Aleph Number:
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[Identification of item], David Barrows Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
The David Barrows Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as a purchase in 1984.
Processed by Kimberly Sims, May 2011
Encoded by Kimberly Sims, July 2011
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory:
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
David Barrows was an English emigrant who worked as a hosiery manufacturer.
Letters, diaries, and miscellaneous papers documenting the business enterprises and family life of a young Englishman who immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1842. Ten diaries (1850-1853) present a detailed account of hosiery manufacture as a family enterprise in which both men and women participated. Community events in Nicetown, Pa., were described as well. Diaries also document the relationship between Barrow and his alcoholic father who was sometimes physically abusive to family members. The author described his efforts to attain financial independence and to create a new life for himself and his wife. Letters from Ann Rusby, a teacher, and diary entries by Barrows, reveal much about their courtship, their sexual relationship and their secret marriage. Letters to and from family members in England depict the contrast in living and working conditions between the two countries. The collection includes an assortment of envelopes arranged by method of sealing.
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