Place of Origin

United States

Date of Composition

1783-ca. 1850

Description

The historical society's Sedgwick family papers concern Theodore Sedgwick (1746-1813), his wife, his children, and their descendants. Theodore Sedgwick, a lawyer, was active in American Independence and served in the Continental Congress, the Massachusetts legislature, the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. The fine brick home that he built in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, around 1786 still stands.

The Sedgwick Family papers include three recipe books: "Recipe book, 1799"; "Recipe book, 1783-1825"; and "Recipe book, 1824 "

Although begun in 1799, "Recipe book, 1799" is largely in the hand of Elizabeth Ellery Sedgwick, who lived from 1799 to 1862. A granddaughter of William Ellery, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Elizabeth Ellery married Robert Sedgwick (1787-1841), a son of Theodore Sedgwick, in 1822, and bore eight children. The book contains recipes for medicine, as well as food. To locate this book, scroll down to "Detailed Description of the Collection" and go to V, B. iii.

"Recipe book, 1783-1825" and "Recipe book, 1824" were authored by unidentified members of the Sedgwick family. To locate these books, scroll down to "Detailed Description of the Collection" and go to IX, C, iv.