Collections

Diaries and legal documents, 1810-1896, written by Benjamin Thompson (1810-1870) and Otis Thompson (1879-1896) of Topsham, Maine. Diaries include description of his life as a teenager working on a farm, people with whom he interacted, towns he visited, and the sermons at his church. There are also diaries of his life as a teacher, which include daily notes on what he taught. There are also descriptions of a trip that Thompson took to Ohio.

Diaries, 1890-1899, of Nelson and Daniel Gordon, brothers from Thorndike, Maine. Nelson Gordon was the town clerk of Thorndike, Maine, and Daniel Gordon was a school teacher who also made caskets. Nelson's diary, 1890, talks about his wife, Emma, his daily activities, his interaction with his local community, his job, among others.

This collection comprises letters sent primarily to and from Annie and Nellie Pease. They are from local friends and schoolmates as well as members of the Pease family who are situated for the most part in Bangor and Cornish, Maine. The letters deal with the personal lives of a close social network of young girls and their families who stay in touch after their graduation from school. The subjects of the letters range from classes, teachers and vacation plans to what is going on in the local community concerning deaths, weddings, and travel. A detailed examination of these letters reveals information concerning the school life and education of young, nineteenth-century women as well as their own experiences of teaching. Moreover, there are details as to what books were popular, from Caesar to Cicero and Dickens to Emerson, as well as to what subjects were being taught and how the girls responded to them; botany, natural history, and flower collecting are frequently mentioned.