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Sophia Perry diaries
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Held at: Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia [Contact Us]19 S. 22nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
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The collection consists of four diaries, 1858-1901 (Bulk 1858-1865 & 1888), kept by Sophia E. Perry, a resident of Gorham, Me. Items found interleaved in the diaries were removed and placed in folders. The diaries document Ms. Perry's personal life. Ms. Perry kept the first through third diaries while living in Gorham. These diaries describe the weather and local events of the day. Occasionally, larger events are recorded, the most noteworthy being the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln found in the third diary on p. 74. In addition, she recorded in the diaries lists of marriages, deaths, and her correspondence. Ms. Perry kept the fourth diary, 1879-1888 (Bulk 1888), while a patient at the Maine Insane Hospital in Augusta, Me. The diary describes, in part, Ms. Perry's life at the hospital but also contains a considerable amount of poetry written by her. Miscellaneous items interleaved in the fourth diary include fabric remnants, a pencil sketch of a woman, newspaper clippings, an engraving of an unidentified man, and three letters received.
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- Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia