Daily register of Elizabeth Riggs, 1857

Amerikan Bord Heyeti (American Board)

Kiggins & Kellog Publishers, Daily Pocket Diary for the year 1857

This 1857 diary of Elizabeth Riggs corresponds with the Riggs family’s 2-year furlough in the United States, and precedes the 1858 Register. The main activities accounted for in the diary include attending church and academic classes, and spending time with friends and family members. It details domestic tasks, visits with friends and family (including games of “charades & tableaux”), lessons and exams, walks and other outings, the status of loved ones’ health, letters received, books and poems read, and weather. Much attention is given to discussions of sermons and lectures (particularly at Dr. Murray’s church in Philadelphia), bible study, personal prayers, and other spiritual and religious matters. A “rare treat” for Elizabeth is observing a rehearsal of the Philharmonic Society, at which a Beethoven piece is performed. It is apparent that Elizabeth has a strong, earnest sense of faith, but she also permits herself to admit the occasional difficulty of practicing her religion, as in this entry from April 15 (1857): “My heart is so heavy & homesick. Oh it is so hard to appear cheerful when the heart is hardened with grief. I do try to leave all with my Heavenly Father & feel that He will do all things right – but it is hard to say ‘Thy will be done.’” On the page for June 24th, the dates have been crossed out, and Elizabeth has written: “Feb. 1858. I am going to use the rest of this book for noting down anything interesting I hear, or use it in any other way I think may be profitable.” The following pages contain notes for geometry homework, a record of “clothes washed” with dates, notes of items purchased (including lead pencils, “yarn, Brown,” gum drops, gold beads, woolen gloves, thimble, diary, oranges, chocolate, black velvet, and “going to New York” among many other items). The last two pages of the diary include drawings for geometry homework.

A diary detailing Elizabeth's daily life in 1857, including some notes from 1858 (the diary is abandoned as a chronological record in June). This record also includes 17 loose sheets, among which is a letter to Elizabeth from a Miss Spalding/Spaulding, presumably her teacher, dated Jan 3 1859 from Hartford (Elizabeth died late Nov 1858 in Turkey). There is also an apparently unfinished and unsigned letter to a Mrs. Schauffler in Elizabeth's hand. The remaining sheets appear to be written in Elizabeth's hand, and contain religious musings and responses to sermons. Paper/board-bound agenda. Handwritten in pencil. Also includes 17 loose sheets written in both pencil and pen, incl. a letter to Elizabeth from Miss Spaulding from Hartford, CT dated 1859 (?)

1857-01-01
1857-12-20

English

New Providence, Hartford, Philadelphia

Missions, Missionaries

SALT Research

https://archives.saltresearch.org/handle/123456789/42914

Diaries

Diary

Print, Handwriting

70 (in diary) + 17 loose sheets

ABARPDR005

Open Access

United Church of Christ (UCC), American Research Institute in Turkey (ARIT), SALT Research

On deposit at SALT Research from UCC and ARIT