Manuscript Location

Maryland Historical Society, Special Collections Reading Room

Place of Origin

United States

Date of Composition

1850s

Description

Susan Carroll Poultney kept three recipe and pattern books, which are dated c.1850, 1852, and 1888. The 1850 book includes both recipes and instructions for crocheted items, while the 1852 book contains recipes only. The 1888 volume is a pattern book that includes instructions for worsted shoes. Susan's husband Thomas was a prolific poet who wrote under the name "Rabbi Ben Tomi." Four manuscript volumes of his poetry and prose, 1864-1886, are included in this collection. The Poultney books are part of the historical society's Frick Collection, which includes a variety of papers belonging to socially prominent Baltimore and Washington, D.C. families, primarily from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth century. The papers in the collection include several clutches of loose recipes of various dates as well as a recipe book of the Turnbull family, which was likely compiled in the late 19th century.