Martha McMillan Research Papers

Document Type

Research Paper

Publication Date

1-13-2025

Keywords

Martha McMillan, journal, daily life, Cedarville, history

Abstract

A nineteenth-century Midwestern farmer’s wife and mother of ten, Martha’s days were filled with continuous labor for her family and community. This paper examines the significance of rest and the Sabbath in the structure of Martha McMillan's daily life as reflected in her 1880s journals. Exploring the relationship between the literary structure of Martha’s journals and the structure of her life suggests that both are centered around the idea of a Sabbath. For Martha, Sunday served as a physical and spiritual day of rest, which she referred to as her "Sabbath." The paper argues that this Sabbath not only structured her days and journals but also provided the rest and strength, both spiritually and physically, that enabled her to accomplish the extensive work documented in her journals and legacy.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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About this Collection

The McMillan Journal Collection is an archive of the journals of Martha McMillan of Cedarville, Ohio, who maintained a daily journal from 1867 until her death in 1913.

 

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