Letter written by Philena Dinsmore Harris in 1869
Philena Dinsmore Harris of Auburn, NH entered the annals of Windham's history when she married William Calvin Harris in 1853. However, Philena had ancestral connections to Windham through her great-grandfather David Dinsmoor, nephew of John Dinsmoor, the ancestor of all of the Dinsmoors in Windham. Philena and William began their family in 1857 with the birth of their first child, Albert-Miles. In 1861, the couple welcomed their second son, William Samuel Harris, into the world; William would go on to document the genealogy of the Harris family as well as preserve Windham's history in his numerous newspaper articles and publications. The couple's third, and last, child, Mary-Ella, was born in 1866. Just three years after the birth of Mary-Ella, Philena penned a letter to her friend Nellie, unknowingly documenting every day life in Windham during the 1860s for future generations.
Philena begins the letter by thanking Nellie for sending her "checked shirts" for Albert, and noted that he was already wearing the shirts. She then describes what a typical day would be for a housewife and mother in Windham in the era. She had "plenty to do, sewing, knitting, mending mittens, stockings & pants." Her letter was written in January, hence the need to mend mittens for her children. In one week, Philena had also "washed, ironed, cut & made my calico dress, made 21 pies, 15 loaves of bread (including biscuit, cake & c), mended mittens, stockings, put some ears on the boys caps, put sleeves on Ella's waist and finished a stocking for E, besides all the other daily routine of work." Although she wishes she "could accomplish as much every week," she writes that she does not plan on doing so.
Interestingly, Philena mentions a "big Festival" that was held at the Town Hall, which raised "$242.00 clear." The object of the festival was to "pay the Parsonage debt." The festival included a "prize tree, fish pool, post office, candy table, & tables of articles to sell." Not only did the affair draw residents of Windham, "the upper hall was well filled, people from Salem, Derry." There were also "5 long tables in the lower hall filled twice & the waiters eat at the 3rd table." After the dinner had concluded there were "so many pies & things left that with the addition of some oysters we had another supper the next night. The second supper drew a crowd of over one hundred people and raised a whopping $28.
Philena also wrote that "there is but little snow here, but has been first rate sleighing for some time." Her husband William had "been very busy getting logs to mill," and her two sons were attending school. In fact, Albert was also attending a singing school twice a week. She also writes of her relatives, relating that "Mr. Coult & Sally came down here last Monday" and that "Grandma has been nicely this winter so I have had an opportunity to go out evenings much as I please - so far." In addition to visits from family, Philena expected a friend of hers to move to Windham soon and was quite pleased with the idea: "Mr. & Mrs. Bond (Ann Plummer) are going to move to our village next spring, he has bought Milan Anderson's house, won't that be nice?"
Philena then concludes her letter by writing of the various Christmas presents received by herself and her family. Her husband received a pair of suspenders, she received a comb, "G" (possibly "Grandma") received a tippet (a shawl worn by women), William received a picture book, and Mary-Ella received a "little earthen dog." Curiously, she does not mention what, if anything, Albert received for Christmas. However, she does tell her friend Nellie that "[o]ur Christmas presents were rather small in comparison with yours."
Philena begins the letter by thanking Nellie for sending her "checked shirts" for Albert, and noted that he was already wearing the shirts. She then describes what a typical day would be for a housewife and mother in Windham in the era. She had "plenty to do, sewing, knitting, mending mittens, stockings & pants." Her letter was written in January, hence the need to mend mittens for her children. In one week, Philena had also "washed, ironed, cut & made my calico dress, made 21 pies, 15 loaves of bread (including biscuit, cake & c), mended mittens, stockings, put some ears on the boys caps, put sleeves on Ella's waist and finished a stocking for E, besides all the other daily routine of work." Although she wishes she "could accomplish as much every week," she writes that she does not plan on doing so.
Interestingly, Philena mentions a "big Festival" that was held at the Town Hall, which raised "$242.00 clear." The object of the festival was to "pay the Parsonage debt." The festival included a "prize tree, fish pool, post office, candy table, & tables of articles to sell." Not only did the affair draw residents of Windham, "the upper hall was well filled, people from Salem, Derry." There were also "5 long tables in the lower hall filled twice & the waiters eat at the 3rd table." After the dinner had concluded there were "so many pies & things left that with the addition of some oysters we had another supper the next night. The second supper drew a crowd of over one hundred people and raised a whopping $28.
Philena also wrote that "there is but little snow here, but has been first rate sleighing for some time." Her husband William had "been very busy getting logs to mill," and her two sons were attending school. In fact, Albert was also attending a singing school twice a week. She also writes of her relatives, relating that "Mr. Coult & Sally came down here last Monday" and that "Grandma has been nicely this winter so I have had an opportunity to go out evenings much as I please - so far." In addition to visits from family, Philena expected a friend of hers to move to Windham soon and was quite pleased with the idea: "Mr. & Mrs. Bond (Ann Plummer) are going to move to our village next spring, he has bought Milan Anderson's house, won't that be nice?"
Philena then concludes her letter by writing of the various Christmas presents received by herself and her family. Her husband received a pair of suspenders, she received a comb, "G" (possibly "Grandma") received a tippet (a shawl worn by women), William received a picture book, and Mary-Ella received a "little earthen dog." Curiously, she does not mention what, if anything, Albert received for Christmas. However, she does tell her friend Nellie that "[o]ur Christmas presents were rather small in comparison with yours."