The Diary of Prudence Thomas
March 13, 1631
Dear future
grandchildren,
Oh marry! Where shall I begin? My
life here in the Massachusetts colony is just so fascinating it will take thee
hours to read! I am writing this to tell thee all about the struggles I face
everyday and about the Thompson legacy.
Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself.
I am Prudence Phoebe Thompson and I am part of a twelve-person family that
lives in a big town named Boston. My family came here on a ship called the
Mayflower eleven years ago in 1620 when I was only one (1,History Alive). My sister Ester, my three
brothers Jared, Emanuel and Rufus, and I were born in England. My family is nether poor nor wealthy we are
considered middle class (4,
www. colonial Williamsburg.com). My father is a blacksmith and my mother
is a seamstress for local families and friends. My father did not have much
business back in England because there were many blacksmiths around, He did
much better when we came here to practice our own religion (5, If you lived in colonial times).
Oh, marry he plenty of business here!
The main reason my family came to
the colonies was because we were sick of having to go to the same church as
everyone else we wanted to practice our own puritan religion (6, HA). We were considered separatists for doing this because we
separated from the church king James said everyone had to go to (7, HA).
Just to give
you a visual of my appearance I will describe myself. I have curly blond hair
and dark emerald green eyes. I wear the same style of clothes as my mother ever
since I was six (8, 18 century
clothing). My family had enough money to buy materials to make silk
dresses for my mother, sisters, and me! We also had enough money to buy
materials to make my father, and brother’s fine waistcoats and beaches. This
clothing was what wealthy people like us wore (18 century clothing).
I
must be going now my candle is nearly out and I need my rest before the
cockatal wakes me. Perchance thee can read my other entries to learn more about
my family and my life in the Massachusetts Bay colony.
Fare thee well,
Prudence Thompson
April 10, 1631
Dear future
grandchildren,
Good day to you! In this entry I
wish to tell our every day education at school in the Massachusetts Bay colony.
When we go to school we go to Mr.
& Mrs. White’s house (1,
If you lived in colonial times). Mrs. White is our schoolteacher she is
very strict. Whenever she checks my hornbook she always gives a negative comment
on it. Our school is called Dame school (2, IYLICT). Mrs. White teaches us how to read and write using a
hornbook (3, IFYLICT).
Once we know how to read and write everything on the hornbook we are all done
with school (4, IYLICT).
The boys could move on in schooling but the girls had to stay home and help
their Mothers work (5,IYLICT).
This was unfair in many ways because I love learning new things. Mr. & Mrs.
White have a daughter named Amity who is my very best friend. When school has
finished we quiz each other on what we learned that day. Amity and I are the
best readers in my class. I read books that my parents read such as Aesop’s
Fables and Robinson Crusoe (6,IYLICT).
The punishments were very cruel here
at school. You would get the rod for the littlest things. If a boy forgot a
piece of wood for the hearth he would sit farthest away from the hearth as
possible (7,IYLICT).
“There is no exception for thee not to bring a simple piece of firewood when
asked” the schoolmaster would always tell Emanuel. Emanuel always bosted to me
about schooling since we girls had to stay home. We were badly punished if a
sibling spilled the beans on another sibling about him/her complaining about
school. My Mama and Papa would punish us because they were the ones paying for
our schooling (8, IYLICT).
Well I must be going now the sun is
getting hotter by the second and it’s just about lunchtime we are having
pottage that my mother has been working on for a week or so. My father does not
like it when I’m late for a meal because of writing in my diary, so good day to
thee! I hope to write more to thee soon!
Fare thee well,
Prudence Thompson
May 27, 1631
Dear future grandchildren,
The wind is howling so wild and free.
The air is warm as it blows though my thick curly hair. My siblings are playing
with poppets and knickers. I’m sitting under an old maple tree that was here
before my colony came in 1620 (1,History
Alive).
Well I better get going. In this
diary entry I will tell you about church and our religious beliefs. My family
are separatists. In England king James wanted 3everyone to belong to the same
church, The Church of England (2,
HA). But my family had different beliefs and that’s why we came to
Massachusetts (3, HA).
Sunday
is the Lord’s Day (4, If you lived in colonial Times).
On this day we can’t do any work (5,FYLICT). I love not having to work on Sunday. It gives me a
brake for having from a week worth of work.
On Sunday everyone gathers in a meetinghouse to pray, sing, and read The
Bible (6,IYLICT).
Little Seth has to sit in a different part of the church so he would not
interrupt others (7,IYLICT).
If anyone talked, whispered, laughed, or fell asleep they would get a crack on
the head from the churches tithing man (8,IYLICT). The tithing man would use a long stick, which was the
color of mahogany (9, IYLINCT).
At one end there was a wooden knob and at the other a furry fox tail (10,IYLICT). Then tithing man
would use the fox tail to tickle under old people noses when they fell asleep (11, IYLICT) Molly, Rebekah,
Phineas would always make rude comments about the tithing man or of Mr.
Harris’s weird hair doo. If they were caught they would get a whack on the head
from the tithing man. This happened quit often. Sometimes I would laugh too.
Church was very long. We had to go for two hours in the morning and for another
two hours in the afternoon (12,IYLICT).
Oh, marry it was a tiring day! How many hours do thee go to church?
I
must go to my bedding now and rest for the night.
Fare thee well,
Prudence Thompson
June 23,1631
Dear future
Grandchildren,
It is a beautiful day. The sun is
shining so hot it feels like you are forced eggs in a frying pan. The sweat has
drenched my hair so much it looks like I have just jumped into a pond.
Yesterday,
as I was at the tavern in Salem picking up beer for father, I noticed that a
young man the same age as Rufus inform the owner of the tavern that he had made
a bad batch of beer. It was against the law for a brewer to make bad beer (1, If you lived in Colonial times).
Father did not care because he knew the owner and he also knew he would not
make a bad batch purposely.
Everyone had to go to the
meetinghouse on the Lord’s Day (2,
IYLICT). On Sunday thee could not laugh or play games. If thee did you
would get the rod (3,IYLICT).
My father always looked silly on Sunday because he could not shave his beard (4, IYLICT). It was a good
thing I could not kiss my father on Sunday for this was also against the law (5,IYLICT).
I did not break the laws often, but
Lydia, Phineas, and mama sometimes.
Lydia and Phineas would laugh or giggle at least ten times on the Lord’s
Day. It was so foolish of them because they knew they were breaking the law. Mother
would often argue and talk back to father this was also against the law (6,IYLICT). My older siblings
knew better but once in a while they would do something they were not suppose
to do. My younger siblings Seth, Rebekah, and Molly did break the laws
frequently. When Molly would bake she would almost always make bad bread. It was
against the law to do this (7,IYLICT).
Molly would either leave it on the hearth for to long or leave an ingredient
out. Seth, Molly, and Rebekah would get an exception because they were little
and they didn’t know Mother always said. This made it harder to punish them.
When Ester, Rufus, Jared, Emanuel, Lydia, Phineas, or I would complain about their
unfair exception Father would always say, “they are to young to know better.
You are old enough to know better and take the punishments that come to you”.
This annoyed all of us older kids very much.
Well I must be going molly and Seth
are calling me to come play knickers with them.
Fare thee well,
Prudence Thompson
July 14, 1631
Dear Future Grandchildren,
It’s been a
long day full of tasks and more tasks. My father hates a messy house. We have
to make everything we use, from bread to cabinets (1, If you lived in colonial times). My Uncle who
lived in Salem was a skilled Whaler who killed whales for their fat (2, History Alive), My Uncle
would sometimes bring us a piece if whale fat so we could make candles and oil (3,History Alive). I was in
charge of making the candles. This was hard with a big family because you need
many candles and we are so limited to the amount of fat my Uncle brought us.
Emanuel and Jared are usually at school. Rufus is out of school so he helps
father with his work. Ester and I would make the clothes (4, IYLICT). We would have to
spin the wool, weave and knit the clothing (5, IYLICT). Mother would be in charge of the
cooking. She was a very good cook! Phineas and Lydia were in charge of weeding
and picking the herbs from garden. My father was always cooped up in the shed
in the back yard doing his work. Father had to make at least 50 different shoes
for horses and oxen in just one week (6, IYLICT).
As you can see, work here is very
important and tiring even after just one day.
Fare thee well,
Prudence Thompson
August 22, 1631
Dear Future Grandchildren,
I’m just finishing my morning tasks
and mother always says, “Once your chores are finished you have time to play.”
I was looking forward to it. But then I saw Molly, Ester, and Seth were playing
a popular game called Blind Man Bluff (1, If you lived in colonial times). Mother gave me the Task of
collecting mulberries from the mulberry bush so she could make a mulberry pie.
I envied Ester, Molly, and Seth. They were always getting their chores done so
quickly so they could play. It was the most beautiful day anyone in the
Massachusetts Bay Colony has seen in ages. This made me want to play even more.
Blind Man’s Bluff is just one of the
games we play. We also sing and play “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush” (2, IYLICT). Singing is what
girls love best (3, IYLICT ).
When we actually got time to play, we would play until mom called us in for
chores (4, IYLICT). I
was so excited for this weekend; we would have a whole day of play to celebrate
a good harvest (5, IYLICT).
My sister Ester and I would always sew samplers for these events. We love to
stitch the Alphabet and pictures into our samplers (6, IYLICT). It seemed like boys and men have
all the fun. They would have a training day once e month where they would have
fighting matches; have running races and shooting contests (7, IYLICT). Rufus and
Emanuel would always come home and boast about all the fun they had and this
made me very jealous.
Fare Thee well,
Prudence Thompson
As I reflect
on all that I have learned about Colonial times, I would rather live in the 21st
century.
I would rather live in the 21st
century because you don’t have to do as much work just to survive. In colonial
days you had to make and plant everything you use such as clothing, horse and
oxen shoes, and fruits and vegetables. Now a days you can just buy these items
at stores. Another reason I like living in the 21st century is that
children had to work all day to help the family live. They would do their
morning tasks, then go to school; they would come back and work till it was
time for bed. In the 21st
Century you go to work for certain hours of the day and that is it for that
day. In Colonial times you would get punished if you didn’t do your work
morning and evening.
The second reason why I would want
to live in the 21st century is the laws. Laws were way more strict than
they are now. If a baker made bad bread, he/she would get punished for that
mistake. The punishments were a lot different and cruel. They would hang people
for those that committed a crime rather than put them in jail like we do. You
were punished greatly for the littlest things. There was also laws that said
women can’t vote only the men that were members of the church could vote.
The last reason I would rather live
in the 21st century was for my schooling. In Colonial times it was
unfair that girls could not go on with their schooling after Dame School. If a
girl wanted to be educated, her mother would have to take time to teach her. The
mothers would not have to teach their daughters if they were allowed to
continue their education. In the 21st century, girls can do as much
schooling as men. Girls have different rights than they did in colonial times,
we can vote!
As you can
see there are many reasons why I would rather live in the 21st
century. You can see from my examples how much harder the Colonial people
worked, how much less schooling they had, and finally, how strict of laws they
had to follow. In the 21st century we have many laws, but if you are
a good person, they are easy to follow and if you make bad bread, the only
punishment you receive is that your family won’t eat it! I like the idea that
as a girl, I can go to as much schooling as I want to; it is up to me, not
anyone else. For all these reasons, that is why I like the time period I live
in and would not trade it for Colonial times.
