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A Diary in Life of Anne

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Submitted By Kina329
Words 1986
Pages 8
Dr. Kristin Redfield
English 131-800
13 March 2014
A Diary in the Life of Anne Bradstreet: 1612-1672

May 1628
“If ever two were one, then surely we. If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;
If ever wife was happy in a man, Compare with me, ye women, if you can”
(Bradstreet: "To My Dear and Loving Husband").

I am so excited at this moment for I am about to marry a wonderful man. He is a gift from God and I treasure him. I thank God daily in my prayers for such a wonderful man. I met Mr. Bradstreet-Simon, when he began to work with my father. He and my father worked in service of the Earl of Lincoln. Dad had invited him over to dinner with us. I still remember the first time he came to our house. I was in my room and mama called me for introductions. Upon first laying eyes on him, I thought him to be a nice looking man. As he grew a closer relationship with my father and visited on a regular basis, I grew very fond of him and today, at the age of 16, I am marrying the love of my life, Mr. Simon Bradstreet. Recently, mother and I have heard father and Simon speak of journeying to America. I do not know if that will happen but I know that I will follow wherever my husband leads.
A. Bradstreet

June 1630
"I found a new world and new manners at which my heart rose [up in protest]"
(Bradstreet).
Wow, this is a grueling trip. It turned out that Simon and father were speaking about going to America. We boarded the Arbella headed for America in March. It is now June and we are landing in a little while. This ship is cold and we have experienced people dying but that will not stop us on this journey. America will be a better place with greater opportunities. We are going to a place called Salem in the Massachusetts colony in America. Simon and my dad both have all kinds of ideas about what they want to do when we reach America. At this point I have no idea what will happen but I am ready to begin this new chapter in my life.
A. Bradstreet
September 1632
“And if chance to thine eyes shall bring this verse, With some sad sighs honor my absent hearse;
And kiss this paper for thy dear love's sake, Who with salt tears this last farewell did take”
(Ellis, The Works Of Anne Bradstreet, Before the Birth of One of Her Children, 393.). I am a mother. I just gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. We call him Samuel. Although Simon is away a lot, he is great father and a loving man. Giving birth and the whole pregnancy process gives me a new respect for my mother. She has been a great help to me in this endeavor. I look forward to having more children so that Sammy can have some playmates. We have moved from the colony where we lived to another one called Newe Towne. Simon and father have been having meetings with the other men. They are contemplating opening a school. I pray that this happens and that one day my son will attend. I plan to teach him all that I know and all that he should know about life, history, literature. My parents did it for me and I will do the same for my children.

January 1639
“By night when others soundly slept, And had at once both case and rest,
My waking eyes were open kept And so to lie I found it best.” After many hours and many meetings and trips and debates among the men, it has come to pass. The New College is open. It has been for three years now. This learning institution is great and instrumental in the education of our ministers. I cannot wait until my son is old enough to attend. I want him to have every opportunity to be great. I know that he will learn all that he needs to know to succeed in this life. The college’s name has recently been changed to Harvard, in honor of Mr. John who left part of his estate to the school. When the school opened, Simon and father have become more political in their aspirations. I have heard them speak of the governor position, a position that father has already achieved. I know that God’s will is going to be done in this situation.
A. Bradstreet

December 1643
A worthy Matron of unspotted life, A loving Mother and obedient wife,
A friendly Neighbor, pitiful to poor, Whom oft she fed, and clothed with her store;……
Religious in all her words and wayes, Preparing still for death, till end of dayes:
Of all her Children, Children, liv'd to see, Then dying, left a blessed memory (Bradstreet, An EPITAPH On my dear and ever honoured Mother Mrs. Dorothy Dudley, who deceased December. 27. 1643). It is with a heavy heart that I am writing this entry. I have lost a dear and loving friend, my wonderful mother, Mrs. Dorothy Dudley. She was not just a mother to me. She was an instructor, a friend and a mentor. She was always there for me for every event in my life, the good and the bad. She will be greatly missed. I am encouraged by the words of Christ when he said, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14: 1-3 KJV). I know that she now lives with Jesus in the mansions that he has prepared for us and that when I leave this life, I will see her again.
A.Bradstreet

May 1650
“Thou ill-form'd offspring of my feeble brain, Who after birth did'st by my side remain,
Till snatcht from thence by friends, less wise than true, Who thee abroad expos'd to public view,” (Bradstreet, Author to Her Book). Rev. John Woodbridge has gone to England where he has commissioned the publishing of some of my work in a book called The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America, By a Gentle woman in those parts. I cannot believe it. This is a bittersweet occasion for me because although I had no knowledge of these actions, I am elated that it has come to pass. And although, to the public, I have to deny my work, it is wonderful to see it in print. This may be the first step in getting the men in the new world to acknowledge the wealth of knowledge that women offer. It is with this thought that I, silently, applaud the efforts of Rev. Woodbridge. I thank God for him.
A. Bradstreet
July 1653
“Within this tomb a patriot lies/ That was both pious, just and wise,/ To truth a shield, to right a wall,/ To sectaries a whip and maul,/ A magazine of history,/ A prizer of good company/ In manners pleasant and severe/ The good him loved, the bad did fear,/ And when his time with years was spent/ In some rejoiced, more did lament./ 1653, age 77”
(Woodlief, Biography of Anne Bradstreet, Epitaphs). Mr. Thomas Dudley, a great man, my father has gone from this life and on to the next. It is with much sorrow that I express my ever-living gratitude to him. He has always been a constant in my life. He was a father, a hero, a provider and protector. I can remember a many nights when he was a mentor and counselor to Simon. We all will miss him greatly. I pray that he has found Mother and that they anxiously wait for my chance to join them.
October 1660 “Till at the last they felt their wing, Mounted the trees, and learned to sing;
Chief of the brood then took his flight To regions far and left me quite.
My mournful chirps I after send, Till he return, or I do end:”
(Bradstreet, In Reference to Her Children). I am elated at his time. My second son has matriculated from Harvard University, having followed in the footsteps of his brother, Sam. Simon and Sam were both great students and I am proud to be their mother. Life will take them to high heights, I am sure. Simon is to England but I am assured of his safe return and patiently wait for the days when I will be a grandmother. I hope to be just as wonderful to my grandchildren as my mother was to my children.
August 1666
"And when I could no longer look, I blest His grace that gave and took,
That laid my goods now in the dust. Yea, so it was, and so 'twas just.
It was his own; it was not mine. Far be it that I should repine" (Bradstreet, Upon the Burning of Our House). I have a heavy heart again as I pen this entry. Recently, we have lost most of our worldly possessions to fire. This is especially hard as I don’t have my loving and wise mother and her arms to hold me. I feel that I need an encouraging word from her right now or just to see her smiling face. I am reminded of Job in the scriptures. Job lost all that he possessed; even his children but he never once cursed God. That is how I feel right now. I know that the Lord gives and also takes away and I have no right to feel displeased with my plight. I thank God that my children, husband and I are safe. We lost lots of goods- clothes, furniture and books, but we are all in good health and in good spirits.
January 1671
“In long fitt of sickness which I had on my bed, I often communed with my heart and made supplications to the Most High, who sett me from that affliction”
(Campbell, Anne Bradstreet and Her Time, 7). I have lived a wonderful life, even more so, on paper. God has given me many years and many gifts over the years. I have wonderful children and the best husband. My father and mother were the greatest parents in the world. Life has taken me on many journeys, through many ups and downs and through it all, I still stand with my faith in God and love for my family intact. I do not know when my time will come but I anxiously await the day.

Works Cited "Anne Bradstreet biography". annebradstreet.com. January 2007. Web March 2014
Campbell, Helen. Anne Bradstreet and Her Time. The Echo Library. 2004. Print
Cutter, Abram E. and Ellis, John Harvard, Ed. The Works of Anne Bradstreet in Prose and Verse. Cambridge: 1867. Print De Grave, Kathleen. "Anne Bradstreet". The Literary Encyclopedia. 2006. Web. March 2014
Gordon, Charlotte. Mistress Bradstreet: The Untold Story of America's First Poet. New York: Little, Brown, 2005. Print
Nichols, Heidi, Anne Bradstreet. P&R Publishing, Philipsburg, 2006. Print
PoemHunter.Com - “poemHunter.com/Anne Bradstreet." Poemhunter.com.
n.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2014.
"Anne Bradstreet." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2014. -----<http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/anne-bradstreet>.
The Holy Bible Containing the Old Testament and the New. Cambridge: Printed by John Field ..., 1668. Print.
Woodlief, Ann. "Biography of Anne Bradstreet.” n.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2014. <http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/Bradstreet/bradbio.htm>.

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