Details

Abstract / Summary

Mary Page Putnam Hunt (1806-1894), her sister Martha Crosby Page (1808-1832) and their eight other siblings were born to John Page (1779-1854) and Mary Fowler Page (1787-1876) in Danvers, Massachusetts, where the Page family had a successful brick-making business. Mary and Martha attended the Saugus Seminary in Saugus, Massachusetts, and the Adams Female Academy in Derry, New Hampshire. Mary married Alfred Putnam (1804-1835) of Danvers in 1831 and Dr. Ebenezer Hunt (1799-1874) in 1844. Mary and Martha's siblings were: Sally Putnam Page (1808-1809), Martha's short-lived twin sister; John Crosby Page (1811-1850); Harriet Newhall Page Black (1814- ), who married Moses Black, Jr. (1811-1861); Charles Page (1816-1864), who married Sarah Nichols Page ( - ); Sarah Putnam Page Edgerton (1818- ), who married Alonzo A. Edgerton (1811- ); Caroline Elizabeth Page (1821-1841); Louisa Page Weston (1823- ), who married William L. Weston (1817- ); and Ann Lemist Page (1828 - ).

This collection consists of four commonplace books for the period 1823 to 1864: one by Mary Page Putnam Hunt, two by Martha Crosby Page and one by another young woman also named Martha Page. The books contain remembrance verses written on the occasion of graduation and signed by school friends, verses written by relatives and friends in later years, and poetry written by Martha Crosby Page on such topics as "The Sky" and "The Lover’s Serenade," in addition to quotations from Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) and other poets. Mary's includes several color sketches of flowers and birds. The smaller of her sister Martha's two books consists of brief stanzas concerning each monarch of England beginning with William the Conqueror, and includes a 1907 annotation by their youngest sister, Ann Lemist Page. The fourth item in the collection is a commonplace book for the year 1853, kept by one Martha Page ( - ), probably a relative, while she was a student at Bradford Female Seminary in Bradford, Massachusetts.

Field of Interest

Letters and Diaries

Content Type

Ephemera

Duration

0 sec

Format

Text

Page Count

426

Publication Year

2011

Publisher

Alexander Street

Place Published / Released

Alexandria, VA

Subject

Letters and Diaries, History, Daily Life, Domestic life