1. "Diary of a Maid"
Posted by njwolfe on Nov-28th-03 at 6:20 PM

Today I found an interesting little book, put together by local
historical society who transcribed a diary found from late 1800-1902 written by a maid to a moderately wealthy family.  This maid was a good writer! She reported every little detail
of her life, (boring at times of course) but very well written and
interesting. Her chores and daily schedule was amazing, all the work
that went into meals and cleaning back then.  "killed a chicken today
to prepare for dinner..."  She wrote freely about her resentment towards the "woman of the house" and much hatred, bitterness and
jealousy was expressed.  Of course all the time I am thinking of
our Bridget and wondering if she felt similar.  It just made me really
realize the luxury of a vacuum cleaner, washing machine, a furnace
even!  This maid worked so hard from 6 AM till 9 PM, and was so lonely
for someone to talk to she stayed up and wrote in her diary every evening and really poured her heart out, telling all conversations
and gossip and everything going on in the house. 
  Ya never know, someday Bridget's diary could be found somewhere!
This diary wasn't found until recently in someone's attic. 

That kind of thing may be off copyright and may be eligible to contribute to the new magazine, The Hatchet.
That sounds fascinating, it really does.
Maybe you should write to Stef with the suggestion, if you are interested, that is.

(...Right now the dryer is running but the TV is off....)

Ooo, that sounds really cool, NJ, I'd love to read that.  Yes, could you imagine if they ever did find a diary that belonged to Bridget?  Besides reading about day to day life at the Bordens it might hold a clue to the murders. 

It probably isn't intersting enough for the new Hatchet,
here is one entry:

"Today Mrs. D told me to fry some of the greenest tomatoes sent
this morning, 6 comman sized and one big one, and the four little
ones that had been in the refrigerator for several days & have them for dinner when they came home at one o'clock.  I sliced the four stale ones first & when I put them in the pan they were so dead ripe
that they all went to mush & just mingled in with the gravy.  So I cooked the whole of the 6 comman sized ones which made 21 slices.  It did not look like very much for 4 people so when she came in I called
her and said, "I fried all the tomatoes but the big one & it only made this after they are fried."  She said "why Delia, how could they?" as if she didn't believe it, and then began to count them to see if I told the truth.  It hurt me so I was just in a daze & took
the clam fritters out of the oven & set them up on top without knowing
it until she said "Delia you had better put the fritters in the oven they will get cold up there & they are miserable things when they do get cold".  I have just been in a sort of stupor all afternoon.  I can't seem to get over it.  I can't really believe my senses.  It seems like a horrible dream that she could say anything like that.  Tonight she said "Delia you may fry those sweet potatoes for breakfast & slice that one big tomato for Mr. D. perhaps it will be enough & he loved them so".  If she could only have seen how I
cried after she went out.  I can't ever feel the same toward her. "
 
  See, it is so boring really but to me it is interesting.

That maid, Delia, needs to get out more.
Taking things too seriously.  I wonder how old she was.
Mistress can be cruel without knowing, or knowingly cruel.
I think frying tomatoes is really interesting.
Thanks for the transcription!

She was 22, references to men taking an interest in her but she
couldn't bear it.  She was very shy and withdrawn, just socialized with her sister. 

Do you know from where she comes?

A diary of Bridget's would be a spectacular find, almost as good as finding one by Lizzie.  I don't think either one of them would put anything specific in writing about the crimes but only general comments. That alone would be worth reading. If Bridget had a diary at the time of the crimes I'm sure Knowlton would have been aware.  Diary keeping would seem to me to have been a popular thing for that quasi-romantic era and probably something at least Lizzie would have done.

We have in the past discussed whether Bridget could read or write. There is the example of Knowlton showing her a piece of paper with writing on that she was not able to identify the contents. She claimed not to have looked at it closely but that Knowlton read part of it to her. See the Preliminary, page 48.  I'm not sure that proves she couldn't read or just that she didn't want to discuss the matter probably on advice from Knowlton.

Thanks, NJ.  I like it, it gives you a peek into the day to day life of someone.  Poor Delia, she sounds like she was oversensitive, her mistress doesn't sound like she was particularly mean?  Oh, and all those fried foods.  Fried green tomatoes, it sounds like they are in the south somewhere? 

This diary is from the shore here, Pt. Pleasant, NJ.  Delia was a
local girl, and this couple (not much older than her) came from
Philadelphia and they "thought they were Royalty".  One entry Delia
writes "they should have hired an Irish or Colored girl"....
Delia especially loathed that little bell Mrs. D tinkled to summon
her.  Mr. D was nicer to her and explained that "they were just used
to these ways from their own unbringing..."  He was more sensitive to
Delia yet told her "whatever you say about Mrs. D, you say about me,
as we are one"... (that didn't go over too well with Delia either)
  Finally, Mrs. D fired her and Delia left, she went back home (less than a mile away) and that was the end of the diary.  I really loved it, now my boss is reading it, she grew up in Pt. Pleasant and knows some descendents of Delia so I can't wait to discuss it with her! 

Thats so cool, a fellow Jersey girl!  That would be so neat if you got to talk to the descendents yourself.  That bell part makes me wonder what Bridget's reaction was to the bell that Mrs. Borden tinkled when they were in the dining room.