Overview
Diaries detailing the daily life of Hannah B. Gott, wife of Congregational deacon Jabez Gott, and resident of Rockport, Massachusetts.
Dates
- Creation: 1849-1907
Language of Materials
Materials in English.
Access Restrictions:
Access. Volumes 1F+B.1v and 3F+B.1v are open for research, and must be used with care. Volumes 2F+B.1v, 4F+B.1v, and 5F+B.1v are fragile and closed until conserved.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright. Copyright in these diaries may be held by the authors' heirs or assigns.
Copying. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.
Extent
5 VolumesCollection consists of five diaries (four by Hannah Gott and one by her daughter Ellen G. Burt) detailing daily visits, meetings, and other social activities many of which center around the church; also noted is who preached on Sunday and on what text. She regularly records births, baptisms, and deaths as well as local and national events, including the 1856 temperance raid, elections, and men departing for the California gold rush. She also reports on news from the local fisheries and quarries as well as the steam cotton mill. Her daughter Ellen continues in a similar vein in 1888 although she seems to be living in the greater Boston area, probably in Everett and later Wrentham. A few passages are by Ellen's daughter Helen.
BIOGRAPHY
A resident of Rockport, Massachusetts, Hannah B. Gott was married to Jabez Gott, a deacon in the local Congregational Church. She was a supporter of the temperance movement and took part in the July 1856 demonstration where a group of women marched through town destroying casks and bottles of alcohol. She employed Hannah Jumper, one of the leaders of the group, as a house cleaner. Gott's daughter Ellen married John Burt.
Physical Location
Collection stored off site: researchers must request access 36 hours before use.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession number: 2017-M31
These diaries of Hannah B. Gott were acquired from the Ten Pound Island Book Company, 2017.
Processing Information
Processed: March 2017
By: Anne Engelhart
Genre / Form
Geographic
- Everett (Mass.)--Social life and customs--19th century
- Rockport (Mass.)--Social life and customs--19th century
Topical
- Title
- Gott, Hannah B., 1795-1887. Diaries of Hannah B. Gott, 1849-1907: A Finding Aid
- Author
- Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- sch01557
Repository Details
Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository
The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.