Beyond "Triffles"

Beyond "Triffles" Elizabeth Drinker, The Diary of Elizabeth Drinker, ed. by Elaine Forman Crane, 3 vols. (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1991). 2398 pp. ISBN 1-55553-093-1. $210. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 (New York: Vintage Books, 1990). 444 pp. ISBN 0-394-56844-3. $26.50. Marian Yeates As had been her habit for forty-three years, on February 9,1801, Elizabeth Drinker took note of the day's events. The day was clear and pleasant in Phüadelphia; the wind blew from the northeast, although by evening its direction changed to northwest. In the morning. Drinker caUed upon her married daughter, Nancy, who was very sick at the time, then returned home to prepare dinner for Nancy's children. Her sister, Mary, spent the afternoon out. Having recorded the usual happenings, Drinker reported a strange occurrence in Raleigh, North Carolina. On January 27, 1801, there appeared a "phenomenon in the heavens," a strange Ught almost equal to the sun that possessed a strong heat felt by many. The apparition continued for three minutes, followed by a rumbUng noise from the west (Drinker, p. 1384). Always searching to understand the meaning of such events, Drinker noted that "those frequent, unnatural appearances seem to me to portend something. . . ." Returning to the f amitiar, she remarked that "Sally Downing, two of her Children and Betsy Jervis took tea here-----" The day ended with high wind (Drinker, p. 1385). While the weather in Philadelphia was pleasant on February 9,1801, it snowed in Maine. Midwife Martha Ballard had been at home feeüng unweU for several days. Early that morning, her convalescence was disrupted by a knock at the door. Alpheus Lion came to alert BaUard that her services were required at the home of John Page. Escorted by Mr. Lion, she left her home noting that at "20 minutes before 7 this morning" she passed by Mr. Hamlin's door. At U: 00, Mrs. Page deUvered a son—her second son and third chüd. Feeüng weak, Ballard left Mrs. Page "as weU as could be Expected." Marking her return, she noted that at "20 minutes before 5 hour pm." she again passed by Mr. Hamlin's door arriving home before dark "cold and fatagued" (Ulrich, p. 237). The pubUcation of the diaries of Elizabeth Drinker and Martha BaUard represents a sizable investment in the painstaking transcription and annotations necessary to make these records accessible. The Diary of Elizabeth Drinker, edited by Elaine Forman Crane, is a prodigious work. Elizabeth © 1994 Journal of Women-s History, Vol 6 No. ζ (Summer) 1994 Book Review: Marian Yeates 151 Sandwith began her diary in 1758 at the age of twenty-three, three years after the death of her parents. Except for a three-year gap from 1786 to 1789, her record runs continuously until her death in 1807, spanning forty-nine years. In manuscript form, the diary fills nearly thirty-six volumes . The Crane edition runs over two thousand pages. Entries are richly annotated to provide background information to otherwise obscure references . In addition, the editor has provided a biographical dictionary of UteraUy thousands of individuals mentioned in the diary. In terms of breadth, the Drinker diary is without peer as a record of the changing phases of a woman's Ufe. Whereas the Drinker diary offers breadth, A Midwife's Tale offers depth. Ballard began her record relatively late in Ufe. In 1785, at age fifty, Ballard took up the habit of recording services rendered and payments made in her midwifery practice. The diary served as an account book to which she added details of her daüy Ufe. In order to recreate the dynamics of community Ufe recorded in this straightforward accounting of labors performed, babies deUvered, and fees received, Ulrich devoted eight years researching the tiny town of HolloweU, Maine. Ulrich searched out obscure references in the diary, expUcating and filling in the details that Martha BaUard withhdd. Whüe the BaUard diary covers a narrower historical time period than the Drinker diary, Ulrich supplemented the text, thereby increasing the depth of field. Ulrich recreates the...