Susan Farnham Berry lived in Salem, Massachusetts, and married before 1793. She acquired an education and showed interest in arithmetic, particularly as it pertained to weights and measures, and in cooking. The first section of her notebook contains directions for solving arithmetic problems and conversion tables for money and for weights and measures, including for wine, ale, and beer. The final 48 pages of the notebook contain recipes for jellies, soups, and, especially, baked goods, such as tea biscuits and cakes. There are also practical recipes such as "To Kill Cock Roaches," "Technical terms in Painting," and instructions "to die [sic] a good black."
