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In the reading from Woloch's book, part of Martha Ballard's diary, I thought it was great how Martha didn't even begin her career until age 42,had six kids,and had several careers such as a housewife, slaughtered livestock, spun flax, produced candles and soap, knitted cloathing, pieced quilts, raised chickens, milked cows, fed pigs, and grew vegetables. Martha also ran a buisy local practice as a healer and midwife, and did much more! This was a remarkable women in my eyes.-Katie D.

In the reading from Woloch's book, part of Martha Ballard's diary, I liked how her diary was at once a professional log, a family record, and a community record, because of her continual involvement with clients, neighbors, and local happenings.- Katie D.

I thought it was interesting too how her diary did cover all points of her life, not just about her being a good wife or a good mother or a good midwife or what have you.  That was one aspect of her diary that stood out from the diaries we have looked at previously.  The diaries from the other periods seemed more concerned with making the writer look like a good Christian or the proper woman of the time, like she wrote it because she knew that it would be read some day and that she wanted to make sure her decendants knew what a wonderful person she was.  While Martha Ballard may have had the same intention it also seems as though she wanted to keep the record more for herself and her children then to show how good she was. --Mary P.

In her diary, Martha Ballard mentions a man by the name of Mr. Ballard a couple of times, which I’m assuming is her husband. I was curious as to how much control he actually had over her life. I got the impression that midwives were usually widows or were unattached to a man. Does that make her case unusual? She is very independent and very busy, and she seems to do a lot of her healing and midwife duties on her own. -- Jennifer Feldhaus

In response to Jennifer about Mr. Ballard, who I too assume is her husband, I suppose that he had as much control over some aspects of her life as most men did over their wives.  But I also got the impression that he is not always/not often at home.  Frequently she wrote about him being off surveying somewhere.  But also Martha was an older woman, who had already given birth to children, who did have a vocation and so she did have probably slightly more control then most.  At the same time however, she is still known as Mrs. Martha Ballard and her role as a housewife and mother and grandmother takes presidence over her role as a midwife. --Mary P.

I think Martha uses the name Mr. Ballard, who I am sure is her husband, out of respect and love for her husband as the provider and business man that he is.  I know when I was young it was not uncommon for couple who were elderly at that time to refer to themselves as Mr. Smith and Mrs. Smith.  Also couples who were business people tended to call each other by their formal names.  I am a big fan of the old T.V. series The Walton’s.  The Godseys were characters in the show that called each other Mr. Godsey and Mrs. Godsey.  They didn’t often use their first name when they where addressing each other. ---Cheryl

While reading over Martha's diary online, I was surprised to read the section about Martha's son and eventual daughter-in-law.  The couple had a child out of wedlock but the courts were less concerned with their immoral behavior but rather identifying the father so that the community would not be responsible for supporting the mother and child.  Is this evidence of the ongoing shift from a religious to a secular society ? --E. Hufford

When reading Martha's diary dated the 9th of July 1806, I was appalled when reading of the Purrinton murders.  I was shocked in the sense that one does not usually attribute such horrific behavior to that time.  Many people today blame suicide-homicides on the society in which we live.  I found it intersting and horrifying that such atrocities did happen even two hundred years ago.--E. Hufford