Call Number:

MC.975.01.059

Repository:

Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections

Extent:

0.04 linear ft. (1 volume)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Martha Routh journal (HC.MC.975.01.059), Quaker & Special Collections, Haverford College, Haverford, PA.

Date:

1794

Creator:

Routh, Martha Winter, 1743-1817

Form:

Diaries and travel literature

Abstract:

Martha Routh's journal describes her voyage from London to Boston, which she took in 1794. Entries describe the small group of Quakers that Routh traveled with, including Thomas Scattergood, as well as descriptions of the weather, communications with other ships during the journey, and Routh's struggles with illness on board. The journal ends when Routh arrives in Boston, and her last entry describes her Quaker hosts there, and the burial of a man who died on board the ship.

Martha Routh (1743-1817) was born on June 25, 1743, in Stourbridge, Worcestershire, England, the youngest child of Henry and Jane Winter. Routh became a teacher in a Friends boarding school in Nottingham at 17, and was principal of the school by the time she was 24. Routh was recognized a Quaker minister in 1773. She married Richard Routh of Manchester on August 7, 1776, at Nottingham. Between 1776 and 1787, she traveled through England, Scotland, and Wales. In 1789, she travelled throughout Ireland. Routh travelled to the United States for the first time in 1794, where she visited Friends in New England, and went on to visit Friends in Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, and Kansas. During her return voyage to England in 1797, Routh's ship was attacked by French privateers. Routh made another journey to the United States in 1804, where her husband Richard died. After a year, Routh again returned to England. Routh died at Spitalfields, London, on July 18, 1817, after attending the London Yearly Meeting.

This collection is comprised of the handwritten journal of Marth Routh and a photocopy of the journal. The journal describes her voyage from London to Boston, which she took in 1794. Entries describe the small group of Quakers that Routh traveled with, including Thomas Scattergood, as well as descriptions of the weather, communications with other ships during the journey, and Routh's struggles with illness on board. The journal ends when Routh arrives in Boston, and her last entry describes her Quaker hosts there, and the burial of a man who died on board the ship.