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University of Michigan William L. Clements Library

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David Barrows log books, 1851-1852

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Summary

Creator:
Barrows, David, 1830-1912
Abstract:
Between January 1851 and April 1852 David Barrows of Nicetown, Pennsylvania, kept these two paper-bound, stab-sewn diaries, which he labeled on their covers as "log books." He recorded his experiences working in his family's hosiery manufacturing business, providing many details of working with his siblings and mother on mitts, hose, stockings, and other products. Barrows frequently wrote about family dynamics, including content reflecting a troubled and abusive relationship with his father, who lapsed into bouts of drunkenness, verbal abuse, and absenteeism. In addition to these confrontations with his father, Barrows wrote other entries reflecting his efforts to secure his independent economic future and his struggling efforts to court Annie Rusby.
Extent:
2 volumes
Language:
English
Authors:
Collection processed and finding aid created by Jayne Ptolemy, September 2023

Background

Scope and Content:

Between January 1851 and April 1852 David Barrows of Nicetown, Pennsylvania, kept these two paper-bound, stab-sewn diaries, which he labeled on their covers as "log books." He recorded his experiences working in his family's hosiery manufacturing business, providing many details of working with his siblings and mother on mitts, hose, stockings, and other products. He wrote about maintaining the ledger and dealing with bank accounts, receiving orders, repairing and sourcing tools, tracking wool prices, washing and tying stockings up, purchasing and getting yarn dyed various colors, contracting out the spinning of wool into yarn, working with the frame and loom, and other related business activities, providing insight into family-run manufacturing operations. Several entries reflect the broader economic environment, including a robbery of yarn from the family's shop (February 23, 1851) and a meeting of local stocking weavers to address some men "working under price" (March 10, 1851; March 12, 1851).

Barrows frequently wrote about family dynamics, including how he spearheaded business affairs during his father's trip to England, how his parents had to sleep in the front room due to stockings being hung in their chamber (April 1, 1852), working alongside his brothers and sisters on manufacturing tasks, and making fun of a young sibling whose fingers bled while winding yarn (March 11, 1852).

The diaries include content reflecting a troubled and abusive relationship with Barrows' father, who lapsed into bouts of drunkenness, verbal abuse, and absenteeism. Barrows wrote extensively about one particular episode where he and his mother followed his father, who responded with rage, saying, "he was not going to be watched & dictated to by a Prentice boy (he meant me)... & then he began to Dam us & said he would make the blood fly when he began & then he wished us all in hell & said he should do has he liked & he'd be Damed if any body should stop him he then said he would make a man of me... Oh! Lord I comit it all into thy care & keeping this might be with my Dear Mother keep her from being hurt or kiled by my Father..." (March 13, 1852). He recounted confronting his father about the episode, his father's apologetic response, and his retort "it was his actions that I took notice of more than his word" (March 15, 1852). In addition to these confrontations with his father, Barrows wrote other entries reflecting his efforts to secure his independent economic future. On March 11, 1852, he noted his idea to start his own manufacturing operation producing "some kind of goods, that Father did not make, and then let him sell them for me to his customers."

The desire to establish his own business was likely spurred by his struggling courtship with Annie Rusby, which Barrows wrote about throughout the two volumes. He recorded when he wrote and received letters, and one entry documents her efforts to break their betrothal, "she said a great deal to me about my poor situation in life," and his bristling at being "hen pecked by a person that I intend to have for my wife" (February 27, 1852). His mother approached him about a rumor circulating that he had been secretly wed, which he denied (March 28, 1851), providing further insights into a young adult's romantic pursuits and his interpersonal dynamics while entangled in a family business.

Biographical / Historical:

David Barrows was born in England in 1830 to David and Ann Barrows. He had approximately six siblings: Ann, Jane, Sarah, William, Susanna, and John. The family emigrated to Nicetown, Pennsylvania, around 1842, where they operated a hosiery manufacturing business. By 1860 he had married Annie Rusby (1828-1902), one of the daughters of Leonard Rusby, an English immigrant and cloth finisher who had emigrated to New Jersey. David and Annie Barrows had at least two children: William (b. ca. 1856), who appears to have died in childhood, and David R. (b. 1861). David Barrows continued to live in the Philadelphia region producing hosiery and stockings until his death in 1912, and he is buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Acquisition Information:
2023. M-7912.2 .
Arrangement:

This collection is two bound volumes.

Rules or Conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Contents

Using These Materials

Info for Visitors

How to Request

Ordering Reproductions

Download PDF Finding Aid
RESTRICTIONS:

The collection is open for research.

USE & PERMISSIONS:

Copyright status is unknown

PREFERRED CITATION:

David Barrows Log Books, William L. Clements Library, The University of Michigan

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Collection

David Barrows log books, 1851-1852
Total components 3
Last indexed 2024-06-25