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Mrs. Thomas and I are supposed to travel to the market to stock up on flour, meat and fish in case more fights break out between the Whigs and Tories. I disagree with everything the British do and I wish I could help keep them out of the town, but since I’m a lady we must hold back and let the men fight, which I think is mighty unfair.

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May 12, 1773

Dear Diary,
     I have just received this notebook as a gift for my hard work on the farm. My name is Deborah Samson, and I am 13 years old. I have been living on the Thomas’ farm for five years now as an indentured servant. I was born in Winnewtuxet, Massachusetts on December 17th, 1760. I lived there with my parents until I was five; that's when my father went out to sea to make money for the family. After many months had gone by and we heard nothing of Father’s return, Mother became dreadfully worried. In the spring, a month after my father was due to return, we found out my father, along with the rest of the crew had drowned during a lightning storm.

     My mother was a proper lady who did not work and soon all of our savings were gone. Out of my six siblings, I was the oldest, so the day came when Mother told me I was to go live with her cousin Mistress Fuller, because there was no way she would be able to feed all of us. I remember very clearly how my voice shook when I yelled at Mother, telling her how terrible she was to do such an awful thing. Yet somehow I awoke the next day packed and ready to go, and I set off leaving all I loved behind. When I was eight, Ms. Fuller passed away and I then ended up working for Mistress Thomas and her husband. Mr. Benjamin Thomas is a deacon of the church and one of the most prosperous men in Middleborough, Massachusetts. I work long and difficult hours here, in the fields and in the barn, but I still enjoy my life much more than when I lived with Mistress Fuller.

      I have learned many things while living here, but one thing shall never change. I still wake up every morning wishing I were home and that Mother was waking me, instead of sunlight coming through the small window in my sparsely furnished room. Yet with all bad things come some good. Living here I have become a better person. I am usually described as “unfeminine,” I do chores that women are not fit to do, but I do not care, I have to do what my master says. As long as I have completed all of my chores, each day, I am allowed to go to school with the Thomas boys. Besides my everyday activities, I have also been taught how to spin, sew, and weave cloth. Mrs. Thomas is calling me, but I will write again as soon as I have the opportunity.

May 22, 1773

Dear Diary,
     I have been wanting to write to you but, it has been a busy few days since it is planting season. It is dreadful work, plowing fields and then planting seeds all day. My back is in pain and I am just glad that it is not as hot it was last year. The Thomas' have been very satisfied with my work, but it has been very difficult lately with all these British soldiers everywhere, so everyone is in a sour mood. Today Mrs. Thomas and I are supposed to travel to the market to stock up on flour, meat and fish in case more fights break out between the Whigs and Tories. I disagree with everything the British do and I wish I could help keep them out of the town, but since I’m a lady we must hold back and let the men fight, which I think is mighty unfair.

     It has always been a pleasure to go to the market. It is so lively and even in these troubled times there is always joy and laughter in the town’s market. I must go now to help with the farm animals but I will write again soon.

May 25, 1773

Dear Diary,
The news has just reached us that the British government has enforced a Tea Act that is only going to help the East India Company and just make things worse for us. Their tea is going to be sent straight to the colonies and will be sold at bargain price. But we know that it is just a way to gain popular support for the taxes that already exist. The British are treating us like slaves and they are trying to manipulate us. But we are not going to stand back and let their rules tear apart our town! We WILL fight back, we MUST fight back. Many people, such as Mr. Thomas' neighbor will be personally affected by this Act since he sells tea at the local market. This last Act has made me even angrier than I was a few days ago and peace will not be among us much longer. WAR SHALL BREAK OUT, and as soon as it does I will be willing to help and do whatever it takes for the British to leave.

Epilogue

At age 18 (when Deborah Samson was done with her servitude) she became a teacher at Middleborough Public School. On May 20, 1782 she enlisted in the army for three years under the name Robert Shurtleff. This is what she is most known for because she was probably the only woman to disguise herself as a man and fight in the Revolutionary War. During the war she was shot in the leg twice and got her head cut by a sword. This all happened within eighteen months and each time she treated the wounds herself because she feared that the doctors would discover that she was a woman. Later she got sick with the fever and was sent to the hospital where Dr. Barnabas Binney realized that she was a woman. He didn't tell anyone right away, but instead he took her to his home and when she was better told her commanding officer. Deborah Samson got married to Farmer Benjamin Gannet, in 1784. In 1802 she started going on tours to talk about her war time experiences, and would dress up in her uniform during these tours. Deborah Samson died in Sharon, Massachusetts on April 29, 1827.

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