty found solace-however briefly-with Dr. Samuel Tenney (1748-1816), until he married Tabitha Gilman (1762-1837), who later became well-known as a novelist. In fact, Cathy Davidson of Michigan State University believes that Patty may have been the model for Dorcasina Sheldon in Tabitha Tenney's novel, Female Quixotism (1801). Both Tenney and her husband ("Philemon"), as well as Woodbridge ("Portius"), are mentioned often in this diary. Daniel Denison Rogers' letter, dated 24 April 1804, to his sister Patty is personal in nature. What is of interest, though, is Rogers' opinion on the education of women: " ... if she is disposed to exert the faculty which God has given her, it is our Duty to encourage & to put her in the way of usefulness to herself and the World in some reputable calling ..."

2 v. ; octavo.1 folder (2 items)

Gadsden Public Library