Anna M. Potts diary

This diary was kept by Anna M. Potts of Chester County, Pennsylvania, between January 1, 1860, and February 20, 1861. Potts recorded information related to the weather, illness and death, social visits, her servants, daily work and domestic details, and her Quaker faith.

Potts began each entry with an observation on the weather, often noting if it was unseasonably cold or hot. She constantly monitored her fragile health, recording almost daily “spells” and occasional bouts of “hystericks.” Potts tried several remedies to ease her suffering, including magnesia and Hartshorne. By early summer, her doctor was treating her with doses of chloroform. She carefully observed the health of members of her household, family, and friends. Over the course of her diary, she and her husband and her servants each experienced several bouts of long illness. Death was a common occurrence within her community. Her father-in-law died after a long illness in the fall of 1860 and Potts herself often wondered if she would live to see another year.

Despite her poor health, Potts made and received many social visits. Family members and friends were frequent guests in her household, although Potts observed that she would like people to visit more often and stay for longer periods of time. She and her husband, Charles, regularly visited their families in Philadelphia, using their time in the city to do business, shop, and hunt for better servants. When she was well enough, Potts frequently attended Quaker Meetings. At the time her diary was kept, Potts and her husband belonged to the Monthly Meeting in nearby Goshen, Pennsylvania. She also meditated on her own sinfulness and longed “for a happier, more peaceful, innocent condition, through his kindness & mercy of my holy Redeemer.”

Potts was responsible for managing her household, overseeing her servants and participating in sewing, baking, washing, ironing, and making butter. Because of her ill health, she relied heavily on her housekeeper, Eliza, who often had to relieve her of her “household duties.” When Eliza made extended visits to Lancaster, various female relatives took turns helping Potts manage her household. Apart from Eliza, Potts had little luck with her servants. Most did not stay long and they often engaged in behavior she disliked. Ann ran “about entirely too much” and left the family in May 1860. Her replacement, Isabella, was discharged after about a month because she was disrespectful to Eliza. An elderly woman lasted about a month before deciding she was not up to the challenge. Isabella came again at the end of July, but left at the end of October “without any apparent excuse, giving us no reason.” At the end of the diary, Potts was again searching for reliable help.

In addition to her diary entries, Potts made several notations regarding her cash accounts, recording how much money she received from her husband and how much money she had in her purse at the beginning and end of the month. She noted items she paid for, most of which were textiles and sewing supplies, but also included a border for wallpaper, omnibus fare, and charitable donations.

This small volume is bound with brown marbled paper over boards and a leather spine. A paper commercial label on the front cover reads “DIARY/FOR/1860. PUBLISHED YEARLY BY/MOSS, BROTHER, & CO./BOOKSELLERS AND STATIONERS/PHILADELPHIA.” The volume consists of printed text as well as handwritten diary entries in both black ink and pencil. On the first page is the inscription “Anna M. Potts/From her loving/Father” in pencil. The title page reads Stewart’s Diary for 1860, For the Use of Private Families and Persons of Business in printed text. The volume starts with a printed calendar for the year 1860. There are printed entries for each day in 1860s, which Potts filled in with handwritten notes. After completing the daily calendar for 1860, Potts used the memoranda, some of the cash accounts pages, and the bills payable section of the diary to record daily entries up to February 20, 1861. On the final page of the volume, there are several geometrical problems and poems in pencil. A small paper fragment with printed text accompanies the volume. It reads “Chas Potts/PAOLI/ Chester co PENN.”