Martha's Vineyard Museum

Table of Contents

Summary Information

Biography/Historical Note

Scope and Content of Collection

Administrative Information

Index Terms

Contents of Collection

Descriptive Summary

Repository	Martha's Vineyard Museum, Gale Huntington Research Library 59 School Street P.O. Box 1310 Edgartown, MA 02539 (508)627-4441
Call Number	RU 317
Creator	Pease, William Worth, 1847-1922
Title	William Worth Pease diaries
Date	1853-1888
Extent	1 box
Language	The materials are in English.
Abstract	The collection contains six diaries, 1853 to 1888, kept by William Worth Pease of Martha's Vineyard and New Bedford, Massachusetts which describe the weather, Pease's household accounts, employment information, social encounters and family events.

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use and Reproduction Restrictions

Requests to reproduce material from this collection should be directed to the library's staff. Reproduction fees may apply.

Acquisition Information

The immediate source of acquisition and date of accession are unknown.

Bibliography

Railton, Arthur R. "William Worth Pease (1847-1892): The Start of a Dynasty's Decline." In Dukes County Intelligencer 45:4 (May 2004): 199-204.

Publication Information

Martha's Vineyard Museum

Gale Huntington Research Library
59 School Street
P.O. Box 1310
Edgartown, MA 02539
(508)627-4441

Processing Information

Finding aid prepared by Insley Julier in January 2013. Machine-encoded by Nathaniel Janick April 2014.

 Processing of this collection and creation of this finding aid was sponsored by the towns of Aquinnah, Chilmark, Oak Bluffs, Tisbury, and West Tisbury through the Massachusetts Community Preservation Act. Machine-encoding of the finding aid was sponsored by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Biography/Historical Note

William G. Worth Pease was born on 1 October 1847 in Edgartown, Massachusetts, son of William Cooke Pease and Serena Pease. His father was an officer in the United States Revenue-Cutter Service, a forerunner to the United States Coast Guard. As a young man, William Worth Pease also served in the cutter service and he resided on Martha's Vineyard until the late 1860s. In 1870 Pease married Agnes (Aggie) M. Chivers of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Agnes had immigrated to the United States in 1860 from England. At the time of their marriage, William Worth Pease moved to New Bedford, where he made a living selling wood and coal. He also served on the police force in 1874 and later, in the 1880s was employed as a machinist. Agnes Pease and William Worth Pease had three children; William C. (Willie) Pease, Edith W. Pease and Cerena M. Pease, however all had died by the year 1900. William Worth Pease died in 1922.

Scope and Content of Collection

The collection consists of six diaries, 1866 to 1888, kept by William Worth Pease of Edgartown and New Bedford, Massachusetts. The 1874 diary, which was clearly re-used, also includes a few 1853 accounts kept by William Worth Pease's father, William Cooke Pease. The diaries contain brief daily entries detailing the weather, household and business accounts. Pease also records whether he worked each day and his hours, people he encountered in the city or guests to his home, family member's excursions, correspondence with his mother, activities such as, lobstering and fishing outings, visits to shops and occasionally, the arrival of new ships to the city wharf, the health of members of his family and other information.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged chronologically.