Title
Description
"A Line A Day" diary that Marie Ahnighito Peary wrote in, between 1917 and 1921, with the bulk of the entries from 1918-1921. During this busy time in her life, she married Ted (Edward Stafford), gave birth to two sons - Junior (Edward Stafford, Jr.) and Buddy (Peary Diebitsch Stafford), and lost her father (Admiral Robert E. Peary). The diary chronicles her daily life for those 4-5 years, as well as brief mentions of newsworthy world events, including the 1918 flu pandemic and World War I.
Her diary includes the following people and places:
- Mother - her mother, Josephine Peary
- Dad - her father, Robert E. Peary
- Ted - husband, Edward Stafford
- Junior, or JuJu - firstborn son, Edward Stafford, Jr.
- Buddy - second son, Peary Diebitsch Stafford
- Tante - Marie Flora Diebitsch, her aunt, Josephine's younger sister
- Grossy - Maria Schmidt Diebitsch, her grandmother, Josephine's mother
- Madge - Madge Diebitsch Holt, her cousin
- Rob, or Kid - her younger brother, Robert Peary, Jr.
- Miss Wiggin - appears to be household help/nanny?
- Emily - Emily Stueart, her lifelong friend
- Mrs. Steuart - Emily's mother
- Miss Rupli - her French tutor
- Uncle - Emil Diebitsch, her maternal uncle
- Aunt Bobby - Roberta Waterson Diebitsch, Emil's wife
- Judge - Justice Wendell Phillips Stafford, her father-in-law
- Mrs. S. - Florence Sinclair Stafford, her mother-in-law
- Harry Semmes - Ted's friend from Dartmouth
- Helen - Helen Kahle Pickhardt - lifelong friend
- Marden - Aaron Marden, caretaker on Eagle Island
- Mary Rafter - lifelong friend
- Pape - Martha Percy, the Peary's cook
- Robert Nash - friend of the family
- Everett Chambers - rooming house in Portland where the Peary family stayed
- Eagle Island - island in Casco Bay off the coast of Maine, site of the Peary's retirement home, now a historic site
Form/Genre
Diaries
Object ID
MWWC0348_05_00_018_01
Language
English
Date
1917-1921
Keywords
diary, Marie Peary, World War I, WWI, Washington D.C., Virginia, Maine, Eagle Island
Disciplines
United States History | Women's History
Location of Original
Maine Women Writers Collection
Catalog Record
Physical Description of Original
diary, 15 x 13 cm
Access/Rights
Fair use: You do not need permission to use this material for personal research, in-class teaching purposes, school projects and assignments, blog posts or other non-commercial purposes. Commercial use: Please contact MWWC for use of images or documents in publications.
Preferred Citation
Marie Ahnighito Peary papers, Maine Women Writers Collection, University of New England, Portland, Maine