Lizzie Richardson Diaries, 1903-1966

Title:

Lizzie Richardson Diaries, 1903-1966

Creator:

Richardson, Lizzie McKay, 1884-1966

Accession / Call Number:

2015.085

Object ID:

2015.085

Date:

1903-1966

Physical Description:

3 boxes

Scope and Content:

The Lizzie Richardson (1884-1966) diaries are an exceptional source of information about rural material and popular culture and activities in New Hampshire between 1930 and 1960. Written by a woman, they reveal the routine and details of her daily life, though they have little to say about how her husband, who worked as a farmer, filled his days. The collection also contains two diaries kept by 86 year old Abbie Richardson, Lizzie's mother-in-law, when she visited a daughter in the Orlando, FL, in the winters of 1930 and 1931, and a brief diary kept for a couple of days by her eleven year old son in 1933. There is a small amount of ephemera and associated material and a scrapbook with trade cards from the late nineteenth century. The scrapbook also contains some newspaper clippings of various important politicians between about 1900 and 1940. Lizzie Richardson's diaries, kept every day between 1930 and her death in 1966, and occasionally between 1907 and 1930, is concrete and specific about how she spent her days and also includes accounts for some but not all years. Lizzie and her husband had a wide variety of income sources. She played piano and rented rooms to tourists. He trapped or shot animals and sold their pelts. They harvested and sold hundreds of boxes of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries as well as apples and pumpkins and perhaps other agricultural products that were her husband's responsibility. Adult children paid board as did Lizzie's mother-in-law. Lizzie also recorded information about child and elder care. Children flowed from house to house among the extended family. Lizzie's aged mother-in-law was looked after for short periods of time by neighbors or by paid attendants. Lizzie discusses various types of entertainments including card games like whist and canasta, lectures and talks, radio and television, and picnics and other meals. Weddings and funerals are fully described. She also writes about illnesses of children and relatives and their treatments, either by physicians or Lizzie, herself. This includes her husband's aged mother, who lived with the family, and babies born. She describes labor and delivery of grandchildren with exact notes of how to make the formula and sterilize the bottles for them. The diaries also contain accounts of Lizzie's handcrafts. She made rag rugs, crocheted, and sewed clothing. Lizzie also recorded items she purchased, what they cost, and their brand names, everything from automobiles to pairs of socks. She wrote about laundry and cleaning, especially as new technologies were introduced, like a vacuum cleaner and washing machine. She and her daughters often did laundry together. Lizzie wrote about meals cooked, pies and cakes made for the family or given away. She gives descriptions of holiday and other celebratory meals. The diaries contain no recipes. Lizzie writes about local disasters: fires, floods, robberies, accidents, and untimely deaths. Despite all the above detail, the diaries say little about national and international events. Although her two sons served in World War II, her entries about the war do not discuss larger questions of why the war was fought or concerns about fighting and the aftermath. In the same way, she seldom analyzed or commented on the behavior of members of her family. Occasionally she wrote that she felt sorry for someone, but almost never expressed anger or worry about people close to her. When a son-in-law drank too much, she noted it without elaboration. When adult children squabbled, she reported their positions in the arguments but did not choose sides. The only exception to her habitual reticence was her anguish at the death of her 11 year old son David, who died accidentally in 1933. For many years, she commemorated the anniversary of his death and always described the flowers or seasonal decorations she and Arthur put on his grave.

Subjects:

Depressions--1929--United States , Diaries , Farm life , Farmers , Popular culture--United States--History--19th century , Women , World War, 1939-1945--Social aspects--United States

Locations:

Amherst, NH
Florida

People:

Richardson, Abbie Hutchinson, 1844-1939 , Richardson, Arthur, 1882-1947 , Richardson, Lizzie McKay, 1884-1966

Credit Line:

Gift of Brenda Miles Perry.

Restrictions:

Available for research.

Level Description:

Collection