05/20/2026
This is the most exciting accession the Document Center has had in a while! It is a diary kept by Mary Ann Peabody from 1841 until her death in 1865 (with very few entries in later years). The diary starts as she is finishing up high school, and she soon moves on to a career in teaching. Many diaries from this time period are very brief or dry, but Mary was a wonderful writer who shares her life with a great sense of humor!
These are some of her shorter entries about teaching. The school examination was an annual visit by the School Committee, mainly intended to assess a teacher's performance, which was rated on how well her students knew their lessons and how well she managed the children's behavior in the classroom. We actually have the School Committee report from this year at the Document Center, and it turns out she did a great job with the kids and didn't need to be so stressed over the examination!
B[oxford] June 10, 1844
I commenced teaching school in District No. two. I have Forty-two scholars, board at Major Perley's. I have a very difficult school to discipline.
Boxford Sept 22, 1844
Next Thursday, my school is examined. What an awful occasion! May I escape without broken bones or many flesh wounds.
