David Swain is our volunteer resident researcher. On the second and fourth Tuesdays of every month, we will feature some of the items David has found in our archives. In his first entry for the blog, David writes about the recently purchased Diary of John Rowe. Rowe lived in Boston, where he earned a living as a merchant and sometime smuggler like John Hancock. Rowe kept a detailed and meticulous diary from the revolutionary era, which the David Library just purchased on microfilm from the Massachusetts Historical Society. Rowe was active politically and socially in Boston. He was a Freemason, served on numerous town committees, and regularly socialized with people like Samuel Adams and George Washington. As you will see, Rowe's diary can provide a wonderful window into the world of revolutionary Boston.


The manuscript diary is voluminous, containing daily entries from September 8, 1764 through July 18, 1779, written on a total of 2,493 pages in 15 bound volumes.


This rich collection offers a number of intriguing possibilites for researchers.

Rowe regularly records his social meetings. The lists of names, which include those attending Freemason meetings as well as those with whom he dined, might be a valuable source for a researcher looking specifically for detailed information about Boston merchants, sea captains and shipping, and those active in Freemasonry.

Rowe's journal also provides accounts of daily events happening in Boston. Some of which offer fragments of a story that demand further research. For instance, on November 5, 1764, some sort of accident occurred in Boston, in which a boy was run over and killed and which somehow escalated into a "battle" between Northenders and Southenders. The militia were called out but were apparently ineffective. Rowe was not involved and stayed home. What was all this about?


Although the diary can provide a wealth of information on the social and cultural history of Boston during this period, it is perhaps best known for Rowe's account of Boston life during the imperial crisis and Revolution. Mixed between the mundane are snapshots into the events riling the British Empire.

We know for instance that on April 13, 1766, Rowe heard of an account of the repeal of the Stamp Act (on March 22).

Rowe provides a first hand account of how tensions began to rise in the port city. On October 2, 1768, Rowe reported an extraordinary verbal altercation at the Coffee House, the "club" where the merchants met for meals, gossip, and business. A Captain Dunlap approached him in public and stated, as quoted in Rowe’s diary, "….I expected to have heard of your being hang’d before now for Damn you, you Deserved it." To which Rowe writes he replied "Surely, Captain Dunlap, you’re joking." More strong language followed until Rowe says he "prudently" walked away from the tense situation, only after noting who had witnessed the tiff. No longer can Rowe be described as just an observer or as aloof from public affairs, without consequential opinions of his own.

Rowe also provides a detailed account of the "Boston Tea Party." Between Nov 2, 1773 and the end of the year, Rowe wrote several entries concerning the "tea matter" (the term "Boston Tea Party" had not yet been invented). This passage reads like an American history textbook—straightforward and factual as the story of the event has come town to us.

Rowe has a lot to say describing the events of Lexington and Concord, noting that "This unhappy affair is a shocking introduction to all the misery of a civil warr."

During occupation, Rowe even met with George Washington. On March 26, Rowe reports that he din’d at home, and, "After dinner I went with M. Parker and paid my respects to General Washington who received me very politely."

The Rowe Diary is a fascinating document. Following Rowe's daily life, one can get a real sense of what life was like in Boston during the revolutionary era. With over 2,000 pages of notes, there is a wealth of information in this journal for researchers.

Have something you want to share? A research question, a research find, or a personal story about the Library? Email Patrick Spero at spero@dlar.org

Labels: acquisitions, archives, research, swain report