Product Description
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main highway on the East Coast of the United States, paralleling the Atlantic Ocean from Maine to Florida and serving some of the most populated urban areas in the country, including Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Miami. It is one of the north-south routes of the Interstate Highway System, and replaced older U.S. Highways, mainly U.S. Route 1. The oldest sections of I-95, including several toll roads, predate the Interstate System; the route has yet to be completed in the Pennsylvania-New Jersey area. Construction of the missing connection is scheduled to be completed by the 2010s (tentatively 2014). ... Read more

Book Description

Product Description
Drawing on the diaries of a midwife and healer in eighteenth-century Maine, this intimate history illuminates the medical practices, household economies, religious rivalries, and sexual mores of the New England frontier. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (49)

History of a family and their way of life, and so much more
This book is rather complicated. With excerpts from Martha's diary, we are treated to a peek at life in Hallowell Maine from 1785-1812. Part of what fascinated me was the use of herbal remedies, and other resources close to hand.

In years past I have done a bit of study into these things myself, and was intrigued by how and what herbs were used by this woman who was midwife and doctor, nurse and friend to the women in her community. He usual fee was 6 pence, but she was often paid in goods or service and often according to the means of the family she visited. One family might pay nothing, and Martha would forgive the debt, just to see the woman brought to bed with her child safely and in good health for both. Another family would take pride in paying her very handsomely with goods and money far beyond what she requested.

Martha made her way to these families in the best and the worst of circumstances. A winters night might find her plowing through waist high snow on foot. Another early morning might find her ensconced in a carriage and carried by this means to her door. This, as you can imagine was a rare event. Far more often is was on foot or horseback.

It was common in those days for women to give birth every two years. This ensured that the family would have help needed to maintain their independence, as each child soon learned tasks that helped to provide the family with support of one kind or another. What tasks learned depended mostly upon the gender of the child, and the business of the family.

The research done by Ulrich provides us with a much broader view than we would have been given by Martha's diary alone. Comparisons are made to other towns, other locations regarding births, deaths and family occupation. IT is explained in simple terms how one family's reliance on other family's for
use of needed tools or trade was key to their survival. One family might weave and trade the cloth for wool. It seems to me that if we had to rely on others more these days we might try a little harder to be nicer to each other.

This is not to say that Martha's time was without local conflicts. For instance it was not uncommon for the head of the house to be jailed for debts. This would put his family into a very difficult and embarrassing situation.

Something else that interested me and also reminded me of another book was the relationship between the midwife and the male Doctor. In the beginning things were a lot simpler and there was a great deal of cooperation between doctor and midwife. As time passed, the doctors began to feel and act in a superior manner. Eventually midwives found themselves in a much inferior position to the doctor. These things are mentioned by the author more so than by Martha. Her account is more mundane, and lends itself to the simple daily activities of the families. She kept her house, raised her family and kept local birth and death records, as well as some rather gossipy accounts of who was getting up to no good around the town.

Without Martha's careful accounting there would be little record of the families of that time. There would have been no history for her own family of the triumphs and turmoils and moves and local history involving their ancestors.
This is undoubtedly a book of history, and should be considered so by any thinking of reading it. There are plenty of dates and dry patches, but it was interesting to me none the less.

If the topic of midwifery interests you, you might want to give it a read.. or if the history of Maine is what draws you in, this might be a book for you. I confess that it was much more of a history book then I expected, but I was determined to carry on . I am glad I did, but this one will not make it to my reread shelf.

A Wonderful Peak Into the 18th Century
Laura Thatcher Ullrich is to be commended for taking a very long, handwritten manuscript and revealing to us the essence of Martha Ballard and the life she lived in Maine.Those who appreciate history and, in particular, the often untold stories of women in history, will get a glimpse inside the world of women in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.It's remarkable that Martha Ballard kept a diary and even more astounding that it didn't end up in the trash.Through Martha's eyes we see her life as a wife, mother, friend and midwife.We see the strife and disappointments, those moments of happiness as her children are married and "go to housekeeping."As was pointed out by the author, had there not been a diary, nothing would have been known about Martha Ballard or the role she played in her community.I highly recommend this book.

Bored to Tears
So boring I couldn't wait to put it down.The author took a dry, fairly boring diary and turned it into an incredibly dead, irritatingly uninteresting mess.Anyone who gives this book more than two stars must be either a)a student working on a thesis about this topic; b)a relative of the author or c)nuts.My sister-in-law and I both bought it because it was recommended (by a historian and museum curator...go know...) and it had a four-star recommendation.We are both really disappointed and neither one of us is finishing it.Stay away.

a necessary book
If you want to delve into life in the 18th century, this is the most accurate depiction of it. It also will show how important women were to the survival of a colonial and post colonial community.It is a major reference for any scholar of the 18th century. As a museum educator, it has almost become my Bible.

woman's history
We are so fortunate Laurel thatcher Ulrich wrote this book and that the diary of Martha Ballard was preserved.It give us a true look at early New England life, as well as some insight into the activities and thinking of this midwife, the problems she dealt with including rape, paternity suits, small town happenings.The issues are yesterday, today and tomorrow.Well written,and includes an appendix of medicinal ingredients, notes for each chapter with sources and references.Excellent book.I'm purchasing another as a gift to a midwife friend. ... Read more