The Diary of Elizabeth Drinker (review)

Abstract

Book Reviews109 Now we are in a new era when it helps to be reminded of the work of the pioneers. Herbert Hadley appreciates the workers of a half-century ago, particularly Passmore and Anna Elkinton, who labored to bring Friends together. For all of this we are grateful. Lansdale, Pa.D. Elton Trueblood The Diary of Elizabeth Drinker. Ed. by Elaine Forman Crane. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1991. 3 vols., xxvi + 2398 pp. Maps, illustrations, charts, biographical directory, notes, bibliographies, and indexes. $210. Elizabeth Sandwich Drinker (1735-1807), a Philadelphia Quaker matron, kept a diary from 1758 to 1807. In the first years her entries were skimpy, but by 1778 she was committed to a daily paragraph, sometimes a page in length, in which she summarized the weather, the health of members of her family and servants, callers she had received, and the news of the day, particularly those events that impinged on her household. A descendant, Henry Biddle, published in 1889 Extractsfrom the Journal ofElizabeth Drinker and this volume has been much read and often quoted for its insight into Quaker Philadelphia of the period. Now Elaine Forman Crane and her colleagues have undertaken the immense task of transcribing the complete journals from manuscript, scrupulously reproducing spelling, punctuation , and crossouts, and preparing the entire text for publication. Included are helpful footnotes, family genealogies, brief biographies of persons mentioned, and two indexes, by name and by subject. The resulting three volume work runs to almost 2400 pages, and comprises a valuable source for historians of all sorts. Historical events such as the Revolutionary War, the establishment of independence, the election of Presidents Washington, Adams, Jefferson, the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, and growing tensions with Great Britain, as well as news of the yellow fever epidemics, the constant occurrence of fire in cities of wooden structures, an eclipse of the sun, are all mentioned in this exhaustive diary. As chief caretaker of her large extended family, Elizabeth Drinker constantly consulted with doctors and prepared doses of medicines and herbal potions, as well as advising bloodletting and leeches for ailing children and grandchildren. The editors have scrupulously investigated the various medical procedures used, and the book can consequently be consulted for information on the history of medicine. A great reader, Elizabeth Drinker also carefully recorded the books she had perused at the end of each year. A student of late eighteenth century, or early nineteenth century literature and its uses will find help from this volume. During the Revolutionary War, Henry Drinker, Elizabeth Drinker's husband, was among the Quakers banished to Winchester, Virginia. In 1778 Elizabeth was one of a delegation of women who called on George Washington at Valley Forge to ask permission to send supplies to their husbands. These women also wrote a petition to Congress, asking for the release of the men. In this they showed independence , turning down Nicholas Wain's offer to draft the petition for them, and discouraging Israel Morris when he felt it necessary to accompany them when they presented their paper. In addition, Elizabeth Drinker struggled to prevent a British officer from being quartered in her house. Students of Quaker attitudes during the Revolutionary War will doubtless benefit from a careful reading of this portion of her diary. 110Quaker History But while Henry Drinker continued to be an active Quaker, holding important posts in the yearly meeting, as well as serving on the Indian Committee, the Abolition Society, and the Westtown Committee, Elizabeth became less and less active in the Society as the years passed, and seemed little interested in its problems. The Quaker reformation, the turn to reform movements, the tightening of the discipline, and the tensions which were to result in the split of 1827, are not the subject of her pen. Although large numbers of Friends stayed with the Drinkers during Yearly Meeting, Elizabeth Drinker says little about her guests, even when they included such notables as Elias Hicks and James Mott. The visits of Quaker women ministers are rarely noted, nor do we find any references to the actions of the Philadelphia Women's Yearly Meeting. Slavery comes up only as it affects the Drinker household. The editors...