Name/Title
Diary, Volume 13, 1801-1805Entry/Object ID
1874.150.10Scope and Content
Thirteenth volume of the diary of Benjamin Simpson of Saco, 1781-1849. This volume covers the period January 1, 1801 through October 15, 1805. 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 (without dates) listed below. Simpson noted his major task of the day and the weather. His entries reflect the seasonal nature of the work of a man who owned a farm but also was a skilled mason.
Simpson began 1801 feeling unwell, full of pain, and unable to work for several days; he had two such episodes in January. In April we went to Portland for several days for court. He spent May laying rocks for both Foxwell and Richard Cutts. On June 11 he attended his father’s funeral in Kittery. In mid-June he got mortar in his eye and was in pain for several days and unable to see in that eye. Throughout the year he continued to attend a variety of meetings and heard a number of different preachers, including Mr. Flanders, some of the meetings held in private homes and the school house. In September he “attended meeting at Mr. Newbegin’s where three men and seven women were baptised by Elder Simon Lock.”
In early 1802 Simpson attended several “lectures” at Moses Woodman’s, Newbegins, and others. In March he hosted a lecture in his own house by Mr. Flanders. In April, Ebenezer Simpson was sick for several days and Simpson sent for the doctor. That month they also started framing the meeting house, apparently one at Little Falls. In September Simpson described the meeting house as being located “on the Line between Pepperlb[orough] and Buxton” the first meeting house located there. The meeting house was apparently finished by then and on Sunday, September 5, Mr. Andrew Sherburne preached there.
In August 1802 Simpson noted that “yellow fever at Biddeford spreads fast and mortal.”
Over the course of 1803 Simpson worked on a number of masonry projects. He began laying a foundation for a meeting house at the falls in April. In May he “laid bricks for Jonathan Cleaves on potters kiln,” which took three days. In June he was laying bricks for the Saco bank. In July his work was on Captain Jordan’s furnace. In late September Simpson returned to work on the Cutts’ “toomb.”
In 1804 Simpson continued his habit of attending a variety of religious meetings. On Thursday, March 23, he went to meeting at Little Falls where Captain Collier and his wife were baptised. In April he attended meeting at the falls at Robert Cleaves’ house where Mr. Metcalf preached on Saturday the 14th. The following day he went to Little Falls for meeting. In August he noted that his son George was working for him at Bartlett’s. In late September Simpson complained that he had a lame thumb and finally had to seek a doctor’s help. At some point in the year Simpson apparently became tax collector. In July he went to the falls where he left “5 summons.” He began collecting taxes in September and continued to do so into October. On Sunday, September 22, Simpson went “at noon to falls to meeting. A woman named Welch speaker.” In November, Simpson wrote that “T. Wentworth began his boarding with B. Simpson,” perhaps a new apprentice. He noted on the last page of the diary that on November 28 he “took the first Argus [newspaper].”Dimensions
Height
5-5/8 inWidth
3-5/8 in