Name/Title
Diary, Volume 29, 1838-1840Entry/Object ID
1874.150.26Scope and Content
Twenty-ninth volume of the diary of Benjamin Simpson of Saco, 1781-1849. This volume covers the period January 29, 1838 through March 4, 1840; there is a gap in the diaries between February 1837 and January 1840. It is handwritten in ink on rag paper with a handsewn binding; it is now housed in a modern paper cover. Most of the entries are a single line. The date is listed at the top of each page, with individual entries (most without dates) listed below. Simpson noted his major task of the day and the weather.
The summer of 1838 seems to have brought a bit of religious revival to the area. In mid-July Simpson mentioned twice there had been meetings at local school houses with a number of speakers, "a reformation in that neighborhood," he wrote. He also mentioned that a number of people had been baptized that summer at meetings, both near the alms house and other locations. In September 1838, Simpson's wife Mercy died. On Friday, September 21, Simpson wrote "Brought Mrs. Bradbury to see my wife then went to falls, brought up Elder Fernald to see my wife. She died that evening at half past seven o'clock." On Saturday he prepared for the funeral and she was buried on Sunday. Monday, September 24, Simpson went "to falls with Elder Fernald, then divided beds and cloaths between my children." The following year, in March 1839. Simpson noted that his son George and his wife moved to his brother Ebenezer Simpson's house.Dimensions
Height
6-3/8 inWidth
4-1/4 in