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Maria J. Gibbs Barnard diaries and Adams family collection, 1865-[1950s]

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Summary

Creator:
Barnard, Maria Jennings Gibbs, 1845-1939
Abstract:
This collection contains 20 pre-printed daily diaries by Maria Jennings Barnard née Gibbs of East Wareham and Onset, Massachusetts, for the years 1865, 1866, 1867, 1869, 1872, 1873, 1876, 1880, 1881, 1914, and 1924-1932. Maria J. Gibbs' diaries pertain to home life (especially cooking, cleaning, sewing, and other housework). In the 1860s and 1870s, while in her 20s, she remarked on her work at cotton mills and sewing establishments in Plymouth and Middlesex Counties as well as her experiences living at various boarding houses. At the end of 1876, she married Nantucket sailor Benjamin A. Barnard and the diaries of 1880 and 1881 include content on household labor, child rearing, visits to other areas in the state, and loneliness from her husband's absences. Barnard wrote her later diaries, 1914 and 1924-1932, following the death of her husband in 1895, from Onset, Massachusetts, where she wrote about time with her daughter Nellie Barnard Robbins and grandson Lloyd Robbins, trips around Eastern Massachusetts, annual trips to Florida for the winter, cooking, cleaning, and visiting friends. The remainder of the collection is comprised of eight diaries, account books, address books, memoranda books, and wallets pertaining to the family of Maria Barnard's granddaughter Mildred Grace Robbins née Adams of Attleboro, Massachusetts, between 1913 and the 1950s.
Extent:
28 volumes
Language:
English
Authors:
Collection processed and finding aid created by Cheney J. Schopieray

Background

Scope and Content:

This collection contains 20 pre-printed daily diaries by Maria Jennings Barnard née Gibbs of East Wareham and Onset, Massachusetts, for the years 1865, 1866, 1867, 1869, 1872, 1873, 1876, 1880, 1881, 1914, and 1924-1932. Maria J. Gibbs' diaries pertain to home life (especially cooking, cleaning, sewing, and other housework). In the 1860s and 1870s, while in her 20s, she remarked on her work at cotton mills and sewing establishments in Plymouth and Middlesex Counties as well as her experiences living at various boarding houses. Her 1872 diary includes a two-month trip to Chicago to visit relatives, with content on the aftermath of the Great Fire of 1871. Maria suffered from regular headaches and frequent nearly debilitating sicknesses. At the end of 1876, she married Nantucket sailor Benjamin A. Barnard and the diaries of 1880 and 1881 include content on household labor, child rearing, visits to other areas in the state, and loneliness from her husband's absences. Bernard wrote her later diaries, 1914 and 1924-1932, following the death of her husband in 1895, from Onset, Massachusetts, where she wrote about time with her daughter Nellie Barnard Robbins and grandson Lloyd Robbins, trips around Eastern Massachusetts, annual trips to Florida for the winter, cooking, cleaning, and visiting friends. When the 1932 diary concluded, Maria was 86 years old. The remainder of the collection is comprised of eight diaries, account books, address books, memoranda books, and wallets pertaining to the family of Maria Barnard's granddaughter Mildred Grace Robbins née Adams of Attleboro, Massachusetts, between 1913 and the 1950s.

Biographical / Historical:

Maria Jennings Gibbs was born on March 4, 1845, in Wareham, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, one of at least seven children of Jonathan and Lucina Gibbs. In her 20s, Maria Gibbs worked in cotton mills and sewing establishments in nearby Plymouth, Massachusetts, including the Samoset Cotton Mills. She married Nantucket sailor Benjamin Avery Barnard (1839-1895) on December 28, 1876. The Barnards had one daughter, Nellie Gibbs Barnard (b. December 20, 1877), who married Charles A. S. Robbins in 1898. Maria J. Gibbs Barnard spent her later years in Onset (Eastern Wareham), Massachusetts, and died on October 3, 1939.

George L. Adams was born on June 4, 1866, in Connecticut and moved to Bristol County, Massachusetts, by 1892, when he married Bertha F. Stevens. The couple had at least two children that survived to adulthood, including Ruth Adams (1900-1999) and Mildred Grace Adams (1904-1999). Mildred G. Adams married Maria J. Gibbs Barnard's grandson Lloyd Barnard Robbins (1898-1960).

Acquisition Information:
2021. M-7324.2 .
Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in two series: Maria J. Gibbs Barnard Diaries and Adams Family Collection.

Rules or Conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Contents

Using These Materials

Info for Visitors

How to Request

Ordering Reproductions

Download PDF Finding Aid
RESTRICTIONS:

The collection is open for research.

USE & PERMISSIONS:

Copyright status is unknown

PREFERRED CITATION:

Maria J. Gibbs Barnard Diaries and Adams Family Collection, William L. Clements Library, The University of Michigan