Elizabeth De Hart Bleecker diary

1799-1806 D

Elizabeth De Hart Bleecker (1781-1864) was the daughter of Anthony Lispenard Bleecker and Mary Noel of New York City. In 1800 she married Alexander Lewis McDonald (1772-1864), a Manhattan lawyer from Bedford, New York. The Elizabeth De Hart Bleecker diary (1 volume) documents her daily life in New York City from 1799 January 1 to 1806 January 11, marking her engagement (1800 March 23), marriage (1800 April 8), and the birth of her children James (1801 August 5) and Mary (1804 July 22). Entries mention the weather, health, social calls and entertainment, attendance at Trinity Church, shopping, household matters and servants, walks to the Battery, and favorite confections such as cake and ice cream. Noted local and current events include frequent alarms of fire; yellow fever epidemics; crimes and public disturbances; the death of George Washington (1799 December); shipping news and a visit to the U.S.S. President (1800 July 9); the laying of the cornerstone at City Hall (1803 May 26); the Burr-Hamilton duel (1804 July 11-13); and other matters. The diary also records an extended stay in Bedford (1803 August-November) to escape an outbreak of yellow fever in Manhattan. Births, marriages and deaths in their circle of prominent New York families are noted throughout. The family name McDonald is spelled MacDonald in the early part of the diary.