Sarah Moseley Pierce (1788-1871) papers

Description

Series XII, Sarah Moseley Pierce (1788-1871) papers, 1808-1832 (#OB.x.x), contains a folio volume, entitled "Sarah Moseley's Second Memorandum Book, begun May 19th, 1808." The notebook contains daily diary entries from 1808 to 1810. Entries mention family members; visitors and visits; invitations to tea; playing cards; daily domestic activities; church attendance; and information on people's health and weather. Lewis Pierce (1786-1874) is mentioned as a frequent visitor to the Moseley home in the months leading up to the couple's 1809 wedding. The newlyweds live in the Moseley home for a month before moving to the Pierce homestead, which they shared with Colonel Samuel Pierce (1739-1815) and other family members. Although the diary entries end in 1810, later pages contain remembrances and verses about deceased family members and friends written intermittently between 1813 and 1832. In one poignant passage, Sarah writes about the death of her daughter, Elizabeth Moseley Pierce (1817-1832), while other pages contain lists of family birth dates and marriages; a copy of the sermon text preached at the funeral of her sister, Elizabeth Moseley, in 1813; and accounts for women domestic workers. The entries from 1808 to 1813 and 1822 to 1826, presumably relate to women working for Sarah and whom Sarah supplied with clothes, shoes, and other items. A draft of a letter thanking a male friend, probably Lewis Pierce (1786-1874), for the gift of a dress is inserted into the memorandum book.