Mary Johanna Rhodes Wild diary

Collection

Identifier: MS-2013-016

Abstract

Diary of Mary Johanna Rhodes Wild, detailing her daily life in Brookline, Massachusetts, as the wife of homeopathic doctor Charles Wild. Wild discusses housekeeping, finances, and marital discord, as well as her reading, occasional travels, and circle of friends and family, from 1851-1865. The volume includes 12 pages of a diary by her mother, Mary Throop Cushing Rhodes, created between 1845-1850.

Dates

Creation: 1845 - 1865

Creator

Rhodes, Mary Throop Cushing (Person)
Wild, Mary Johanna Rhodes (1799-1883) (Person)

Access Note

Open for research; digital version also available. Volume is fragile and should be used with care.

Conditions Governing Use

These materials are made available for use in research, teaching and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. The original authors may retain copyright to the materials.

Mary Johanna Rhodes Wild

See more See less

Mary Johanna Rhodes Wild was born on February 6, 1799 in Providence, Rhode Island to William Nehemiah and Mary Throop Cushing Rhodes. In 1819 she married homeopathic doctor Charles Wild and they settled in Brookline, Massachusetts. They had nine children, but only six survived past infancy: Charles William (born 1822); Susanna Seraphina (born 1823); Edward Augustus (born 1825); Laura Matilda (born 1828); Mary Heath (born 1829); and Walter Henry (born 1836). Following her husband's death in 1864, Mary Johanna lived with her daughter Mary Heath (Wild) Cushing in North Providence, Rhode Island. Mary Johanna Rhodes Wild died in 1883.

Sources:

Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009.

Ancestry.com. Rhode Island, U.S., Vital Extracts, 1636-1899 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.

Liss, Ken. "Diary of Mary Johanna Wild, Brookline MA, Introduction." Brookline Historical Society, December 2020. Accessed October 13, 2026. https://brooklinehistoricalsociety.org/archives/WildDiary/Intro.asp

Laura Matilda (Wild) Phipps death record, New England Historic Genealogical Society; Boston, Massachusetts; Massachusetts Vital Records, 1840–1911.

"Mary Joanna Wild", University of Virginia "Letters Home" Project, accessed on October 6, 2026. https://community.village.virginia.edu/lettershome/node/12201

Mary Throop Cushing Rhodes

Mary Throop Cushing Rhodes was born in 1775, married William Nehemiah Rhodes in 1796, and had seven children, among them Mary Johanna Rhodes Wild. She died in Providence, Rhode Island in 1850.

Full Extent

.5 Linear Feet (1 container) : 1 volume; circa 110 pages ; 19 cm

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Provenance

Purchased from Ian Brabner, Bookseller, 2012.

Existence of digital copies

This item has been digitized and is available online; a link is included in the inventory.

Related Materials

Dr. Charles Wild account book, BC.2026.098, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.

Charles Wild papers, Center for the History of Medicine, Countway Library, Harvard University.

Letters to Mary Johanna Rhodes Wild from her children are included in:

John L. Nau III Civil War History Collection, MSS 16459, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.

Materials Specific Details

Fair. Binding is loose, pages are folded and torn, and an oversewn insert is hanging by a thread. Earlier mercantile account entries from the 1830s were excised.