Hi! I’m a student in Andover who is volunteering at the Andover Historical Society, and lately I’ve been transcribing the diary of a girl named Bessie Goldsmith, who lived in Andover a long time ago. Before I show you some of her entries, I thought you might want to learn a little bit about her. Bessie lived in the late 1800s with her mother, father, and brother Clarence. Her diaries begin when Bessie was ten years old and continue until her old age. Bessie’s father was a high school principal. Below is a picture of Bessie and her first diary entry.
This is Bessie when she was about 11 years old. The picture is nice, but I don't know if I would want to wear that dress!! It looks really itchy! No wonder Bessie isn't smiling.....
May 17th, 1896
We got up an hour earlier than usual this morning, and papa and started for church at ten o’clock. The church was not so full as we had expected. The sermon which was in the text ” And I saw the dead, small, and great stand below good” was very good. There were too many decratrims, but still the effect was very pretty.
To North Andover with Clarence this afternoon, and this evening papa and mamma and Clarence went to church, but I stayed home and read.
Today was not very eventful for Bessie, but it gives you a good feel about her daily life. Also, decratrims are decorative window trims. By the way, you should see Bessie’s handwriting! It’s neat,full of loops and sometimes very hard to read.And to think that she was only 10! I’m pretty sure most adults can’t write like that, and I sure can’t!
