1.   Historical note

2.   Scope and content

3.   Provenance

4.   Processing note

5.   Inventory

6.   Subjects


    List of finding aids

    R.I.H.S. Library page

    R.I.H.S. home page

 Sarah B. (Mason) (Ruggles) Eaton Papers

 Of North Providence, R.I.

 Papers, 1830-1856

 Size: 0.25 linear feet

 Catalog number: MSS 555

 Processed by: Rick Stattler, April 2000

 USE MICROFILM    HQ 1438. R45 Pt 2 Reels 16 - 17


©Rhode Island Historical Society

Manuscripts Division

 


Historical note:


            Sarah Brown Mason was born on July 25, 1804 in Providence, Rhode Island. She was a granddaughter of John Brown (1736-1803), who had been the wealthiest man in Providence. Her parents were physician James Brown Mason (1775-1819) and Alice Brown (1777-1823). She had two sisters: Abby Mason (1800-1822), who married Nicholas Brown III; and Rose Anne Mason (1817-1872), who married Dr. William Grosvenor.

            Sarah's parents both died when she was in her teens, and she inherited substantial property, including the Oaklands estate on Smith St., now between Oakland and Hilltop Streets in Providence). On August 23, 1825 she married manufacturer George B. Ruggles (1804-1833), a Newport native who had briefly attended Brown University. He became involved in the management of the Mason family's Thompson Manufacturing Company in Thompson, Connecticut. His business setbacks led to the loss of a substantial portion of Sarah's inherited property. They had four children at Oaklands, as follows. Only one survived past early childhood.


1) Alice Elvira Ruggles (1826-1833)

2) Sarah Harriette Ruggles (1827-1836)

3) George B. Ruggles (1828-1878). Grad. Brown University, 1850; farmer in Chepachet, R.I.

4) John M. Ruggles (1834-1836)


            Sarah's husband died in 1833, and three of their children died shortly thereafter. With just George Jr. remaining in the family, Sarah remarried to lawyer Levi C. Eaton (1811-1852) on October 12, 1837. They had five children together; all but sons Amasa and Charles died young:


5) Harriette R. Eaton (1838-1841)

6) Amasa M. Eaton (1841-1914). Providence lawyer and state representative.

7) Charles F. Eaton (1842-?). Artist in Santa Barbara, Cal.

8) Anna G. Eaton (1845-1865)

9) Frank H. Eaton (1847-1852)


            Sarah's second husband died in 1852, as well as her youngest son. Sarah and her surviving children embarked on a three-year trip to Europe (mostly France and Italy), returning late in 1855. Sarah B. (Mason) (Ruggles) Eaton died on August 1, 1864.


Bibliography:

Chad Brown Workbook, 2nd ed., 59, 89. Providence: Rhode Island Historical Society, 1987.

Historical Catalog of Brown University, 1764-1904, 221, 264, 604. Providence: Brown University, 1905.


Return to top


Scope and content:


            The bulk of this collection consists of 24 diaries written between 1830 and 1856. This covers a span from late in her first marriage, when she was 25 years old, through several years after the death of her second husband, when she was 51. The entries are almost daily, but at least ten long periods are missing, covering a total of about ten years. The gaps seem to coincide with dramatic events such as the birth and deaths of close relatives.

            These are very important diaries that have not been much used. They are among the earliest extended detailed accounts of the Providence social elite, and the story of her first marriage is certainly an interesting one.

            Among the related manuscripts at the R.I.H.S. include the Grosvenor Collection (MSS 1), consisting largely of records of her family's business. The James Brown Mason Papers (MSS 2) are a small collection of her father's papers. The Herreshoff-Lewis Family Papers (MSS 487) include approximately twenty letters written by Sarah to various Herreshoff cousins between 1824 and 1864, as well as many other letters written by her sons Amasa and Charles Eaton. The Amasa Eaton Papers (MSS 399) consist of her son's outgoing letter copy books from 1870 to 1914. The Charles F. Eaton Papers (MSS 400) are a small collection of her son's business and legal papers from 1873 to 1885. One folder of correspondence dated 1905 to 1909 relating to her estate can be found filed under Sarah B. Eaton in the Miscellaneous Manuscripts Collection (MSS 9001-E). The papers relating to her Brown, Francis and Herreshoff cousins are too numerous to be described here.


Return to top


Provenance:


            These papers were purchased from manuscript dealer Alfred Goodman in 1969.


Return to top


Inventory:


Diaries:

Folder 1.        March 30 1830 - November 7 1830

                        November 8 1830 - September 2 1832

Folder 2.        September 3 1832 - March 22 1833

                        March 23 1833 - September 10 1833

                                    (missing 9/1833 - 2/1834)

Folder 3.        February 8 1834 - May 5 1834

                                    (missing 5/1834 - 9/1837)

                        September 18 1837 - March 17 1838

Folder 4.        March 18 1838 - July 22 1838

                        July 23 1838 - December 14 1838

                                    (missing 12/1838 - 3/1840)

Folder 5.        March 24 1840 - August 9 1840

                                    (missing 8/1840 - 12/1841)

                        December 27 1841 - March 31 1842

                                    (missing 4/1842 - 2/1843)

Folder 6.        February 2 1843 - June 3 1843

                        June 5 1843 - September 5 1843

                                    (missing 9/1843 - 8/1844)

Folder 7.        August 7 1844 - November 20 1844

                                    (missing 11/1844 - 9/1845)

                        September 19 1845 - February 17 1846

                                    (missing 2/1846 - 6/1846)

Folder 8.        June 24 1846 - October 28 1846

                                    (missing 10/1846 - 4/1847)

                        April 3 1847 - July 27 1847

Folder 9.        July 28 1847 - November 18 1847

                        November 19 1847 - March 31 1848

Folder 10.      April 1 1848 - August 1 1848

                                    (missing 8/1848 - 12/1849)

                        January 1 1850 - March 19 1850

                                    (missing 3/1850 - 11/1852)

Folder 11.      November 21 1852 - November 25 1853

                        November 26 1853 - May 23 1854

Folder 12.      May 25 1854 - June 3 1855

                        June 8 1855 - March 6 1856

                                    (missing 3/1856 - 8/1864)


Miscellaneous

Folder 13. French exercise books, 1852

Folder 14. Undated letter fragment


Return to top


Subjects:


Brown Family

Diaries - 1830-1856

Eaton, Levi C. (1811-1852)

Europe - Description and travel

Herreshoff Family

x Mason, Sarah B.

Mason Family

North Providence, R.I. - Social life and customs

Oaklands Estate (North Providence, R.I.)

Ruggles, George B. (1804-1833)

x Ruggles, Sarah B. (Mason)


End of finding aid - return to top

RIHS1822