Long Island Women's Diaries.
Diaries of Women from a
Southampton Family, 1870 – 1924
[Diaries]. Rogers, Elizabeth, et al. Long Island Women’s Diaries, 1870-1924.
Ca. 50 items.
Several dozen daily diaries kept by members of the Rogers family over the course of more than fifty years. Primarily kept by Elizabeth Rogers and her daughter-in-law Alice, each diary chronicles the daily reality of their lives as mothers, daughters, and wives. En masse, they create a substantial record and give their reader an unedited glimpse of what it meant to be an average woman during the late-19th and early-20th centuries.
The Rogers lived in Suffolk County, mainly in Bridgehampton and then later in Sagaponack, a geographic area that enjoyed a period of growth and prosperity at this time, including the arrival of the Long Island Railroad (1870) and the establishment of the Hampton Library (1877) and the Bridgehampton News (1895). As a result, in addition to recording the details of weather, work, and other activities, the diaries also capture the essence of living in these burgeoning small towns.
One diary, attributed only to “B. Rogers,” rounds out the collection by documenting her move to Chicago in 1881; insofar as the diaries reveal, it appears that she was the only member of the Rogers family to leave Long Island.
Content generally also includes mention of visitors, trips, outings, deaths, births, etc.
Elizabeth Conklin Pierson was born in Bridgehampton on February 1, 1824, to Alfred Pierson (1793–1848), of Bridgehampton, and Elizabeth Conklin (1794–1874), of Sag Harbor. She married Josiah Rogers (1815–1899) on January 8, 1849 and had six children, Harriet, Alfred, Ada, Henry, Edwin, and Albert. She died in 1911.
Nearly thirty of the small diaries were kept by Elizabeth between 1870–1906, most nearly full. Entries begin with the weather, often described as “very pleasant” but also including many other details. Josiah’s activities are generally noted (e.g., April 14, 1870: “Josiah finished planting potatoes in the morning”), along with those of the immediate family – these usually include some combination of attending church, working and chores, occasional dances or festivals, and trips to Sag Harbor, Montauk, or elsewhere in the county. There are also records of prices for goods bought and sold, as well as for births and deaths of family and other townspeople. Occasionally more interesting details appear, such as a note of Josiah working on a highway or an accidental death on the new railroad.
In addition to her name and town of residence, the endpapers usually hold numerous miscellaneous jottings (often financial in nature) and many of the diaries include ledgers in the rear that Rogers used to record monies paid for goods and services, taxes, and related financials. Receipts from local businesses are found laid into the diaries occasionally.
Representative examples of entries taken from her 1873 diary:
January 30: Splendid sleighing; Josiah and Alfred went to Sag Harbor; John Dayton called.
March 8: Josiah bought $12 timber from Mrs. Daniel Pierson.
March 10: Alfred, Mary, and Sherry went to the Academy to dance.
April 25: Cleaned south front chamber.
Alice Mary Foster was born March 10, 1854, to Foster Josiah (1827-1879) and Mary Ann Fanning. She married Elizabeth Rogers’ oldest son Alfred Pierson (b. 1851) on October 16, 1976, and had four children, Walter, Mabel, Flora, and Gilbert. She died in 1928.
Nearly twenty of the diaries belong to Alice, spanning 1870–1924. In content, they are very similar overall to Elizabeth’s. The weather is noted first, often followed by the names of any callers she received. Alice’s later diaries record more detail about the town; for example, on January 1, 1912 she includes, “Alfred gone this evening to a meeting in Mr. Clarence Topping’s office to plan for incorporation of the Sagaponack cemetery.” She also uses leaves at the rear for financials – her 1924 diary
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