The diaries of Hannah and Rebecca Smith offer a rare glimpse into the inner lives of two young ladies from Martha’s Vineyard in the early 1800s. In a practice unusual for rural women of their day, the Smith sisters avoided describing domestic activities. Instead, these diaries from the collection of the Martha’s Vineyard Museum reflect their authors’ wide-ranging reading, observations of the world around them, and thoughts on mortality.
In this volume, Marian Ragan Halperin, former Director of the Museum, has used her knowledge of the Island’s history and the Museum’s collection to enhance our understanding of these rare documents.