Use Restrictions

Public Domain. There are no known restrictions.

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Loraine Breed Coburn commonplace book, C0383, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Acquisition Information

Purchased from Read'Em Again Books on May 17, 2019 by Lynn Eaton.

Processing Information

Processing completed by Amanda Menjivar in August 2022. Finding aid completed by Amanda Menjivar in August 2022.

Biographical Information

Loraine Breed Colburn was born in 1827 in Lowell, Massachusetts. She was married to Fordice (sometimes spelled Fordyce) Coburn, and they had one son who lived to adulthood named Frank Fordice Coburn, born November 12, 1849. The Coburns had two other children who both died in infancy - Adelaid Loraine and Harry Breed. Fordice passed away in 1882. It is unknown when Loraine passed away, though it was likely in the early 1900s.

Frank went on to become the principal of Lowell High School and the Lowell Normal School, making an impact on the local community. He passed away on February 11, 1908.

Scope and Content

Leather bound commonplace book kept by Loraine Breed Coburn from 1871 - 1895 in Lowell, Massachusetts. Coburn uses the commonplace book like a diary, with entries about daily activities, life events, and interactions with friends and family. Also included are poems and phrases from other sources. The book contains newsclippings and recipes that have been pasted and pinned on the pages and inside covers.

Arrangement

This is a single item collection.

Related Material

The Special Collections Research Center holds other collections focused on domestic life and diaries, such as the New Year's resolutions written by Calvin Jewett and the Northern Virginia farmer's diary.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Domestic life
• Lowell (Mass.)
• Women -- United States