Name/Title
Diary, Volume 32, 1846-1849Entry/Object ID
1874.150.32Scope and Content
Thirty-second volume of the diary of Benjamin Simpson of Saco, 1781-1849. This volume covers the period September 16, 1846 through January 2, 1849. It is handwritten in ink on rag paper and is composed of some sheets sewn together and some loose pages.
Much like the previous volume, Simpson spends most of his time at home reading with occasional trips to the falls to get his pension. In 1846 he was 91. On Monday, July 5 Simpson did "go to the falls to see President Polk." Not surprisingly, his health became more precarious. On Sunday, September 26, 1846, he recorded "at home, fair, taken sick in night [illegible] so much at one time I thought I should breath my last, but in no pain but calm and easy, no fear of death." He kept to his bed the next day, feeling better but still weak and unable to do anything. On Thursday, December 9, Simpson wrote "much pain by the fall Tuesday night, having a relax of dysentery. In rising from the pot to get up, I fell...I was for some time before I could get up." In July, 1847, Simpson met President Polk when visited Saco. On Monday, July 5, he recorded “to falls to see President Polk.” By 1848, Simpson was only recording the daily weather. The last entry in the diary is on January 2, 1849, when he wrote "this day 94 years old." He died on March 23, 1849.Dimensions
Height
9-3/8 inWidth
7-7/8 in