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VERNIE FLINT : 1913 ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT DIARY HANDWRITTEN BY AN ELDERLY UPSTATE NEW YORK WOMAN DETAILING A LIFE OF TOILING EVEN IN A HOME BEREFT OF CHILDREN

32mo - over 4" - 5" tall. On offer is an interesting diary written in the months before WWI broke out in rural America. Measuring 4.5 inches by 3 inches, the diary contains 365 pages plus memoranda. The diary is in very good condition. All pages are intact and the handwriting is legible. This diary was written in 1913. The author is Vernie Flint who lives in Binghamton, NY. Born in 1851, she is 62 at the time of writing. She passed away 3 years later. She and her husband had no children. Her husband Harlan passed away in 1918. Her diary is a detailed record of the myriad household tasks that she sees must be done on a daily basis. They consume her. "We got up early and I made some toast for breakfast and then did a lot of chores and started to have a good dinner of fresh pork and boiled potatoes but oh dear, while we were trying to eat it we had 4 callers and before I had got the table cleared Rene came for a long call. And just as she went out of the house Frank Hoyt came in for a call. & then Mrs. Downs for 2 hours. I get so discouraged and disgusted too" [Jan 10]. This seems to be a common theme in her entries. She seems somewhat obsessive about cleaning and housework and definitely does not appreciate being interrupted by visitors. Many entries reflect this: "... Just as we finished our dinner at 2 o'clock, Ada & Ray & Jo came in for a call... then when we was doing night chores Mrs. Downs came in and stayed at most 2 hours and just spoiled my evening ..." [Jan 26]; "... I had to work all day. I did our night chores early and we had our second meal at 5 o'clock then we finished the chores & about 6 o'clock when I was going to sit down in 5 minutes to writ, Boughton came and stayed til 8 o'clock then I could not keep awake so it was way into the night before I could get it done" [Mar 23]. Here are a few more examples: "Mrs. Rugg came over to inquire about Mrs. so, and so and hindered as usual"; "Laura Ayers came and her little rascal with her. It took most of my time to chase after him with his meddling and impudence"; "Mrs. Downs came with her insulting smartness and great knowledge and Mrs. Cheel with about the same sort"; "Oscar came in for a long call for he never knows enough to go home"; "We did not have breakfast as early as we ought & before I had the table cleared Earnest Sampson came in for a long call and spoiled the forenoon"; "Thanksgiving day, the Lord blessed us without having company". The diary also includes a fairly detailed cash accounting for household expenditures for the year. This is a rather fascinating look at life in a small town in America immediately before the outbreak of WWI. It is intensely local. There are no references to major events that occur outside the scope of her life such as Woodrow Wilson becoming President (Mar 4) or the imposition of a new federal income tax (Oct 3). As such, it will be of interest to social historians studying this era or those looking at the economic realities of daily life in small-town America at this time.. Manuscript. Book Condition: Good +

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