Ballard, Martha Moore (1735–1812)

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Ballard, Martha Moore (1735–1812)

American midwife and diarist. Born Martha Moore in Oxford, Massachusetts, in 1735; died in Augusta, Maine, in June 1812; daughter of Dorothy and Elijah Moore; great-aunt of Clarissa Harlowe Barton, also known asClara Barton ; educated at home; married Ephraim Ballard (d. 1821), in 1754; children: nine, Lucy (b. 1756); Triphene; Jonathan; Dorothy (d. 1769); Martha; Cyrus; Hannah (b. 1769); Dorothy "Dolly" (b. 1773); Ephraim (b. 1779).

Martha Moore Ballard's hand-bound, linen-covered diaries, covering 1785 to 1812, reveal in minute detail the often harsh life of 18th-century New England settlers. Though the journals had previously appeared as part of Charles Nash's 1904 history of Augusta, Maine, historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich unearthed more of Ballard's story when she rescued the journals from a vault at the Maine State Library, where they had resided since 1930. For her efforts, Ulrich was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1990.

Martha Moore was born in Oxford, Massachusetts, in 1735. While her mother was illiterate and used a mark for her signature, Martha benefitted from the schooling of an uncle and brother, both college graduates—Yale and Harvard, respectively. Though women were generally uneducated at that time, Martha would learn the fundamentals well enough to maintain a diary and keep track of family finances. In addition, several physicians within the Moore family passed their learning down to Martha, who knew how to make poultices, emulsions, treatments for cold, cough, dysentery and frostbite, as well as other general remedies.

Martha's early history is known only through her later reflections or from town records. She married Ephraim Ballard in 1754. Over the next 23 years, the Ballards had a farm near Oxford, where they raised eight children. From 1767 to 1770, there was a diphtheria outbreak in Oxford (12% of the town's population of 144 died); in 1769, Martha lost three of her children to the epidemic within ten days.

In October of 1777, the Ballards moved to Hallowell, Maine, a newly settled region along the Kennebec River (land later owned by the city of Augusta). Ephraim assumed operation of the mill, as well as some farm land, and the Ballards settled in a sparsely populated area just above the town. Martha, who had likely assisted birthings in Oxford, delivered her first baby in July of 1778, beginning a vocation which was to become the overriding theme in a diary she would not begin for another eight years. The ninth and last Ballard child was born in 1779.

In January of 1785, Martha Ballard set down her first entry in her diary. It was common for families to keep either a daybook, which detailed daily events and finances, or an almanac, which helped plot weather patterns and crops for farmers. Martha Ballard combined the two forms. Entries rarely exceeded several sentences and encapsulated the movements of the family and community. Ballard captured the drama of life in the new settlement by simply recounting her work. She often traversed the Kennebec, a large, swift river which in bitter winters froze solid. Deaths, births, and illnesses were all subjects of casual mention, which—over the almost three decades of Ballard's diary—build a story.

Hallowell's young population grew quickly. Keeping tabs in her diary, Ballard performed 816 deliveries between 1785 and 1812 and tended to the general health needs of the community. Her records were businesslike, rarely mentioning personal news, with the exception of family events, such as birthdays. When she was not midwifing, Ballard was busy with the family farm. Life was strenuous, not entertaining. Entry by entry, the diary can look monotonous. As a whole, and as a history, it becomes powerful.

Ballard was 77 years old when she attended her last delivery on April 26, 1812. Following her death that June, Martha Ballard's diary was passed down through the family until its donation, more than 100 years later, to the Maine State Library.