1934-1938 Depression-Era Diary of a Childless, Middle Aged Woman Keeping House in Small-Town New York

On offer is a 5-year diary describing in detail the life of a woman in upstate New York during the Great Depression.

The author of this diary is Lena J. (Ebblie) Robinson (1889-1963). She is married to William Garrett Robinson (1888-1981) and together they live in Lowville, Lewis County, New York. William was born in New York City and worked in sales, at different points selling real estate and working at a rubber/tire store. Lena was born in Lowville and worked as a teacher. They married in 1914. In 1917, William requested an exemption from the World War 1 US Army draft, claiming his reason for exemption as “physically unfit and dependent wife”. William grew up in an affluent home with many servants. However, our research shows that his adult life proved to be more of a struggle. Lena seems to have stopped working early into their marriage, and William found himself unemployed at points. They did not have any children.

Lena wrote in her diary every single day for five years, from January 1, 1934 through December 31, 1938 (and even filled the two Memoranda pages at the end). During the time of her writing Lena was middle aged, 45 to 49 years old. She filled her days with common women’s tasks of the time: cooking, baking, cleaning. She also takes care of her father, remarking on taking her Dad ‘uptown’ many days [she notes in the Memoranda section that he died on January 20, 1936]. She plays Monopoly and cards, reads,  attends dinner at friends' homes, and welcomes guests to her own home. She writes throughout the Great Depression without making any mention of wanting or going without. 

Some excerpts  from her diary gives the flavour of her entries: 

Baked cleaned took Dad uptown for hair cut. Mrs Delsin called in P.M. [July 27, 1934].

Made fruit cakes ..... up to [ ] in P.M. & helped make headcheese cards in evening. [Mar 29, 1934].

Washed made fried cakes. Uptown. ... surprise party at Effies 45 doz doughnuts, sandwiches after cards, danced. Home 2:00 A.M. [Jan 21, 1935].

Pleasant cooler. Picked beets, canned [ ], cucumbers, made dill pickles... [July 30, 1935]. 

“Pleasant. Hot. Did big washing. Ironing. Mopped. Mrs. Field called on me” [Aug 30, 1937]. 

Lena’s diary is a simple, yet complete look at a childless woman of middle age filling her time and aiming to maintain her marital home throughout the Great Depression.  Throughout the diary, she mentions the many people she visits with or who drop by to visit her which would enhance genealogical study of New York State. For a Gender Studies program, this is an excellent look into the role and tasks that many women in America faced at this time.

This diary measures 5.5 inches by 3.5 inches and contains 365 pages. It is 100% complete. The cover is in fair condition. It is intact but shows clear signs of wear. The binding is good as are all of the pages. The handwriting is cramped but fairly legible. Overall G.