Sep 17, 2015 - Sale 2391

Sale 2391 - Lot 213

Unsold
Estimate: $ 500 - $ 750
(MASSACHUSETTS.) [Porter, John.] A Bridgewater minister's almanac diary. 12 manuscript pages interleaved with 6 printed leaves of Nathanael Ames's Astronomical Diary for 1748. Small 8vo, stitched; lacking almanac title page and final leaf, moderate edge wear with slight loss of text to first leaf. Vp, January to December 1748
Set Alert for Similar Items

Additional Details

The Rev. John Porter (1716-1802) was a clergyman in Bridgewater, MA from 1740 until his death. The diary is not signed, but can be identified by the 2 February entry for the author's 32nd birthday; many of the entries are written in or near Bridgewater. The entries are generally very brief, but trace his travels, where he preached (including private homes), and sometimes offer an intriguing morsel such as "My Negro woman came to live with me" (25 January) or "A fast for ye revival of religion & putting a stop to error" (12 October). He mentions preaching at numerous funerals, which may be of genealogical interest.