ONE YEAR IN THE LIFE OF A TEENAGER IN CANTERBURY, N.H.
RUTH GILMAN – January 1916 to December 1916
Sue Russell, Trustee, Canterbury Historical Society
Ruth Gilman – about 18 years old
Many of us have kept a diary when a teenager, especially as young women. In these diaries, we kept our daily thoughts, secrets, and adventures of our early adulthood.
This is a story of just one year in the life of Ruth Mary Gilman born in Canterbury, N.H. on June 13, 1898. She is 17 when she starts her entries.
Ruth’s diary gives us a window into life on a farm in Canterbury and a summer away working as a housemaid at an exclusive private resort on the ocean in Chatham Massachusetts.
She writes about the simple day-to-day life of milking the cow, going out to hunt game, seeing movies with friends, doing household chores, and expressing her ups and downs.
Her leisure time is filled with writing letters and postcards, going to the movies, visiting friends and family, and spending the evenings singing and playing the piano. You would think the day ended early for someone living on a farm but Ruth and her friends and family at times stay up late into the night. Even when working at the resort, there were nights of staying out late or talking with friends.
The diary brings to life a fresh, young, and perceptive woman, one can feel her ups and downs and her joys and love of life. Ruth expresses her life with the then “modern” slang and colorful language of the times. Her diary is full of entries about cooking, especially chocolate and desserts! Silent movies are all the rage. Ruth, friends, and family seem to go see movies at least once a week. In December they went three times in one week!
As you continue to read her diary, Ruth, not yet 18, was able to secure a job as a housemaid at a summer resort. Living and working there for almost 4 months. She tells of the work that had to be done (making beds, cleaning, etc.) but tells of her swims in the ocean, playing golf, new foods to try and eat, adventures with her work friends and going out to movies, dances, and always stopping for ice cream!
Ruth worked hard and earned some great tips cleaning rooms for guests. Throughout the diary she gives you a glimpse into this world of work, play, friendship, and a budding summer love.
The resort, being exclusive and private, brought a clientele that tipped at the end of their stay. Throughout Ruth’s entries, she writes about how she is able save these tips and even sends money home. Ruth saves enough and sends $75 home but adds: “leaving me broke.” She then collects more tips and continues to save during her months at the resort. She goes out, gets new shoes, and has a good time with friends.
Like all of us, Ruth has days where she is tired or sick or as she says, “feel punk.”
August 19, 1916: “Foggy in a.m., cleared. Hot. Oh gosh, I feel punk. Got a headache. Am awful tired and have a cold coming on. Gladys did one room for me. Ate no dinner, slept all the afternoon.”
Ruth worked for almost 4 months at the Chatham Bars Inn in Chatham Massachusetts. We know from her diary that Ruth spends lots of time with friends, going to movies, swimming, and walking on the beach and don’t forget eating ice cream! When you read the diary, Ruth has many friends, both those that worked at the resort and those they met in town. She met a young man named, Weston, and through the summer they spend more time together, going to movies, taking walks on the beach, and going to his home in Barnstable. They write each other after Ruth returns home and Weston gives her a Christmas gift. Their summer in Chatham was the beginning of a long relationship.
After working at the resort for almost four months, Ruth comes back home to Canterbury.
Wednesday, Oct. 4, 1916:
“Well, I’m home. Four months is quite a while. We got up at seven. This forenoon we spent shopping (in Boston). We both got hats. I got music, etc. Got a lunch and went from South to North Station. Gosh, my suitcase was heavy. Started at 12:30. Bernice left before I. I had to change at Concord. Arrived 3:15. Charlie (Ruth’s brother) met me. Nothing seems very much changed. Heavens I’ve done some talking. Ate a big supper and went to bed at seven the earliest for me all summer.”
In Ruth’s diary she talks about Lee (Tallman) whom she became engaged earlier in the year in Canterbury. Later she says that the engagement only lasted 6 months. She writes how Lee had come to visit her at the resort.
Ruth writes on Oct. 19, 1916:
“Lee drove down. He Leaves for Pittsburgh tomorrow. I hope he will profit by it. Bed at 11:30. Our engagement didn’t last very long for it’s busted now. And I didn’t cry. Only 6 months.”
Finally, Ruth writes on Sunday, Dec. 17, 1916:
“More wind. Cold. The boys shoveled again today all the forenoon. We were eating dinner when Lee drove in. He spent the p.m. Asked if I had changed my mind. Poor kid. I feel so sorry for him, but it can’t be helped.”
Ruth’s last line on December 31, 1916:
What a lot has happened! Hope I will profit by it.”
Maybe the art of daily writing in a diary or journal is something we can all “profit” from!
Take time to read Ruth Gilman’s wonderful Diary of 1916. A year that captures the life of a young woman in Canterbury, N.H.
We thank Ralph Nickerson, grandson of Ruth and Weston Nickerson Jr., for the three diaries: 1915, 1916 and 1923. The original 1915 and 1923 hand-written diaries are preserved in the Canterbury Archives at the Elkins Library and in the future be digitized and published; and the 1916 diary transcribed by Ruth’s daughter, Patricia Perea, is preserved.
A SEAK PREVIEW OF RUTH’S EARLIER DIARY
January 1, 1915, to December 31, 1915
Here is a post by Ralph on a Penacook Facebook page that refers to Ruth’s January 1st entry, he writes:
“Hunting has always been a tradition in the Nickerson family. Over the years we have been able to put food on our tables, not on our walls. I recently found this newspaper article about my grandmother, Ruth Gilman Nickerson. The year was December 1914, and the article was in the local newspaper of the area. She lived in Canterbury on route 3B. I am proud to carry on the tradition of my grandmother as are members of my family.”
Ruth’s diary entry for Friday, Jan. 1, 1915 – Fair. Warm.
… “My picture was in the Boston Globe yesterday. We had Mr. Gooden get 4 of them. I looked about 30 yrs. old and they said I was 15. George Danforth came up. Went to bed about ten. No mail. Jackie had an awful fight under the barn. Nearly killed the other cat.”
Picture from Ralph Nickerson’s collection and excerpt from Boston Globe Article December 31, 1914
Here are a few more days of the life a teenager in Canterbury.
| Tuesday, Jan. 19, 1915 – Warm. Fair. “Fair. Very warm. Some cloudy. Ma cooked nearly all day. The boys hauled wood for the school. I didn’t do any thing hardly all day. Homer Charles and I took Martha up to Grange. Had a good meeting, did a lot of work. I had an awful poor program. We got home 1 o’clock. I had a letter from Alice. Clyde Fife – Vocal solo. Mrs. Lake – Reading Debate – Rifle or Shotgun for deer this year.” |
Wednesday, Jan. 20, 1915 – Sharp. Fair. “Fair. A dandy day. Homer, Ma and I went to Penacook. I took a music lesson. Got home after 12. Got dinner and worked all P.M. Robert came up. We had popcorn and milk for supper. We played “63” until 9 o’clock. Homer and I beat them twice. Bob stayed all night. Ma didn’t come home.” Thursday, Jan. 21, 1915 – Cold. Fair. “Fair. Quite cold. Got up 8 o’clock, got breakfast and worked until noon. Made a cake and it was all gone except 4 pieces at 6. Practiced this afternoon when I wasn’t reading. No mail. Went down to meadow, tried the ice and brought Gladys and Everett home with me, had supper and went down again about 6:30. Skated until 9:30. Bob came back with us. Had one tumble, had an awfully nice time. Played cards until after eleven then went to bed. There were twelve on the ice. Boys cut elm logs all day. I did my hair up for the first time. Everybody laughs at me. I should worry!” On one of the last pages of the 1915 diary, Ruth copies part of a poem by Mary T. Lathrap (1838-1895) (A WOMAN’S ANSWER TO A MAN’S QUESTION. Written in reply to a man’s poetic unfolding of what he conceived to be a woman’s duty.) “You require your mutton shall always be hot. Your socks and shirts shall fit. I require your heart to be true as God’s, and pure as heaven your soul. You require a cook for your mutton and beef. I require a far better thing. Seamstresses you’re wanting for stocking and shirts. I look for a man and a king. I long for a beautiful realm called home in a man that the Maker, God, shall look upon as He did the first and say, “It is very good.” I require all things that are grand and true, all things that a man should be. If you give this all I would take my life to be all you demand of me. You cannot do this by laundresses and cooks you can hire, with little to pay. A woman’s heart and a woman’s life are not to be won that way.” You can decide for yourself what was going on in this young 15-year-old mind when she wrote these words? Canterbury is very fortunate that Ralph’s wife, Marti, transcribed the first four months of the 1915 diary. Gilman-Nickerson 1915 Diary Transcribed to April 9th.pdf |
Read more about Ruth’s everyday life in 1916, the resort, married life, her parents and fond memories recalled by Ralph Nickerson visiting his grandmother.
A few days of life back on the farm:
Oct. 20, 1916
“Fair. I finished the work early and jap-a-lac-ed the dresser in Charlie’s room until noon. Letter from “Willie” and Ida. Charlie drove over town this a.m. and fussed around all the afternoon. I knitted, of course. Milked one cow tonight. I believe in preparedness. We all saw Margarite Clark in “Gretna Green.” It was fair. Bed at 10.”
In some towns, “over street” or “down street” referred to the primary business district or main street, likely shortened from phrases like “going down to the street to the store.”
The phrase “jap-a-lac-ed the dresser” means the dresser was finished with Jap-a-Lac, a popular brand of tinted varnish that imitated the appearance of Asian lacquerware.
Oct. 22, 1916
“Cool and clear. Well, I got thru this day alive and my grin is still with me. Worked in the barn until noon. The cows behaved very nicely this a.m. Went up to Etta’s after dinner. She made some lovely candy “Kisses in the Dark” Some name! Jimminy Xmas! How those cows acted tonight, they walked all over me and Starlight walked off as fast as she could and left me behind her holding the pail. I told her “back” that it was a nice evening.”
Oct. 24, 1916
“Same today. Did the chores and took Mother to Mrs. Rolfe’s at 8:30. Some hustling. Etta
stayed today. Letter from Mrs. Snow, Lee and Bernice. Not a word from Charlie. Went out a few minutes. Fired ata bird on the wing but missed. Four of the cattlemissing tonight. Didn’t have time tohunt them up. Went after Ma and went to the pictures. Maud Allenin “The Rugmaker’s Daughter”. “June” kicked my ankle. The tears started which made me so mad. I liked her. Couldn’t fasten my shoes. Bed at 11. Letter from Lizzie P. She told me some news. Wonder how she knew.”
Oct. 25, 1916
“Frosty this a.m. Got up at 5:30. Milked then started on horseback after the cattle. Found them without much difficulty. Had a race with one of the steers. He turned a sharp corner. Daisy (the horse) followed and I had to. Although I nearly went end over end. Mother painted nearly all day. I went out again this p.m. Saw several birds and two deer. Etta came down tonight as usual. Gosh, I am tired. Guess I’ll hike for bed at 8:30. Letter from Eddie which sounded just like him.”
Oct 27, 1916
“Quite warm. Fair. Did the chores as usual. We painted most all day. Got two splendid letters, from Weston (Nickerson) and Homer (Crowther). Also, a card from Dot. I finished up the work early tonight and we drove over street (over street probably means to town). Mother joined the Relief Corps and I went to see Mary Pickford in “Mistress Nell.” It was a corker. Mrs. Matott came home with us. Bed at 11.”
(Describing a movie as a “corker” means it was exceptionally good, impressive, or highly entertaining.)
In 1916, the Woman’s Relief Corps (WRC) in New Hampshire was a prominent civic organization focused on veteran care and patriotic education. They focused on supporting Civil War Veterans. This included providing financial aid for medical care, groceries, and housing to aging veterans and their widows; they distributed copies of the U.S. Constitution and American flags to classrooms and organized school-wide lessons on “Americanism”; supported for the NH Soldiers’ Home in Tilton. The WRC raised funds for “wards of rooms” and provided furnishings and comforts for the residents. Woman’s Relief Corps (WRC)
Photo from the Canterbury Historical Society Archives – Gilman House with family and horse and buggy lawn – photographed by George A. Gale of Belmont, N.H. (82-500.P107)
Educated speculation is the man on the left is Samuel Gilman and to his right Charles, his son. Possibly his wife, Mary, is standing. Approximate date 1880-1900’s
Photo from the Canterbury Historical Society Archives – Charles Gilman Place with Women and child on chair – (82-506.P109)
The home looks so inviting with flowers and a swinging hammock on the porch. Educated speculation is the women standing is Mary Slack Gilman and the little child, Ruth. Approximate date 1880-1900’s
Chatham Bars Inn Resort:
June 15, 1916
“Cloudy again. Breakfast every morning at 6:30 and 7. We cleaned a cottage this morning and it was a beauty – only $500 a week, WOW. Got through at 11:30. The Inn opens this a.m. Everybody in uniforms. Wrote cards and a letter after dinner and slept or tried to until supper. Went down after supper. Not much doing. Sewed on our aprons until 9:30.”
Built in 1914 by Boston stockbroker Charles Hardy, it was designed as an elegant hunting lodge and quickly became a popular summer retreat for wealthy vacationers. It is described as the “last of the grand hotels of Chatham” and still operates as a full-service, luxury, year-round resort today.
Married Life in Canterbury and Chatham, Mass.:
Ruth did marry Weston Nickerson (the young man referred to her diary) of Orleans, Mass. in Canterbury on March 28, 1918. Military records showed that Weston joined the service in July 1918 and discharged January 1919. The WWI Draft Card has him as ‘single.’ They had their first child, Weston Jr., in Canterbury on Jan 20, 1919. In the 1920 census they lived on Main Street in Chatham, Mass. (Weston’s hometown) with Weston working as a salesclerk in a grocery store and Ruth a young mother.
For reasons not known, in March of 1922, the young family with Ruth pregnant, moved to NH and Patricia “Patty” was born on July 18, 1922. Ruth writes on February 6, 1923, that she failed to keep a diary from the years 1918 to 1922. They lived on the farm until around December 1923, when Weston found work and they moved to 31 Holly St., Concord N.H near Rollins Park.
The 1923 Diary
Ruth writes of her day-to-day life and raising two small children, Weston Jr. and Patricia. It seems that they are living in the same home as her widowed mother. There are many reference to her brother, Charles living on the farm with his wife Lillian Hanaford Gilman.
The 1923 entries are no longer the thoughts and reflections of teenager but a young mother with the many demands of motherhood. Ruth gives us a glimpse of the work that needed to be done to run a home; like churning butter to sell, cleaning, sewing, planting and cooking.
Yet; she finds the time to go for walks and find the first lady slipper, pick berries at night, visit friends and neighbors, and go shopping in Concord and Manchester. There are also very trying times of her children being ill, being exhausted by the end of the day, and caring for mother, who later succumbed to her illness on Christmas Day 1925.
By the birth of their last child, William, in 1928 they are back in Chatham. They raise their children in the same home on Ocean View Terrace.
Picture from Ralph Nickerson’s collection
Fond Memories:
In a visit with Ralph Nickerson, he recalled wonderful childhood summers visiting her grandmother down in Barnstable. He would take a trolley from his home in Penacook to Concord; a train to Boston and Hyannis where he was picked up and driven to Barnstable. Fond memories abound during his many visits with his grandmother, Ruth, and his other grandmother, Emma Phillip Nickerson who also lived in Barnstable.
Picture from Ralph Nickerson’s collection
Ralph told a story of his grandmother’s last years of her life:
Ruth lived in an apartment above a doctor’s office. The patients below could hear the music coming from upstairs. If they didn’t hear the music during their office visit, they would ask to please see if she was upstairs. Ruth’s piano playing gave those patients below an enjoyable wait time!
Ralph recalls that Ruth was an organist at various events. No wonder her early diaries of 1915 and 1916 reflect her hours of practice and recitals.
From digging in “Ancestry” Ruth remarries later in life to Homer Crowther. Lucy, Homer’s sister, and Homer are mentioned in Ruth’s diary of 1916. There are letters back and forth between Ruth and Homer, he visited the resort, and possible continued correspondence later. After Ruth and Homer were widowed, they found a renewed attraction to each other and married in 1960. Ruth had lost Weston in 1945. Her marriage to Homer was brief as he died in 1964.
Ruth had a full life in Chatham. She was a “correspondent” with the New Bedford Standard Times, worked from her home in Chatham reporting on Cape Cod local government, social events, and maritime news. She was a member of the Chatham School Board and worked as a telephone operator. Ruth was a past matron and 50-year member of the Order of the Eastern Star; a charter member and first president of the American Legion Auxiliary No. 253 of Chatham; and a member of the Nickerson Family Association. She continued her community service as a volunteer and member of the Chatham Council on Aging. Ruth lived a full life and died March 25, 1987, at the age of 88. She donation her body to Dartmouth Hospital.
Ruth’s parents, Samuel Gilman and Margaret (Slack) Gilman:
A little background on Ruth’s parents, Samuel Gilman and Margaret (Slack), married in 1894 in Canterbury. He was 56 and she was 33. Samuel was a widower and had three daughters from his previous marriage. Margaret Slack (Fletcher) was also a widow, with a young son, Charles (the brother mentioned in the diaries.) Samuel had been a carpenter and farmer and she a housewife and dressmaker. Margaret’s parents came from Ireland. Work was found in the shoe shops of Worcester, Mass., and her father as a blacksmith in Vermont.
Samuel died on Dec. 27, 1906, at the age of 69. Charles being 15 and Ruth just 8 years old. The probate records show the farm going to his wife. Their mother died December 25, 1925, at the age of 65. Ruth had her share of parents dying while still a young person and both husbands dying.
Margaret J. Gilman (Slack) – The Accomplished Dressmaker:
Their mother, Margaret, was a dressmaker and seamstress. Charles or Ruth would take or pick her up from her work. It must not had been far from Canterbury. From the diary she seemed to work every day.
Doing some digging, Margaret won second prize for her “crazy quilt” at the N.H. State Fair in 1903. She even embroidered her children’s name in the quilt. (Provenance: Made by Margaret J. Gilman (1860-1925), from scraps of cloth left from making dresses for her customers. The donor, Ruth M. Crowther (1898-1987) was her daughter. Ruth had remarried in 1960 (Homer Crowther) and given the quilt her mother had made to the N.H. Historical Society in 1974. See picture of quilt: https://www.nhhistory.org/Object?id=fdffacb3-9b0a-4672-beb5-88e77f21ac4d
The Nickerson Family Association:
Is one of the largest family associations in the world. Its focus is on the research of the descendants of William1 Nickerson (1604 – 1689), the founder of Chatham, Massachusetts.
The Association was founded in 1897 by William9 Emery Nickerson, a wealthy industrialist, and the mechanical genius behind the safety razor and who, with King Gillette, was responsible for the founding of the Gillette Company. William9 Emery Nickerson’s abiding hobby was genealogy and the good fortune he derived from business enabled him to employ a full time professional genealogist, Anna Kingsbury, whose sole focus was researching and organizing Nickerson Family data from 1895 until the late 1920’s.
READ ON FOR SOME “BEHIND THE SCENES” EXTRAS
Saturday May 27 1916 “Fair, hot and cloudy. Charlie plowed this forenoon and went fishing this p.m. We worked as usual. Am rather tired. Got ready early and we went over street, took all my money out. The “Broken Coin” was great. Charlie came later. He got 12 beauties. Got home at just ten.”
The Broken Coin (1915) was a popular serial with 22 episodes, directed by Francis Ford and produced by Universal Film Manufacturing. Francis Ford himself, Grace Cunard and Austro-American actor Eddie Polo were the stars. Jack Ford, who would soon become the famous Western director John Ford, played a supporting part. The mystery adventure The Broken Coin was launched with much publicity, including a huge spread of fake coins with the effigy of king Michael III, a suggestion of two halves, and a text referring to the hiding place of the treasure. What a pity thus that nothing remains of the series! With a series of Spanish ‘cromos’, Ivo Blom tries to reconstruct this early silent serial. Grace Cunard not only starred shared in the writing of this series of 22 episodes. Ruth and friends and family may have seen many silent movies in Penacook. Like the Wonderland, a theater in Penacook in the early 1900’s. This silent era theater operated upstairs in the Exchange Hall on Main Street from 1911 to 1927.
Monday, May 29, 1916
“Hotter than ___. Ma washed this morning and I worked and did some sewing. Chandler helped Charlie this p.m. He took us to the depot and we went to Concord. Just in time for the movies at the Starr. They were great and then we tramped and tramped, got cloth for bathing suit and petticoat, a searchlight for Lee, some corsets, shoes, stockings, wall paper, etc., etc. Charlie met us. Went directly to bed with a headache.”
The “Star Theater” in Concord, NH, was a historic movie house on Pleasant Street that opened in 1915 and was a fixture in the city’s entertainment scene for decades.
Starr Theater – Concord
Phenix Hall – Concord
Phenix Hall – One screen – 500 seats N. Main Street and Warren Street, Concord, NH 03301 May have been another movie theater and maybe the dance hall mentioned in Ruth’s diary.
Monday, June 5, 1916 “Pleasant day. Didn’t sleep very well. Was rather restless. Got up before anyone and wrote a couple of letters. Fooled around all the morning. After dinner, Uncle took me to Keith’s Theater. It is a beautiful building. The show was fine. Had some ice cream. Walked around a while then came home. The folks went to a wedding and I put the kids to bed. Good night, what a job! Tucked the baby to sleep and kept the others from fighting. Went to bed rather tired at 11.”
Keith’s theatre in Boston circa 1916, was the B.F. Keith’s Theatre in Boston a premier vaudeville playhouse located across from Boston Common, with entrances on Tremont and Washington Streets. It was known for its elegant atmosphere, reserved seating, and two daily shows featuring a variety of acts.
Tuesday, June 6, 1916
“Fair, some cloudy. Slept fine. Wrote letters all the morning. We went out to Franklin Park. Saw two of the handsomest lions in captivity. Also wolves and some beautiful birds which I never saw before. One of the peacocks spread his tail. Such an immense thing. Everything was so interesting. Scratched an elk’s head. He was a dear. After supper, John and Joe took me to Aunt Maud’s again. Sang a while and went to bed. I can’t help but think of what happened a year also two years ago today and I am feeling rather blue.” (don’t know the events written about)
In 1916, the Franklin Park Zoo was a recently opened, popular attraction in Boston managed by the City of Boston Parks Department, with free public admission. Key features included the bear dens, an aviary (bird house), and popular elephants. The zoo was designed by Arthur A. Shurcliff and was noted for its modest design and open-air layout, intended to work with Frederick Law Olmsted’s original picturesque plan for Franklin Park.
Thursday, June 8, 1916 “Cloudy, rain at night. Got up about nine. Helped Aunt Maud until noon then she and I went down to the Aquarium and I more than enjoyed it. Saw quite a variety of fish, also sea lions and sea turtles. After supper, Aunt Maud took me to Gordons Olympia in Boston. It was very good. Heard a fine tenor and saw some performing birds. Got some ice cream and came home. Jim was there with some new pieces of music. Played a while before going to bed. Letter from Lee and Ma.”
Gordon’s Olympia Theatre (est. 1910s) in Boston, Mass., was established by Nathan H. Gordon of Olympia Theatres, Inc. Architect Clarence Blackall designed the building at no.658 Washington Street near Boylston Street in the theatre district. It later became the Pilgrim Theater. The building was demolished in 1996.
Sources and Footnotes
Primary Historical Records
- James Otis Lyford’s “History of the Town of Canterbury, New Hampshire, 1727–1912” (published 1912) is the definitive two-volume resource detailing the town’s history from its charter to the early 20th century. It covers colonial, Revolutionary, and economic history, featuring extensive genealogies and town records.
- Ancestry.com: searches for births, marriages, deaths, censuses and stories.
- Ruth Gilman Nickerson’s Personal Diaries: 1916 diary transcribed by daughter, Patricia Perea; 1915 and 1923 diaries gifted by Ralph Nickerson, grandson of Chichester, N.H.
- Personal Recollections of Ralph Nickerson: correspondents and interview by Sue Russell and Anne Emerson.
- Personal Pictures from Ralph Nickerson: Ruth as a teenager, mother and grandmother.
- Obituary March 25, 1987, Cape Code Times: additional information of Ruth’s life.
- Nickerson Family Association, Inc.: correspondents on Weston and Ruth Nickerson obtained from Nickerson Family Association which they obtained from Chatham Town Book; Harwick Independent 1945 and Town Reports.
Secondary Sources and Reports
- The New Hampshire Historical Society: https://www.nhhistory.org/Object?id=fdffacb3-9b0a-4672-beb5-88e77f21ac4d
- The Nickerson Family Association: https://nickersonassoc.com/2013/03/29/william-and-anne-busby-nickerson-come-to-town/
- Google Searches: Information on the “slag” used in the diaries; information on the descriptions of farm life at the time; and information and pictures association places that Ruth mentions in her entries.
- Chatham Bars Inn: Chatham Bars Inn Celebrates a Grand Centennial