Laura Stebbins of Longwood, Massachusetts, maintained this diary between 1826 and 1827. Written during the Second Great Awakening, she recorded regular details about religious services and prayer meetings she attended, including the names of preachers, their sermons, and selections of scripture, providing a picture of the religious context of her community. Many entries refer to Reverend Dickinson, likely Baxter Dickinson (1795-1875), a Congregational minister who began preaching in Longmeadow in 1823. Following the birth of her son, she copied a scriptural passage about parents and children, suggesting some of the religious writings were personal.
Laura Stebbins noted daily tasks, such as washing and ironing, making candles and soap, sewing, tending to children, and making social visits. Stebbins' and her family's health are also documented. She gave birth to a son on January 21, 1827, and gaps in her diary-keeping or attendance of religious services hint at potential pregnancy-related health disruptions to her routines. She also wrote several instances of her daughter Lucy experiencing "fits." On the heels of one such incident on September 14, 1827, she noted reflections on God's influence over the condition and hoped God would "Rebuke her disease if it be consistent with thy holy will . . . oh do not spoil her reason in the morning of her days[.] may she live and be very useful in the world."
Laura, another daughter, experienced a protracted and life-threatening illness in May and June 1827. The diary shifts from religious notation to a focus on the progression of illness. Her entry for Thanksgiving 1827 focuses on her children, offering her thanks to God "who has preserved us until this time and all our little ones that are near and dear us oh may they be a blessing may they be guided and g[u]arded through this life."
Local events were occasionally documented, such as deaths and burials, a house fire, baptisms, and communion.
Laura Merrick was born on March 17, 1799. In 1821 she married Samuel Stebbins (1796-1873), a lumber dealer and sawmill operator, and together they lived in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. They had at least six children: Lucy Colton (1822-1864), Laura Merrick (1824-1880), Alexander Field (b. 1827), Constant Merrick (b. 1829), Charlotte Hull (1831-1866), and Samuel Edgar (b. 1836). Laura Stebbins died on September 7, 1875, and is buried in Longmeadow, Massachusetts.
