Mary Cook diary

Access and use

Location of collection:
University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept.
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400110
160 McCormick Rd
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4110
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Brenda Gunn
Phone: (434) 924-1037
Phone: (434) 243-1776
Fax: (434) 924-4968
Restrictions:

This collection has been minimally processed and is open for research.

Preferred citation:

MSS 16958, Mary Cook diary, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia Library.

Summary

Extent:
0.03 Cubic Feet One letter-size file folder
Creator:
Cook, Mary P., 1838-1862
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

MSS 16958, Mary Cook diary, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia Library.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains a small leather-bound pocket diary kept by Mary P. Cook (1838–1862) of Upper Pittsgrove, New Jersey, documenting the year 1860. There are 365 pages of daily entries and twelve additional handwritten pages of household accounts at the rear. The ownership signature of Mary Cook, recording her date of birth, appears on the front endpaper. Cook maintained daily entries throughout the year, opening nearly each one with a weather observation before recording visits, sermons, social calls, and the management of family finances. The accounts section documents cashflow, interest collected from tenants, and other transactions; the names recorded there recur throughout the diary proper, grounding the financial records within a broader social network. Cook also marks an "X" on days associated with the onset of her menstrual cycle, occasionally noting the time or heaviness of flow. She records spitting blood on at least one occasion (July 27) and notes multiple episodes of illness among those around her and her own illness. It is unclear if Mary's chronic illness was related to her reproductive health or to a wider blood disease, as she also reports on July 27 "spit up a few mouthfuls of blood, did not get up very early." Whatever the specific diagnosis, it is clear that Mary was dealing with serious discomfort and pain. She traveled to Cape May and Atlantic City for therapeutic seaside visits and records a visit to the American Tract House, from which she returned with reading materials. Cook died suddenly in Philadelphia in February 1862 at the age of 23, approximately two years after the close of this diary, and was returned to Pittsgrove for burial. Her obituary in the Bridgeton Pioneer described her physical nature as "delicate" and her mental state as "strong."

Acquisition information:
This collection was purchased from Marginalia Rare Books by the Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia on 1 April 2026.
Physical description:
Good. A torn flap and one page (September 25, 1860), a portion of the paper is cut and removed.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Diaries
Disabilities
Chronic diseases