Sat June 6th [1857]
Over to Chelsea, found Mr. Sullivan & Susan here when we got home about 5 P.M. He brought out E.A.W. sabre.
Sund. 7th
I went to chuch, heard Dr. Hedge, "Possess your soul in patience." -- Self posession, in all trials. Recommended, but very hard to attain. Weather dull & rainy. Dr. not very well taken cold.
Mond.
Mr. & Mrs. Powers arr. -- could stay only one night. We went to ride in the afternoon, took Abby Pierce home to tea and sent for Mrs. William Aspinwall in the eve. Dr. waited upon them home Mr. & Mrs. P. very agreeable. Mr. went off early in the morn to a convention, Dr. & I rode over to Chelsea with Mrs. P. then rode thro West Rox - up to Mr. Lyncolns to see Mr. Richards. I was weary indeed.
Thurs. & Frid.
I kept on about the house cleaning
Sat
Kate washed some floors.
Sund. 14th
Stormy & cold most all the week. -- Kate talked of going to see her sister -- and about Wednes. 24th she was gone two days. Last week I had a call fr A. Sullivan & Mrs Dix
Frid. 3d July
E.J.C., wife, twins & nurse arrived here in Brookline. Think of that! -- Mary & E. & I went with Dr. 4th eve. to see the fire work -- a great many accidents some deaths on the common.
We had a fine moonlight ride. Edward went home Mond. Mary & babes Wednes. Mary returned Frid. to see Mrs. Wood
8th.
Mike's wife Ellen came to help me.
Friday 10th July
Charles Rhodes died and Monday 13 Dr. W. & Mary went to Prov. to the funeral.
G.A.W., Susan & Emma & nurse arrived here Frid. noon. 10th July -- 3 years since Susan was here. We had a very pleasant visit of a week -- then they left us for Nahant Frid. 17th to spent week with the Torreys
Sat. 18th
Dr. very sick with colic.
[Sund.?] Mond.
Quite weak. Thermom -- for 3 or 4 days over 90°
Thurs.
Stormy
Frid.
Mike sick with cholera morbus
but better this eve. Sarah Homans called. I rode up to Lyncolns with Dr. I rec'd of Mr. Gibbs 9'54. Settled up with him for milk. Cherry pickers & on Thurs -- Kate had 5$ 12 (1/2?) for Rib.
This is presumably Edward Wild's sabre that he acquired while serving as a surgeon with the Sultan's army in the Crimean War. Edward and his wife Ellen had not yet arrived back in Massachusetts. It may be that his sabre was sent ahead with other belonings to Ellen's parents, the Sullivans, ahead of their arrival.
Ariexene (Porter) Aspinwall (1819-1892). She and her husband lived in the house built in 1803 by her husband's grandfather, Dr. William Aspinwall, at what is now the intersection of Gardner and Winthrop Roads. The house was torn down in 1900.
There are several people in this paragraph who remain unidentified. They are "Mr. & Mrs. Powers", "Mr. Lyncoln", and "Mr. Richards". Lincoln was a common name in Massachusetts, which makes it unlikely Mary would misspell it, but we have not been able to identify a Mr. Lyncoln."
Mrs. Dix is probably a sister-in-law of Marion (Dix) Sullivan, the mother of Anna Sullivan and Ellen (Sullivan) Wild.
Charles Crawford Rhodes, son of Mary's brother Amos, died at age 31.
The Torrey family were either relatives of George A. Wood or friends from the North Shore where he grew up.
Cholera morbus is an old term once used to describe acute gastroenteritis.
