Sophia Perry diaries

Collection

Identifier: MSS 2/325

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of four diaries, 1858-1901 (Bulk 1858-1865 & 1888), kept by Sophia E. Perry, a resident of Gorham, Me. Items found interleaved in the diaries were removed and placed in folders. The diaries document Ms. Perry’s personal life. Ms. Perry kept the first through third diaries while living in Gorham. These diaries describe the weather and local events of the day. Occasionally, larger events are recorded, the most noteworthy being the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln found in the third diary on p. 74. In addition, she recorded in the diaries lists of marriages, deaths, and her correspondence. Ms. Perry kept the fourth diary, 1879-1888 (Bulk 1888), while a patient at the Maine Insane Hospital in Augusta, Me. The diary describes, in part, Ms. Perry’s life at the hospital but also contains a considerable amount of poetry written by her. Miscellaneous items interleaved in the fourth diary include fabric remnants, a pencil sketch of a woman, newspaper clippings, an engraving of an unidentified man, and three letters received.

Dates

1858 - 1901

Creator

Perry, Sophia E. (Person)

Extent

.4 Linear feet (1 document box (4 volumes))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Related collections held by other institutions

Sophia E. Perry collection, 1862, 1886. Maine Women Writers Collection. Abplanalp Library, University of New England, Portland, Maine 04103. http://www.une.edu/mwwc.

Sophia E. Perry Diary, 1859 - 1860. Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives Repository, University of North Carolina, Geensboro, NC 27402. http://library.uncg.edu/info/depts/scua/.

McLellan family collection, 1876-1926. Brown Library, Maine Historical Society, Portland, Maine. https://www.mainehistory.org/library_overview.shtml#manuscripts.

Note: Sophia Perry is listed in the WorldCat record for the above collection, although not in the repository's catalog.