Diaries, 1865-1903.

ArchivalResource

Goodenough, Lizzie A. Wilson, b. 1844. Diaries, 1865-1903.

Diaries, 1865-1903.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/207139281

There are nine diaries in this collection. The first seven, 1865-1875, were kept by Lizzie A. Wilson Goodenough; the last two were kept by her daughter, Lizzie Cora Goodenough. The earlier volumes contain brief entries which record the onerous life of a self-supporting young woman who was sometimes faced with financial difficulties and occasionally lamented her lot in life: "Oh how I wish the time would come when the time would seem pleasant to me. Something to think about besides working away from home and friends past for money. Long years have past [sic] since I had a Father home to go to." (19 March 1865) The entries detail her duties as a domestic for several Brattleborough families, including the Howe, Tripp, and Taylor families, as well as her employment by Cune and Brackett. Lizzie A. Wilson visited her brother Edd Wilson ( - ) and his family for several weeks each year and sometimes attended the circus or played card games with friends. Her personal cash accounts appear at the end of most volumes and reflect her attempts to remain out of debt despite her meagre salaries. "Nothing better was my lot it seems than to be a slave to others' wants." (16 July 1865). Following her marriage in 1869, Lizzie Goodenough moved to West Brattleborough and assumed the duties of a housewife and mother, though she sometimes worked for Cune and Brackett. The volumes also record births, family illnesses, visits, and the annual "sugaring," or tapping of the maple trees. In 1901 and 1903, her daughter, Lizzie Cora Goodenough kept similar diaries which record her life with her brother, Authur, and his family; her household duties; daily events among the family members; and her duties as an occasional domestic for the Howe family. Her diaries also contain cash accounts.

9 v. ; octavo.

American Antiquarian Society