Name/Title
Diary, Volume 28, 1835-1837Entry/Object ID
1874.150.25Scope and Content
Twenty-eighth volume of the diary of Benjamin Simpson of Saco, 1781-1849. This volume covers the period January 1, 1835 through February 28, 1837; there is a gap in the diaries between September 1833 and January 1835. 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.
On Friday, January 2, 1835, Simpson recorded "this day I am 80 years of age." Almost all of the entries in this volume begin with "tend hogs" unless he was going somewhere or the family had company. In March 1836, Simpson was helping Mrs. Rebecca Simpson, presumably a relative of some sort. In late March Simpson noted that Mrs. Rebecca Simpson's child had died at the poor house. He brought her, along with three of her children, from the poor house to his home and had the dead child buried in his burying ground. In early July Simpson brought Rebecca Simpson "to Levi Edgcom's to get a place for her Boy;" he apparently accomplished this the next day. Two weeks later he "carried Henry Simpson to Levi Eggcom's to live." In September 1836, Simpson's neighbor John Berry was apparently having financial difficulties. On Wednesday, September 28, Simpson said "went to the falls to see the poor Committee to take Mr. John Berry to the house of Correction. Ichabod Hill came & carried him off to the poor house to keep a short time. Berry's wife said she would pay his board for two weeks." On Sunday, October 2, Mr. Berry came home from the poor house.Dimensions
Height
6-3/8 inWidth
4-1/4 in